My hero of the past couple of months
Imagine the scene – you’ve broken down on a busy dual-carriageway that doesn’t have a hard shoulder, is on a hill with blind corners and you have no landmarks to guide the recovery company to come and get you. Even better, because of where you’ve broken down you’ve also had to call 999 and have one of the lanes closed by the police to allow the safe recovery of your car. That was me a couple of months ago.
Now this one – the same car (don’t ask…) has broken down for a different reason and you’re once again having to tell the recovery service how to find you but now there’s a possibility that on such a long and busy road there may be more than one BP garage (thankfully the car died in a more comfortable and much less stressful location that time). This was also me, last week.
Rather than this being a raging diatribe about the offending automobile (I’ll save that for the people it was bought from) I wanted to tell you about an App that you may not have heard of and yet made things so much simpler for me in this situation: What3Words
What3Words have created a global grid of 3 metre x 3 metre squares and each one is represented by three unrelated, simple words. For example, Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino can be found using the combination rails.dash.throw. It was using this App and obtaining the relevant three words that allowed the police and recovery services to find me so easily. I was simply blown away by the simplicity and power of this service and I truly think that more people should know about it.
The app is available on both iOS and Android platforms, and it’s free to download. There are no in-app purchases required for its core functionality, meaning you can use it without worrying about hidden costs. You can also access What3words via its web browser version, making it versatile across multiple devices, too.
Getting started is simple: after downloading the app, you can search for locations by entering the three-word address or explore your own location to find its unique three-word identifier. Once you have the address, you can easily share it with others through text, email, or any messaging app.
The app’s benefits are especially clear in emergencies, where exact locations are critical. Many emergency services now use What3words, allowing people in distress to provide an accurate location even when traditional street addresses aren’t available. It’s also incredibly useful for delivery drivers, outdoor enthusiasts, and anyone organising meet-ups in places without clear addresses.
However, What3words does have some limitations. One downside is that it requires internet access to load the map and generate a three-word location, which can be problematic in areas with poor connectivity. Additionally, because it’s a proprietary system, What3words has not been universally adopted, and not all services or apps support it yet. There are also concerns that the three-word combinations can sometimes be similar, leading to potential confusion if not communicated clearly.
For those looking for alternatives, apps like Google Maps and GPS coordinates can also offer precise location sharing, though they often rely on longer latitude and longitude values, which can be harder to communicate. Open-source alternatives like Plus Codes, integrated into Google Maps, offer similar functionality without the proprietary restrictions of What3words.
Nevertheless, What3Words has been a life-saver for me and will remain my go-to App for sharing locations. I’d strongly advise you go and download it from the App Store now as it could one day save you a lot of stress and inconvenience the next time you’re in a pickle.
Click the image below to visit what3words.com, for links to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
