Use a smartphone app to locate your car

Do you often not remember where you parked your car? It’s easy to lose track if you park in a crowded area. But don’t worry, with the right smartphone app you can mark where you parked and quickly find it again.

Google Maps and Apple Maps allow you to record your car’s location, while many third-party apps can help you track it. Let’s look at all the options.

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Google Maps

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You can call on Google Maps(Opens in a new tab) to help you find your car, although some steps are slightly different for iOS and Android. Once you’ve parked your car, open Google Maps on your phone and tap the blue pin that shows your current location (and parking space), then tap Save parking entry to add a destination on the map.

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

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Now, when it’s time to return to your parked car, the location is marked on the map. Just tap the pin and choose Routes and Start for step-by-step instructions for your car.

Apple Maps

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

Scroll to the bottom of the Location Services screen and select System services then touch it Important places. You may be prompted for your password, Touch ID, or Face ID. Then turn on the switch next to it Important places. Then go here Settings > Maps and turn on the Show parked space switch.

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Now when you’re driving somewhere, you can track your car’s location after you’ve parked it. Your iPhone does this automatically when connected via Bluetooth or CarPlay. When you disconnect from the car, your phone should display a notification indicating that Maps has dropped a pin to indicate a parking spot.

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

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Touch the Edit location button to see a picture of your car’s surroundings. You can also create a note with more details and tap the button Add photo button to take a photo of your car and location.

When you need to find your car, open Apple Maps and tap Parking car pin. Select Route Plan and tap It’s going to follow pedestrian directions to your parked car.

Parking car finder

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Parking lot with car finder(Opens in a new tab), Android users can tap the compass icon to zoom in on their current location. Touch the Park here button and touch it ok adjust parking. When it’s time to find your car, simply open the app and follow the arrow to find your car.

Find My Car

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A simple Android application, Find My Car – GPS Navigation(Opens in a new tab) it makes it easier to record the location of the car and find it later. Open the app and tap Park orb. You can then annotate your location and take a photo of it.

When you’re ready to return to the car, open the app again and tap Find My Car orb. Just follow the direction of the pointer and the app will direct you to the right place.

Find My Car with AR Tracker

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With the free Find My Car AR Tracker(Opens in a new tab) The iOS app is pretty simple. On the main screen, tap Add new car location license plate icon when you park your car. Touch the Marking a place orb. Name the location and select the type of location, then tap Save space orb.

When you need to find your car, open the app and tap Back to the place orb. You will see the location of your car on the map. By tapping the AR icon, you can see your surroundings as you walk.

Find your car with AR

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

You can also switch the display from a traditional map to an augmented reality map that shows the actual surrounding area, so you can see what’s nearby as you walk to your car.

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