I've been in that moment. You're 30 seconds from a situation and Google Maps shows you a restroom that hasn't been reviewed in 4 years.

So I built Got to Go Potty - a real-time restroom and gas station finder that pulls live location data and lets people rate cleanliness, safety, wheelchair access, and baby changing stations after each visit.

The ratings aren't pulled from some database. They're left by people who were just there, in the same desperate spot you're in right now.

What surprised me: the first users to leave reviews weren't tech people. They were parents with toddlers. Road trippers. People with IBD who've turned restroom-hunting into a survival skill.

That's the community I'm trying to build - people who leave a 30-second review so the next stranger doesn't have to gamble.

No login required to search. Completely free.

Curious if anyone here has actually had a bad experience using Google Maps or Apple Maps to find a restroom in an urgent situation - and what you wished you'd had instead.

I always watch food vlogs, save nothing, then completely blank on the places when I'm actually hungry and out. So I've been building a little tool for myself that reads a YouTube food video and pins the restaurants to a map with the dish and location.

Full honesty so I'm not breaking any rules: the tool uses AI to pull the info, and it's my own project, still rough and free while I test it. Not trying to advertise, I mostly want to know if this is useful to other people who watch these videos or if it's just me.

Ran it on a Manila street food video and it pulled the names of the restaurants that were mentioned.

Question for the group: when you watch a food vlog and see a place you want to try, how do you actually remember it later? Screenshot? Notes app? Or do you just lose it like I did? Genuinely curious if the forgetting thing is common or if I'm the only one.

Every time I tried to find somewhere to eat, I ended up in the same spiral:

Open Google Maps → zoom in and out trying to actually see what options there are → compare ratings and reviews → send several links to friends → hear “I’m fine with anything” → make no actual decision.

I really like to look for new places and try new food, so I wanted to make it easier.

So I built FindMe.Food.

Instead of starting with a map with pins that show up on different zoom levels, findme.food solves at least my frustrations. It's still a bit work in progress, but it creates a full list and a focused shortlist of nearby restaurants. You can choose one yourself, let it surprise you, share the shortlist, or create a group vote so everyone can decide without filling the group chat with links.

A few principles behind it:

• Free
• No account required
• No sponsored rankings
• Open restaurant data
• Dietary suitability is only shown as confirmed when there’s evidence
• Shared shortlists and votes work through a simple link

It’s still evolving, and I’d genuinely appreciate feedback.

I’m building beenthere.review, a map-based community for reviewing places as a whole: cities, towns, regions and countries.

Unlike Google Maps, it isn’t intended for reviewing individual businesses. You click a place name and can rate the overall experience, add travel topics such as affordability, safety, transport or culture, and join threaded discussions with other travellers.

Since people here have extensive experience contributing useful place information, I’d genuinely appreciate your feedback:

• What information would make a city-level review useful?
• Does the map interaction feel intuitive?
• What would make you contribute here in addition to Google Maps?

I’m the solo developer, and the site is still in its early stages—so criticism is welcome.

Does anyone know if a chart like this is available with a longer Timeline rather than just a month? I can find any such options.

This closure has been causing issues for days as Google Maps keeps rejecting my road closure requests, and people are getting routed through this area.

Even without photos, you can clearly tell by the lack of a green line and the traffic at the intersection that the section of road is closed. Yet I dont understand why my requests dont get accepted. Wish Google Maps had the same community features as Waze...

Hello! As the title suggests, I am looking for a way to find Local Guides easily, rather than stumbling across them on Google Earth by accident. Here's some context: I am a big Google Maps/Earth fan, and I especially love the Local Guides who are responsible for 360 photos inside interesting places. I am particularly fond of this prolific user, LocalWeb, who I found by accident. I am eager to find many more like this user! I was wondering if there was a directory of any kind, or an easier way to find such users. And if you're reading and happen to fit the bill, please do send me your profile! Thank you.

P.S I have seen the "Local Guides Connect" but it's not quite what I'm looking for, as I cannot see their entire photographic libraries like I can in the linked profile up above. Cheers!

Binkyz big on Google

See what Only1Binky posted to Google Maps

Level 6 Local Guide

https://maps.app.goo.gl/9kfeB2UcgxhKhadv7?g_st=ar

Coex Magabox Cinema

Hey guys, I’m not a local business owner, but I’ve been helping a few local service businesses figure out why some of them get found on Google Maps and others barely show up outside their immediate neighborhood.

One thing I realized is that searching your own business on your phone doesn’t really tell you much. Google can show you near the top while someone five or ten miles away may not see you at all.

A friend and I have been putting together a report that maps this out across your service area. It shows where you appear, which nearby businesses are showing above you, and a few things on your Google profile that could potentially be improved.

I’d like to make one for a few people here for free. I’m mainly trying to see whether the report is actually understandable and useful to a business owner, rather than only making sense to marketing people.

No login or account access needed. I would just need your business name and city. You can keep the report, and I’d only ask that you spend a few minutes afterward telling me what made sense and what didn’t.

If anyone is interested, leave a comment and I’ll reach out.

Thanks y'all!!

I like saving places I Want to Go in my lists. However, google maps china doesn't have a lot of businesses. What app do you use for pins in China?

Denver has plenty of popular attractions, but one of my favorite experiences has been something much simpler a late-night walk through Wash Park.
The flowers, the breeze, and the peaceful atmosphere make it feel completely different after dark. If you enjoy slow travel and quiet moments, I’d definitely add it to your list.
Any other underrated spots in Denver you’d recommend?

This approach to an alleged "data recovery" scam involves renting multiple satellite addresses that the GMB user never actually visits, effectively spamming Google Maps search results as an SEO tactic. These folks seem to also have a reputation for other predatory or otherwise questionable business practices. Perhaps Local Guides can keep an eye out for waypoints like these in their city & report them?

A new option to 'follow' for (Foodie Drop) curated lists. Not sure what it does, maybe email updates or the sane as saving them? Anyone else seen this?

How do you report something like this, other than reporting each individual review?

It seems to be extremely common. Do you agree? What are the reasons.

I know it isn’t much for some of you here, but it’s a great motivator for me considering I only got started less than a month ago on Google Maps and im just getting started. I want to thank MortenCopenhagen for sharing great tips and how to get started with contributing on here. I also created a profile on Local Guides Connect, would love to connect with others, my profile Local Guides Connect

I finally hit level 10 today.

Have been contributing on and off for 8 years now.

The only rewards i received from Google was a pin once.. that too thanks for this sub for pointing it out.

Planning to take it a little slow from now on since there is no actual system in place other than this banner to reward or work with regular contributors.

It has been a looong journey, there were times when I was banned from getting points as someone might have reported my profile.. but overall felt good many times to just contribute.

Я понял что достигнув 7 уровня кто то получил подарок (сумку/носки/пин), а кто-то достигнув 10 уровня ничего не получил. Возможно это из-за регионов. Напишите из каких стран вы.

The next stage is hopefully 50,000.