Those of you who contribute as Local Guides on Google Maps (a club I recently joined) will know that as well as the satisfying feeling of helping other people out; you also gain points for your hard work. Those points help you rise through the ranks, getting a new badge every time you level up and eventually leading to certain perks, such as early access to new features.

To add some extra motivation, Google is about to add some new achievement badges that can be attained by completing different types of tasks. Badge fiends will now have four new ones available to them, which can also be leveled up as you submit information to the service.

As is so often the case, Cody uncovered some signs that this feature was incoming in a recent teardown of the Google Maps app. The four new badge types are outlined below:

Reviewer

You’ll earn this badge by writing detailed reviews that help people decide where to go.

Photographer

This badge is for sharing photos of places, so others can see the world on Google Maps.

Trailblazer

Here’s the badge for exploring. Earn it by being the first to add, review, or take a photo of a place.

Fact Finder

Earn this badge by checking facts, making edits, and answering simple questions about places to help people find the right information on Google Maps.

As you contribute more content in each category, a progress bar around each badge will increase. You'll start off as a Novice for each attribute, which will rise to Expert and then Master with a bit of elbow grease. If you've already done some great work in any of the fields, that will be accounted for when the badges go live, so the most active of you may already have a master badge across the board.

The new badge system will be rolling out over the next few weeks, and you'll be able to find them in the 'Your contributions' section of the Google Maps app, in the same place as you can already view your current points and level info.

Google Maps Developer: Google LLC
Price: Free
4.1
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Source: Google