What you need to know
- Waze incident alerts, like police presence warnings, are showing up on Google Maps, with a clear note that they came from Waze users.
- Users can confirm or dismiss these alerts, which pop up briefly to keep the map clean.
- The feature is still rolling out slowly, with only a few users noticing it, and its regional availability is unclear.
Over ten years after buying Waze, Google has finally been blending the platform with its own navigation app, with the latest step being the addition of live Waze incident reports to Google Maps.
Back in July, Google revealed plans to simplify incident reporting by merging insights from both Maps and Waze users. Around the same time, Waze announced plans to share its user reports directly with Maps. Now, with Waze incident reports officially live on Maps, that vision is becoming a reality.
A post on the Maps subreddit recently highlighted Waze-sourced incident alerts, like heads-ups about nearby police presence, popping up on Maps (via 9to5Google). The alert also makes it clear that the report came from a Waze user.
The alert lets users confirm if law enforcement is still at the spot. You can say yes, no, or just dismiss it altogether.
The alert pops up briefly before disappearing, keeping the map clear for navigation. It’s still pretty under the radar since most Maps users haven’t seen it yet.
The update comes shortly after Google revamped Maps' incident reporting, changing "speed traps" to the broader "police," so it now covers all sorts of law enforcement activity on the roads.
Right now, the feature seems to be rolling out slowly, with just a few users—like the original Reddit poster and a commenter—spotting it. Its regional availability is still unclear too.
As 9to5Google puts it, bringing Google’s navigation apps together was a no-brainer. Sure, the incident reports might not always be spot-on, but those quick confirmation buttons make it easy for the community to keep things updated in real time.
Even though Google owns both, Maps and Waze have been running as separate apps. With both still thriving under Google after a decade, a full integration isn’t in the cards. But the recent addition of Waze incident reports to Maps shows there's more overlap happening between the two.
