Google Maps for Android is getting a new feature today: the option to follow locations and businesses like you would an account on a social network, letting you stay in the loop on any news, events, or upcoming offers that are featured there.
Those updates will show up in the recently added “For You” tab that Google already uses as a personalized feed of local recommendations and restaurants. Allowing users to personalize that section a bit more by adding their favorite stores seems like a natural extension of the functionality, especially as Google seems to be set on adding more social features to Maps.
After all, it’s easy to imagine a jump from following stores to following friends and having their comments and reviews pop up in your feed, too. It’s a fine line to walk, though, between adding useful functionality and burying users under a pile of options they’ll never use (glances meaningfully toward Facebook Messenger). Then again, the fact that Google already offers a lighter “Go” version of Maps may mean we’re already too late.