Google Maps Users Can Now Easily Edit Their Public Profiles

Google has pushed out a Google Maps update that enables users to edit their public profiles from the mobile app, offering more control over what other users see when they take a look at your page. The new management option gives users control over their profile picture and their bio, as well as offering a look at whether they're a Local Guide and how many points they have, among other things.

Until now, Google didn't allow users to manage their public profile from the app; the most they could do was select the 'Your contributions' option in the app's sidebar to pull up their Local Guide info, assuming they participated, and then choose a 'View public profile' option from the triple-dot menu. This merely showed the user's profile picture, name, and their reviews and ratings.

The company is rolling out a new update that adds a 'Your profile' option to the sidebar under 'Your contributions,' according to Android Police, enabling users to easily find their public profile and make changes to it.

Through this new section, users can optionally add a bio to their profile that other users will see if they click on the user's profile through one of their reviews. In addition, users can change their profile image and the name that appears publicly; this makes it much easier to retain a degree of privacy, potentially increasing the incentive for users to leave reviews.

Beyond that, users are also given the option of hiding or showing their contributions on the profile page — this doesn't mean the reviews will no longer be visible if hidden, but rather just removed from the profile page itself. If you're particularly concerned about backlash over a negative review, the new option also allows users to hide their profiles from businesses.

Users can expect to see the new profile management features arrive in coming days.