Google Maps is excellent at helping you navigate to specific street addresses or the names of well-known businesses. However, we rarely think of the places we visit frequently in terms of their official GPS coordinates or street numbers. We think of them as “Mom’s House,” “Sarah’s Apartment,” or “The Secret Fishing Spot.”
Instead of typing out a long address every time you want to navigate somewhere familiar, or scrolling through your recent history, you can assign a permanent, custom label to any location on Google Maps. Once labeled, you can simply type “Mom’s House” into the search bar, and Google Maps will instantly pull up the correct route.
This guide explains how to add custom private labels to locations in Google Maps.
Adding a Label on Mobile (iOS and Android)
Custom labels are entirely private. Only you can see them when logged into your Google account.
- Open the Google Maps app on your smartphone.
- Search for the specific address you want to label, or simply tap and hold on the map to drop a red pin on an exact location.
- Once the location is selected, a white information panel will slide up from the bottom of the screen.
- Swipe up on this information panel to expand it and reveal more options.
- Tap the Label icon. (If you don’t see it immediately, you may need to tap the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the panel and select “Add label”).
- A text box will appear. Type your desired custom name, such as “Mom’s House” or “My Favorite Gym”.
- Tap the blue Add label button (or press enter/return on your keyboard) to save it.
How to Use Your Labels
Now that the label is saved, navigating is significantly faster.
- Tap the main Google Maps search bar at the top of the screen.
- Type “Mom’s House”.
- Your custom label will appear in the search suggestions with a small blue flag icon next to it. Tap it to instantly pull up the route.
Furthermore, if you ever browse the map manually, you will see a small blue banner with the text “Mom’s House” hovering over that specific geographic location, making it incredibly easy to find your personal landmarks at a glance.