People are only just finding out the clever way Google Maps knows where the traffic is

Everyone’s suddenly realising that they have no idea how Google Maps and other navigation platforms know where the traffic is in real time while you’re driving, so here’s a full explanation.

It comes after a tweet went viral this week that has a screenshot of Google Maps with the caption: “Google interview question. How does Google Maps know about a traffic jam in real time?”

“I wonder if it’s from the camera,” one person said, while someone else added: “It’s getting information from the satellite.” The second answer is true, but the full process is actually really clever.

Google Maps uses people’s smartphones to gather real-time data on how fast cars are moving. When people open the app with their GPS turned on, the phone anonymously sends Google bits of data to let them know how quickly the car is going.

Google Mülakat Sorusu.

Google Haritalar, bir trafik sıkışıklığını gerçek zamanlı olarak nasıl biliyor? pic.twitter.com/AsCbKUXz55

— RED (@Redbeeea) June 8, 2026

The platform then instantly compiles this data from millions of phones to work out where there’s traffic. If multiple devices in one area are all moving slowly, it registers that there must be traffic there.

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When cars are moving fast, the route will be green. If they’re moving slower than usual, it will be yellow, and if the cars are going really slow, it will be red, indicating bad traffic.

If Google doesn’t have enough data to show the traffic, the road will appear grey on Google Maps. I always wondered what that meant.

As Google explains: “The colour code shows you the speed of traffic on the road. Green = no traffic delays. Orange = medium amount of traffic. Red = traffic delays. The darker the red, the slower the speed of traffic on the road.”

The platform also uses years of accumulated data to predict future conditions, as it can see trends in the traffic at certain times of day. How clever!

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Featured image credit: Canva and Twitter