Google's latest feature shows how busy a venue is

Google has reportedly added a new extension to the Popular Times feature on Google Maps with a new live feed of how busy a place is for certain locations such as shopping centres or bars. This data notifies users regarding how busy a venue is before they set off for the same. This feature is being rolled out ahead of the Black Friday shopping feature.

Google Maps will now display a red overlay over locations that are busy. The feature works by using anonymous location data from other Google users to understand just how busy a particular location is and provide the information to the users.

Google Maps already displays live traffic and public transport information that is pulled from public data and other Google Maps users. Moreover, the company has also expanded the information Maps display by including data on how long people generally stay in the location, opening hours, departments with a larger store and so on.