In a recent post on Twitter/X, Google Maps announced that users can now use emoticons as placeholders for their destinations. Here’s how you can do it on a mobile device:
- Launch the Google Maps app and log in if you haven’t already.
- If you have it on the bottom navigation bar of the main Google Maps screen, tap Saved. Otherwise, tap your profile photo in the top-right corner of the screen and select “Your places.”
- In the Lists or “Your lists” section,” tap “New list” or the “+” icon to create a new list of places.
- Choose a name, a description, and select your preferred list type.
- Tap “Choose icon” at the top of the screen.
- Select your preferred emoji.
- Tap Save to save the new list.
A notification shade should pop up. You can add one of the suggested places (if any) to it by hitting “Add” next to the address entry, or tap “Add” right below the list name so you can manually look up the names or addresses of places you want to file in the collection. Any place you include should be marked with the emoji you selected when you have the list open.
If you have saved lists before, you can update them so they are marked with emoticons moving forward:
- Follow the previous instructions to get to the saved places page.
- While in the Lists tab, hit the three-dot icon next to the list you want to modify and select Edit list.
- Tap “Choose icon” at the top of the screen.
- Select an emoticon.
- Tap Save to apply the changes.
Apart from editing a list’s icon, you can also modify the list type so others can view or edit it.
