Something Small Just Made Google Maps Way More Useful On Android

Google Maps is pre-installed and is the default navigation app on almost all Android phones, but even then, you may not get the best experience out of it if you don’t change certain settings in the app. However, not everything in Google Maps needs activation from the settings – some features just work out of the box, only if you know how to find them.

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One such feature in Google Maps for Android is a new account switcher. You can see the updated account switcher by tapping the profile picture that appears on the top right. On the profile card, you get the usual “Manage your Google Account” button, but instead of “Add another account” and “Manage accounts on this device” options appearing separately, as was the case previously, they are now clubbed together in the new pill-shaped “Switch account” option. The new account switcher appears just below the button to manage your Google Account.

Is the new Google Maps account switcher available for everyone?

This is a small but meaningful improvement that explicitly tells users about its functionality and what they can expect from it. However, this is only helpful for people who log in to Google Maps with multiple accounts or plan to do so in the future. Even if you’re one of those people, don’t get too excited just yet, as the updated account switcher doesn’t seem to be available for everyone.

Android Authority first reported the change, citing multiple user reports, though folks over at the outlet haven’t received the update on their devices. We’re lucky to have it on our phones this early, but don’t worry if you haven’t got it. It shouldn’t take much time before the new account switcher becomes available for everyone. It’s also worth noting that this appears to be a server-side update, so don’t look for an update to the Google Maps app on the Google Play Store.

The updated account switcher will be available for other Google apps

We aren’t surprised to see the new account switcher in the Google Maps app for Android. This was in the making for months, as previously reported by Android Authority. The evidence of this new account switcher first appeared in an APK teardown of the Google Keep app in August last year. And towards the end of 2024, Google was also spotted working on the same feature in other apps, including the Google app, Maps, and Calendar.

Google Maps is special here because it’s the first one to get the redesigned account switcher. It’ll be interesting to see when the account switcher is rolled out to the Google app, because apart from Google Maps, it’s also one of those Play Store apps with a massive 10 billion downloads. Hopefully, we’ll see this change soon for all its apps, or at least for ones where Google was spotted working on it.