Google Maps Now Lets You Create Street View Photos with Just a Phone

Google Maps is getting a new update that lets you create Street View photos using just a phone. Android users with ARCore-compatible devices can now capture imagery and publish it to Google Street View in certain areas. Google is allowing submissions initially in Toronto, New York, Austin, Nigeria, Indonesia, and Costa Rica. More regions will support this feature soon, and Google will use this user-generated content when it doesn’t have its own Street View imagery available.

It opens up the Street View feature to many more areas, including hard to reach places that even Google’s Street View trekkers and cars haven’t visited. Google will also use this imagery to update Google Maps with information like new businesses or publicly posted open hours, and the company will apply its standard Street View privacy features to blur out faces and license plates.