Google has introduced the ‘Plus Codes’ feature in Google Maps to help locate difficult or no fixed address.
The Communication Officer for Google, West Africa, Mr Kola-Ogunlade revealed in a statement that the Plus Codes helps to locate people without a fixed address or difficult locations in rural areas to be located in emergency.
Kola-Ogunlade said 2 billion people across the globe either do not have an address, or have an address that was difficult to locate.
The feature is currently available for Google Maps on Android.
According to Kola-Ogunlade, Google developed Plus codes to be used in Google maps for people with locations that are hard to reach especially in an emergency.
“Plus Codes can be especially helpful for people and organisations in emergency and crisis response scenarios.
“If you have ever been in an emergency, you know that being able to share your location for help to easily find you is critical.
“Yet, in many places in the world, organisations struggle with this challenge on a daily basis.
“Digital addressing through Plus Codes means that everywhere now has an easily identifiable location, saving time and getting resources there when it really matters,” he said.
Kola-Ogunlade said not having an address should no longer be a barrier to location sharing. He added that the Plus Codes would guide people to one when you most need them.
The plus codes, he said, could be used to uniquely identify any location, from a rural home in a remote area, to a hidden shop on a nameless street.
“To share location, simply tap the blue dot in Google Maps that represents your location, and get a Plus Code, which could be shared the same way a phone number is shared.
“Beyond using the blue dot, one could also find the Plus Code for a location,” he said.
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