Google Map Maker Reopens In 45 Locations Including The US

Google Map Maker has re-opened after the tool was shut down back in May of this year after Google found that nefarious edits were being approved to maps. One of the edits that led to the service being shuttered was the approval of an edit that looked like an Android peeing on an Apple logo. We mentioned back in July that Map Maker was opening back up in August.

Map Maker is now open in the US and 44 other countries around the world. With the service now open Google has systems in place to keep the same nefarious edits from happening again. Google has chosen Regional Leads from each part of the world to moderate data and ensure that only legit mods to the maps are approved.

The leads were chosen based on the history and quality of contributions to Google Maps. All submissions to Map Maker are now reviewed by an automated system and the changes can be sent to a Google employee for review is the automated system is unsure.

Another major change with Map Maker is that polygon editing has been disabled. Polygons were shaded areas of the maps used to show mountains, parks, forests, and other areas. Google came down hard on nefarious edits and it sounds like the new processes will keep that from happening again.

SOURCE: 9to5Google