New Google Maps features tackle obstacles to accessibility

For Google Maps users with disabilities, navigating your surroundings — and finding community — is getting a little bit easier.

Today, Google announced another expansion of its accessible navigation features, including wheelchair-accessible walking routes, updated Live View experiences for users who are blind, and a new identity attribute label for disabled-owned businesses.

In addition to the new Maps features, Google has also rolled out device updates as part of a series of new accessibility tools and expansions released in honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Find disabled-owned businesses more easily

Google is making it easier to locate and support members of the disability community, adding a new identity marker for business pages appearing on Maps and Search.

The "disability-owned business" attribute — which appears as a blue and yellow icon underneath business pages — adds to the company's wider effort to expand its identity-forward Search information. Supplementing a nationwide movement to document and support the work of marginalized communities, users can now search for and navigate disabled-owned businesses and community spaces more effectively.

The company worked with members of the disability community, including LaVant Consulting and Google's internal Disability Alliance Employee Resource Group, to design and name the new label.

To add an identity-based marker to a business page:

1. Sign into your Google account.

2. Type "My Business" in the search bar.

3. Find the business you want to edit and click "View Profile."

4. Click "Edit Profile" and select "Business Information."

5. Scroll to find "From the Business" settings.

6. Add the attribute of your choice (other options include Asian-owned, Black-owned, Latino-owned, LGBTQ+ owned, veteran-owned, and women-owned.)

Discover accessible walking routes

Google also is launching a new Maps feature that allows users to request only wheelchair-accessible walking routes. With the new addition, stair-free routes will appear when a user requests walking directions in Maps, if they've turned on wheelchair accessibility in their route preferences.

The company first added wheelchair accessibility options for transit routes in 2018. In 2020, Google Maps launched Accessible Places, a settings option that prominently denoted wheelchair accessibility for Google Maps listings using a small icon of a wheelchair user next to place entries. Earlier this year, Google made this accessibility information visible on default for all users, adding the icon next to all businesses, places, and public transit that are accessible for wheelchair users.

To see stair-free walking routes in Maps:

1. Go to Maps, type in your destination, and request walking directions.

2. Tap the three dots at the top of the screen.

3. Toggle on "wheelchair-accessible" under route options.

Use screen readers to search places using Live View

Google Maps is expanding the accessibility of its Live View feature, an option for Maps users navigating unfamiliar places that utilizes a phone camera, AI, and augmented reality to provide in-the-moment information about the user's surroundings.

To make this feature usable for people who are blind or low-vision, Google is adding screen reader capabilities to Search with Live View on Google Maps, rolling out to iOS today and to Android later this year.

To use the Live View feature:

1. Click the camera on the right side of the search bar, OR

2. Go to Google Maps.

3. Type in your destination or location.

4. Tap the "Live View" icon at the bottom of the screen, next to "Start."

5. Follow the on-screen directions or lift your phone up to scan your surroundings.

6. If a screen reader is enabled, you'll receive auditory feedback of the places around you with information, like the name and category of a place and how far away it is.

Get more information on wheelchair accessibility while driving

The Accessible Places expansion and accessible routes information will also be added to Maps for Android Auto and the open-source Android Automotive operating system, a platform built into cars by automotive makers allowing drivers to download and use compatible Google apps directly in their vehicles.

"The wheelchair icon next to relevant search results on Google Maps will help people identify destinations with a step-free entrance, accessible restrooms, parking, and seating — so they can travel with more confidence," Google writes.

Other accessibility expansions

In addition to the new Google Maps features, the company announced the expansion of other device-specific accessibility features.

Users can now further customize Assistant Routines, a device shortcut which allows users to automate daily tasks. Google device owners can change their shortcut style, including choosing their own images and adjusting its size and appearance on their home screens, which Google says is especially beneficial for users with cognitive differences and disabilities. Google is also adding an Android and iOS expansion to its quick search and suggestion feature in Chrome, intended to facilitate typing for those with dyslexia and language learners.

Google Pixel users can download the brand new Magnifier app as well, which enhances the camera's zoom capabilities and makes text easier to read as additional navigation support for users who are blind or have low vision. The app was designed in collaboration with the Royal National Institute of Blind People and National Federation of the Blind.

Additional information on Google's accessibility updates can be found on Google's Accessibility Blog or the company's "What's new in Google accessibility?" YouTube series.

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