Waze has hidden features you should try on your next commute

Waze is easily one of the best free Google Maps alternatives to download and use. Many drivers swear by it, mainly because of its community capabilities. But beyond popular features like user-reported accidents, traffic jam detection, and near real-time gas price updates, Waze comes with some little-known tools you may not have encountered yet.

These aren’t advertised as often, but they’re actually useful for adding convenience to your daily driving experience. They make it easier to visit your loved ones, keep your children safe, and request roadside assistance when you need it. The problem is that these hidden Waze features are quite hidden, so you might not notice them even when you’re on Waze all the time.

But don’t worry, we’ll tell you how to find and use some of Waze’s best hidden features. Here are five worth checking out the next time you open the app.

Whenever you want to visit your friends and family, you normally just need to enter their address into the Waze search bar and off you go. But there’s actually an easier way to do this if your home address is already saved in your phone’s contacts: via Waze’s underrated “Drive to Friends & Family” feature. This integrates contacts’ saved addresses into Waze and makes them searchable using only the contact name. To configure the Drive to friends and family feature, follow these steps:

1. Launch Waze.
2. Open the search panel to expand it.
3. Select Drive to friends and family.
4. When prompted to allow Waze to access your contacts, tap Following.
5. Press Allow on Android, or Share all contacts/Select contacts on iOS.

From there, whenever you want to check on a friend or family member, simply enter their contact name into the Waze search bar. Their registered address will be the first result in the list. Simply tap it as you normally would any other destination, then tap Show routes to start accessing it. Keep in mind, however, that only contacts with a registered address will appear in search results. If you try to enter a contact’s name and Waze doesn’t show any results, that means you haven’t added an address for that person in your phone’s Contacts app. However, if a contact appears twice in the search results, then multiple addresses are saved. Choose one you would like to go to. Besides your phone, Drive to Friends & Family also works on Android Auto, Android Automotive, and CarPlay.

The “Where to” search bar on Waze can do more than tell you where you want to go. You can also use it to activate some hidden features of Waze via codes. Yes, just type the code into the search bar, and it will automatically enable a certain Waze feature that would otherwise be inaccessible elsewhere.

One of the most fun secret search codes you should try is ##@morph. What it does is turn your Waze Mood – the emoji displayed on the Waze map – into a one-eyed purple icon. If you’re not a fan, you can always return to your favorite mood from the Profile page. But if you want to reactivate Morph Mood, you will have to re-enter the Waze secret code.

Another nifty Waze code to use is ##@coord. When typed in the search bar, it activates the coordinate display. This basically displays the GPS coordinates of your current location at the very top of the screen. To disable it, simply enter ##@coord in the search bar again.

If you’re having issues with Waze or want to completely restore the original settings without having to uninstall the app, there is a secret Waze code you can use instead: ##@reset the app. It automatically exits the app and resets it to default settings. If you were already signed in to Waze, you will need to sign in again.

Other useful Waze search codes for advanced users include 2##2 to activate debug mode, ##cctts to clear the cache of the text-to-speech function, and ##@traffic to overlay traffic lines on your route.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than half of child car deaths involve a forgotten child. To prevent this, Waze includes a reminder alert for your children for your Android and iOS devices. This hidden Waze feature sends a notification to your phone as soon as you arrive at your destination, prompting you to check on your child before leaving the car. It is however disabled by default, but it is quick and easy to enable. Here’s how to do it:

1. On the Waze home screen, tap the hamburger menu in the upper left corner.
2. Open Settings.
3. Under “Notifications,” tap Reminders.
4. Select Child reminder.
5. Enable Show child reminder.
6. Go to Personalized message.
7. Type your preferred message, such as “Check (child’s name).”
8. Hit Do.

It’s important to note that Child Reminder will only work if you are actively using Waze to navigate to a location. If you’re not on Waze during your trip, you won’t be notified when you arrive.

Although Child Reminder is initially designed for parents, you can still use it even if you don’t have children. It’s the perfect tool to make sure you don’t leave your items in the car, like when you go on a road trip with your valuables. Simply edit the personalized message as needed.

One of the main reasons why Waze is better than Google Maps is the wealth of information it provides to drivers. Even when you’re not actively navigating, you’ll see other Wazers, cameras, traffic lights, and all sorts of other overlays on the map. But the problem is that these different icons can easily clutter the screen. If you find them distracting, you can disable icons that you don’t need or want to see. Follow this quick guide:

1. Open the hamburger menu in the upper left corner.
2. Choose Settings.
3. Go to Map view.
4. To remove emojis from other Wazers on the map, turn off Show Wazers.
5. To select the types of reports (for example, blocked lanes, police, cameras, accident) to delete, tap Reportsselect the report you want to disable and disable Show on map.
6. To turn off the speedometer, go to Speedometerdisable Show speedometerand set Show speed limit has Don’t show.

Other icons you can hide on your home screen are the audio player and navigation sound shortcuts. Both are accessible from the Waze settings, so you can simply open the Settings page if you need to configure these features. You can also choose to disable View traffic flow And Show compass to make the home screen more minimalist.

Having car trouble in the middle of a trip is every driver’s worst nightmare. Fortunately, because Waze is built on community, you can use the app to notify nearby drivers that you need help. This underrated Waze feature is called Roadside Help. It makes your location visible on the map, essentially serving as a distress signal to your fellow Wazers.

The best part about Roadside Assistance is that you can access this feature even if you weren’t navigating with Waze before you encountered car problems. To request roadside assistance through Waze Roadside Assistance, here’s what you need to do:

1. On the Waze home screen, tap the button yellow triangle icon.
2. Expand the menu.
3. Go to Roadside assistance.
4. Faucet Wazer Friends.
5. Select the car problem you are experiencing. Options include Out of gas, Flat tire, Battery problem, Medical problemAnd Others. For the Others option, you must enter the type of support you need help with.
6. Hit Request to continue.

You should now see a lifebuoy icon marking your current location. It will appear on other Wazers’ maps within 30 minutes. If you want to cancel the request, tap the floating lifebuoy icon on the screen and tap Cancel request.

In addition to asking your fellow Wazers for help, you can also use Roadside Assistance to send your location to family and friends, call professional roadside assistance, and contact emergency services. To share your location, simply go to Roadside Assistance and tap the share button next to ‘Ask’. To contact a professional roadside assistance or emergency service, select Roadside assistance Or Emergency call instead of Fellow Wazers.