Street View is one of the most useful features Google uses to help users navigate through search and maps, and its availability is now set to increase dramatically. In a new test, Google is allowing users to help capture Street View data without needing to use a special 360 ° camera.

The feature, called Riding Mode, appears in the side menu for some users of Google’s Street View app. Once activated, it looks like it should allow users to capture Street View footage without a special camera. It may even be able to automatically blur faces and license plates.

This has the potential to improve the availability of Street View, especially in more rural areas where Google does not have data at this time. It’s unclear how the company plans to control the quality of data collected on users’ phones, but if one company can eliminate weather and smeared windshields, it’s likely Google. Right now, it looks like the data collected may be subject to manual review, as the user who captured the video above can see their contributions on their profile, but not yet live on Google Maps.

It’s unclear whether the company plans to roll it out more widely. The Street View collection has had its fair share of legal issues, so maybe Google is playing it cautiously and slowly for now. I don’t see the new driving mode at all, but you might be able to because of the way Google does server-side deployments. If you want to try your luck, download the latest version of the Street View app from APK Mirror or the Play Store.

Google Street View
Google Street View