iOS: People generally tend to pick one mapping app for their phones and stick with it, but there are times you might need to pull up another app on your iPhone — perhaps you need to CarPlay your directions instead of having the Google Assistant shout them out.

You may think you’ve turned Google’s location tracking history off, but according to a new Associated Press report released today, you might be wrong.

When you’re travelling with a larger group, you seem to always be receiving or sending a “Where are you guys?!” text.

Flat maps are so 7000 BC. With modern computers, we have the technology to render the world in its true form (ignoring conspiracies): a globe. Or oblate spheroid, if you prefer. Which is why it's a surprise it took Google this long to adopt a rotatable, third-dimension for Maps.

In recent months Google Maps has gotten pretty persistent about letting me know where there are restaurants it thinks I should try or new places opening up in my neighbourhood — and I hate it. As it turns out, I don't really need the app to tell me what's going on around me and with each hot tip I get more and more annoyed.

We all love the convenience of mapping apps, but many of us would prefer that the app stick with a route we know is golden, rather than rerouting us all over the place to save a few minutes in traffic.

Google Maps gets you directions to where you're going, but now it can also direct on your quest to try all the best burgers in town.

iOS: Earlier this year, Google teamed up with Nintendo to turn Google Maps into Mario Kart, replacing the app's usual location icon with a fist-bumping plumber riding a red go-kart. The crossover didn't last very long, but Google is now bringing back some of that magic with a new update to the Maps app on iOS.

Google's done more than almost any other company to bring virtual reality to the masses, from making cheap Cardboard headsets to giving the public easy ways to create and share 360-degree photos. Now the company is giving VR fans another way to dive in with a new tool called Tour Creator.

Google's annual I/O developer's conference always provides an exciting swathe of Google-related updates and improvements to their services and so far, it's delivering. Their key messaging this year is solving problems with AI and with the incoming upgrades to Google Maps, their advanced AI and algorithms will help you find things to do, places to eat and organise getting together with your friends.

Starting today, if you ask Google Assistant on your phone, Chromebook, or Google Home device "Where's Wally?" you'll actually get an answer.

Back in 2014, Google teamed up with Nintendo to hide Pokemon across Maps. It was surprisingly fun, paving the way for Pokemon GO. Now, the two companies are working together again to transform your turn-by-turn driving directions into a little homage to Mario Kart.

If you want to get to your destination fast, then you're possibly better off using Google Maps or Waze over Apple Maps. Waze if you truly want the "fastest" option.

Google is rolling out an update to its Maps app, giving it a refreshed visual style, more easily recognisable markers, and context-aware information. If you're prone to getting disoriented using public transit, or get frustrated searching for a petrol station during a road trip, the update makes it easier to know where you're going, what's around you, and where you'll end up if you've missed your station.

Google added over 500,000 images to Google Maps yesterday taken by spacecraft, many of which were taken by Cassini, which was launched in space 20 years ago.

Brief news items of note for Lifehacker readers, including: The South Park video game sequel turns out to be not too bad, Google has a map of the Solar System

If you've ever considered sharing your every move with a significant other, you probably have an opinion about location-sharing apps. "This is great! I'll always know where they are!" is one opinion. "This is creepy! I'm not trying to stalk someone I could easily talk to instead!" is another. I'm of that second opinion.

Android/Web: It's easy to use Google Maps to see how far your office is from your favourite restaurant, or how long it will take to drive from Sydney to Melbourne. Estimating the distance between two locations without relying on winding roads messing up your estimate, however, is a bit more complicated. Sure, you could try and measure it with the distance scale at the bottom corner of your screen, but a little-known trick, as mentioned by Redditor niktemadur, makes estimating distances from point to point (or "as the crow flies") pretty easy, depending on the device you have.

Looking up directions on Google Maps is a little clunky on the desktop. You have to select your starting location, your destination and your method of transport. But if you're on Chrome, you can build three shortcuts to get directions right from the address bar, without a single click.