How to Use Google Maps Plus Codes for Hard to Find Locations

If you are trying to meet a friend at a specific entrance to a massive public park, or trying to direct a delivery driver to a rural property without a formal street address, sharing a standard address will not work. You could try sharing raw GPS coordinates (like 40.7829° N, 73.9654° W), but these long strings of numbers are difficult to read, type, and communicate over the phone.

Google Maps offers a brilliant solution called Plus Codes. A Plus Code acts like a short, unique postcode for every 3-metre-by-3-metre square on the surface of the Earth. It converts complex GPS data into a short alphanumeric string (such as “8QQ7+V8, London”), allowing you to accurately share hyper-specific locations that do not have traditional addresses.

How to Find the Plus Code of a Location

You can generate a Plus Code for any location using the Google Maps app on your smartphone or via a web browser.

1. Open the Google Maps app (or the website on your computer).
2. Find the exact location you want to share.
3. On a smartphone: Press and hold your finger on the map at the exact spot to drop a red “Dropped Pin.”
   On a computer: Click the exact spot on the map to drop a small grey pin.
4. Once the pin is dropped, an information panel will appear at the bottom of the screen.
5. Swipe up on the information panel (on mobile) or look down the panel (on desktop) to find a small icon that looks like a cluster of five dots in a cross shape.
6. Next to this icon is the Plus Code (e.g., 796R+3G, Edinburgh).
7. Tap the code on your phone (or click the copy button on your computer) to copy it to your clipboard.

You can now paste this short code into a text message, email, or WhatsApp chat and send it to your contact.

How to Navigate Using a Plus Code

When someone sends you a Plus Code, navigating to that exact spot is incredibly simple, even if they sent it to you over a standard text message rather than a direct Google Maps link.

1. Copy the Plus Code they sent you (e.g., 8QQ7+V8, London).
2. Open your Google Maps app or website.
3. Tap the Search bar at the top of the screen.
4. Paste the Plus Code into the search bar and press Search.

Google Maps will instantly drop a pin on the exact 3-square-metre location the person intended. You can then press the Directions button to get turn-by-turn navigation directly to that specific park entrance, rural gate, or unmarked desert campsite.

Why Plus Codes Are Better Than Addresses

Plus Codes are open-source and do not rely on local governments assigning formal street names or postal codes. This makes them essential in rural areas, developing nations, and large open spaces (like beaches or festival grounds) where traditional addresses simply do not exist.

Furthermore, because they are based on mathematics rather than language, they can be easily communicated and understood regardless of local alphabets or language barriers.