Use a smartphone app to help locate your car

Do you often have trouble remembering where you parked your car? Losing track of it can be easy if you parked in a crowded lot. But don’t worry, with the right smartphone app, you can mark where you parked and find it quickly.

Google Maps and Apple Maps allow you to save your car’s location, while several third-party apps can also help you find it. Let’s check all your options.

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Google Maps

You can call on Google Maps(Opens in a new tab) to help you find your car, although some steps differ slightly between iOS and Android. After parking your car, open Google Maps on your phone and tap the blue pin that represents your current location (and parking spot), then tap the save parking to add a destination on the map.

Android users can also enter notes with more details about your location and even set a specific number of hours and/or minutes you want to park, which can be useful if you’re parked at a parking meter. You can also touch Share if you want to share your location with someone else or just send it to yourself.

Now when it’s time to return to your parked car, you have the location marked on the map. Just tap the pin and choose Directions And Begin for step-by-step directions to your car.

Apple Cards

Before you can use Apple Maps(Opens in a new tab) To find your parking spot, you first need to change a few settings. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services on your iPhone and make sure Rental services is on.

Scroll down the Location Services screen, select System services then press Important locations. You may be asked for your passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID. Then turn on the switch next to Important locations. Then go to Settings > Maps and turn it on Show parking slot to change.

Now when you are driving somewhere, you can track the location of your car when parked. Your iPhone will do this automatically if you have connected it via Bluetooth or CarPlay. When you sign out of the car, your phone should show a notification that Maps dropped a pin to show where you parked.

If the notification doesn’t appear, you’re not using CarPlay, or your phone isn’t connected via Bluetooth, open Apple Maps and find the blue parked car pin on the map, then tap it. If you don’t see it, type “parked car” in the search field and the location of the car should appear.

Press the Change location button to see an image of the surrounding area of ​​your car. You can also create a note with more details and press the Add a picture button to take a picture of your car and location.

When you need to find your car, open Apple Maps and tap the parked car pin. Select Route, then press Go follow the directions on foot to your parked car.

parked car locator

With parked car locator(Opens in a new tab), Android users can tap the compass icon to zoom to your current location. Press the park here button and press ALL RIGHT to define your parking lot. When it’s time to find your car, just open the app and follow the arrow to find your car.

find my car

A simple Android app, Find My Car – GPS Navigation(Opens in a new tab) makes it easy to save your car location and find it later. Open the app and tap the Park button. You can then add a note to your location and take a photo of it.

When you’re ready to get back to your car, open the app again and tap the find my car button. Just follow the direction of the pointer and the app will direct you to the right place.

Locate my car with AR Tracker

Locate my car with free AR Tracker(Opens in a new tab) The iOS app is quite simple. On the main screen, press the Add a new car slot license plate icon when you park your car. Press the Mark location button. Name the location and select the type of location, then tap the save location button.

When you need to find your car, open the app and tap the Return to location button. You will see your car’s location displayed on the map. If you tap the AR icon, you can see your surroundings as you walk.

Find your car with AR

With Find your car with AR(Opens in a new tab)open this iOS app before leaving your car and press the I parked here button. When it’s time to find your car, relaunch the app. A large red arrow points in the direction of your car; just follow this arrow.

You can also change the view from a conventional map to an augmented reality map that shows your real surroundings, so you can see what’s nearby while walking towards the car.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com(Opens in a new tab), the sister site of Mashable. PCMag.com(Opens in a new tab) is a leading authority on technology, providing independent, lab-based analysis on the latest products and services.