Google Has Tweaked Maps App To Highlight Restaurant Takeout and Delivery

Follow the money. JL

Jon Porter reports in The Verge:

Google has tweaked its Maps app to highlight restaurants that are offering takeout and delivery options during the pandemic. When you open the Maps app, you’ll now find shortcuts on the home screen, and you can tap them to find relevant restaurants close to you. These include local restaurants as well as chains. You’ll also be able to order food from within the app, but only if a restaurant supports Google’s functionality.

Google has tweaked its Maps app to highlight restaurants that are offering takeout and delivery options during the COVID-19 pandemic, 9to5Google reports. When you open the Maps app, you’ll now find shortcuts on the home screen, and you can tap them to find relevant restaurants close to you. These include local restaurants as well as chains. In some cases, you’ll also be able to order food from within the app, but only if a restaurant supports Google’s functionality.

This is just the latest tweak Google has made to its Maps app as a result of the pandemic. Back in March, the service added a warning for users searching for medical facilities to call ahead if they think they have the virus, rather than showing up in person, risking spreading an infection to others. There’s also a link to a Google search on the app’s front page to provide more information about the virus.

In the UK, the “takeout” shortcut is renamed “takeaway.” 

Screenshot by Jon Porter / The Verge

 

Tapping either shortcut brings up a list of nearby restaurants.

 Screenshot by Jon Porter / The Verge

The takeout and delivery shortcuts appear to be live in both the Android and iOS versions of the app in the UK and the Netherlands. 9to5Google reports that they’re also available in the US and France. Now is a good time to support any local restaurants where possible, many of which are facing an unprecedented crisis as a result of the pandemic.