What3Words can tell you precisely where to go with a three-word combination [App of the Week]

What3Words is a simple app with the grand idea of making people and places easier to find in maps.

You may have noticed that sometimes when you’re navigating in Google Maps, an address might bring you to the wrong side of a building or the incorrect location? Even a tiny typo can often send people in the complete opposite direction.

Instead of using general addresses, what3words gives every three by three metre square on Earth a three-word combination. This means that if you want to give someone an address, you can send them the exact square of the door of the location, or specifically where you’re standing.

For example, my favourite restaurant, Tilted Dog, is located at ‘///shirt.yell.ambition,’ and my local grocery store’s front door is at ‘///snack.scarcely.topical.’

You can also find and save your favourite locations to lists so you can find them again easily. What3words saves these locations as red squares on the map.

Users can then use the three-word square to send Google Maps coordinates to their friends for more precise directions. If you don’t want to use Google Maps you can utilize a built-in compass if you’re in a location where Google Maps doesn’t work well, like a beach or a forest.

That’s about all there is to the app. It’s an exact mapping platform that makes it a bit easier to find people and places through a unique three-word combination.