Google Maps might finally let you personalize your vehicle before hitting the road

Google Maps already lets you swap that little blue arrow for something that feels a bit more like your own ride, whether that’s a sporty hatchback or a pickup truck. The catch is that you can only do it once navigation has started. However, we’ve unearthed clues that this might be about to change.

As it stands, once on the route navigation screen, you can change the icon representing your location by tapping on the blue arrow to bring up the menu of avatars on offer. You can get to the same selection by pulling up the bottom menu and selecting ‘Driving avatar’, but both are only on offer once you’re already on, or about to commence, your journey.

In Google Maps version 25.42.02.817770306, we managed to enable a small but handy change that could let you select your cartoon representation without having a particular journey in mind. With the change enabled, the ‘Your vehicles’ section in Google Maps settings, which currently focuses on fuel types, now includes a new ‘Driving avatar’ option. Selecting that took us to the menu of avatars.

Maps added more detailed vehicle models and new color options for Android users earlier this year, following their initial appearance on iOS. Moving avatar selection into the settings menu feels like a natural follow-up, especially as it’s an alternative to browsing vehicle models during the trip when you should be focusing on the road.

It’s unclear when, or if, this feature will roll out widely. Google often tests small interface tweaks like this before deciding whether to release them.