Google Will Now Tell You How Crowded Your Favorite Bar Is In Real Time

It is not yet able to tell you what the crowd is drinking and how much they have had. JL

Stacy Liberatore reports in the Daily Mail:

It uses real time data to you how busy a location is. It uses anonymised data to predict the number of people inside - and even makes a guess at how long they are likely to stay.

Google has revealed a new feature that could be the answer to every bar hopper and shopper's dreams.

Called popular times, it uses real time data to you how busy a location is.

It uses anonymised real time data to predict the number of people inside - and even makes a guess at how long they are likely to stay. 

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Popular Times has been part of Google’s Search engine since last year, but the new addition has real-time capabilities. You can search any location by name and the Popular Times section will appear in Google or Google Maps, displaying the number of visitors inside

HOW DOES IT WORK? 

Popular Times was added to Google Search last year, but now it has real-time capabilities.

The technology lets you see how many people it estimates will be there any day of the week and updates to let customers know if the establishment will be closed.

You can search any location by name and the Popular Times section will appear in Google or Google Maps, displaying the number of visitors inside.

Included in this real-time feature is the ability to know how long people are hanging out in the place at a time

'Since introducing the Popular Times feature in Google Search and Maps last year, you’ve been able to check how busy a place typically is at different times of the week,' said Google.

'Just in time for the Black Friday swarms, we're adding a real-time look at how crowded a place is right now, to help you decide where and when to go.

'The feature has been part of Google’s Search engine since last year, but the new addition has real-time capabilities.

You can search any location by name and the Popular Times section will appear in Google or Google Maps, displaying the number of visitors inside – the firm is using anonymized data and searchers to estimate how many people are inside.

Included in this real-time feature is the ability to know how long people are hanging out in the place at a time – it could be one hour, three hours or more.

'If you’re playing host for the day, you can also check and see how long people typically stay at a given location,' Google says.

'That way you can plan your itinerary to the minute.'