Google Messages live location may soon show traffic jams

Picture a friend who says they're ten minutes away. Their live location in Google Messages shows a dot on a plain map and nothing else. A beta build suggests that's about to change: Google Messages' live location may soon let you check traffic and switch map styles without leaving the chat.

Android Authority enabled a new layer icon in the top-right corner of the map preview in Google Messages v20261013 beta. Tap it and a menu opens that anyone who uses Google Maps will recognise, offering "Default," "Satellite" and "Terrain" map types.

A separate "Map details" toggle sits alongside. It overlays real-time traffic data on the same view.

Right now, with the embedded map, you are forced to stay on the default map regardless of whether you are sending or receiving your location. You can't use Satellite or Terrain in this embedded map if you are accustomed to using it in the regular Maps application.

The satellite map becomes useful if a friend of yours is waiting near some landmarks that are not visible on the street map like a parking lot, an entry to a stadium or a building with multiple entrances.

The traffic layer serves a completely different purpose by telling you whether your late friend is caught in the traffic or he just hasn't left yet.

Find Hub's in-app map first launched with only the standard view, then gained similar layer controls. Earlier teardown reports also suggested Messages' live location sharing is powered by Find Hub, which would explain why the same controls are turning up here.

It also fits a wider push to keep you inside the app. Google has recently been reworking Messages' interface, but this change targets function rather than looks.