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Idea

An extension of map apps to highlight places you've never been before

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Povilas S

Povilas S Oct 14, 2021

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The idea is for various geolocation apps like google maps to have a function that lets the user filter search results to see only those places he/she has never yet been at. So if you search for say nearby restaurants, you could activate the "novelty filter" and amongst all the results visible on the map the app would show unvisited places highlighted in the foreground while those you've already been at dimmed in the background.
The convenience of this: This would let you discover new places easier. It would be especially useful while traveling and trying to squeeze the maximum out of new areas, but it would also be handy for rediscovering the location that you are settled in (given it's a big enough urban area). Now we might do such filtering ourselves by simply looking at the search results and discarding already visited places one by one from our memory, but this is inconvenient. Such function would be very useful when the user is intentionally searching for new places to visit.
This might apply for a variety of things, not only public establishments, you might search for towns you've never visited in your country/region, countries you've never visited in a continent/world, etc. With intense geolocation tracking prevailing these days this wouldn't be difficult for an app to do.
The current state of the art: Currently map apps only provide location history which means you can check places you've visited during a certain time period in the past, but it doesn't work the way that I proposed in this idea. I didn't manage to find an app that would have a proposed function.
Such software function would contribute to the realization of this idea.

maps technology travel

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Creative contributions

The same function for all search engine results

Povilas S

Povilas S Oct 14, 2021

Search engines usually mark search results that you already clicked on while you are still being on the same search session, but this is very transient because once you leave the browser/close the tab this "memory" is lost and especially if you set the browser settings to refresh every time you close it. 
Instead, this could be done as a filter which, when activated would group the results according to the novelty based on your all-time search history.

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General comments

Michaela D

Michaela D3 years ago

Google maps offers the "Haven't visited" option under "More filters" for restaurants, groceries, etc. I am not sure how exactly the app assumes you have been to a place - but it does not seem to be only by submitting a review. It may be a combination of reviews, using wifi or location.

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Povilas S

Povilas S3 years ago

Michaela D Thanks! Didn't know this existed. For some reason it doesn't work for me, nor when I'm logged out neither when logged in to my Google account. It doesn't show "your places section", only price, rating, and hours. Maybe my phone is too old. Does it work for you when logged in only or both ways? I'd like to test the convenience of that function, also it would be nice if it worked not only for public establishments but places in general.
The idea would be to make the use of such function as simple as possible, meaning you wouldn't need to log in for an app like google maps to show places you haven't visited. This raises privacy issues, but to be frank, your phone tracks your location almost 100% of the time, whether you logged in or not, so at least some benefit like the proposed function could come out of this. Maybe this could be a separate app or an extension that you install on top of google maps and agree (officially) to be tracked wherever you go in exchange for the novelty filter to function properly.

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Michaela D

Michaela D3 years ago

Povilas S seriously, there was no option to log out of google maps on my phone! I would have to add (and verify) another account and then switch users. So, I couldn’t test if the visited/haven’t visited option works when I’m not logged in.
A piece of information I can give you is my version of google maps: 11.2.5 (to find it : profile pic/settings/about, terms & privacy)
Also, I tested a bit more the app and doesn't work well at all. It shows as non-visited places where not only I have been, but also used wi-fi and even submitted a review! So, definitely, as you sugges there is a huge room for improvement!

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Povilas S

Povilas S3 years ago

Michaela D About logging in out of google: try deleting google account in your phone's settings, the section "accounts". I don't know what your phone is (mine s huawei), but all phones should have something similar. It took me a while also till I figured out how to do this.
By the way, my google maps version is exactly the same. A bit weird then.

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jnikola

jnikola3 years ago

Great suggestion. For this purpose, I mark all the places I have visited on "My Maps" function in Google Maps. First, I create a new category and call it "have been restaurants" and then I manually add places. Later, when I look for the ones I have never visited before, I check my map. I agree it's inconvenient and time consuming. If I did this for everything I search, visit or travel to, it would be just too much and prone to my error. We need a feature you proposed! I'll try to come up with some ideas. 

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