What are Waze points, and how do you use them?

Waze is an excellent alternative to Google Maps with a quirky interface and a wide variety of feature improvements for roadside navigation and adventure. It is simultaneously better and worse than Google Maps in some ways, and perhaps what's most interesting is that both are under Google's umbrella. Yes, Google acquired Waze back in 2013. Regardless, Waze has a lot more personality largely due to its community features and the ways it gamifies driving. When you first start using it, you are given the title "Waze Baby," and as you submit reports and interact with the service, you effectively rank up — like leveling up — earning points not unlike XP (experience) in role-playing games. If you've never participated before or never heard about it, you probably have a few questions at this point. What are those Waze points, exactly? What do they do, how do you earn them, and how do you use them?

Ripping the band-aid off in the interest of brevity, Waze points don't really do anything outside of the service. They have no monetary value; you can't trade them in for anything tangible. They're merely part of an internal reward system. That said, for dedicated Waze users, they do help you rank up, and as you do, you'll earn small cosmetics in the app. For instance, your Waze character or avatar changes with each rank, featuring a shield, sword, or crown — the crown belonging to the Waze Royalty and topmost rank. Regular users can also earn badges for their accounts, which are displayed in the community forums. But even if you use Waze often, if you don't ever visit the forums, that's not all that exciting.

Read more: 13 Google Wallet Features (Besides Credit Cards) That Are Seriously Overlooked

How do you earn Waze points to rank up?

The key to Waze is understanding what all those icons and emojis on the map actually mean. The little faces or avatars represent other Wazers on the road, though they're not shown in real time. More importantly, however, are the icons you see across the map that indicate various events or situations, such as a police hotspot, construction zones, accidents and traffic jams. These icons show up, in no small part, because of the Waze community. And that's precisely where the earnable points come into the equation.

Within Waze, you can earn points for completing various actions and improving the experience for everyone else. You get points for adding icon or voice reports, for updating existing reports, like notifying when a supposed event or obstruction is no longer there, and for sharing available roadside information, like gas types or prices. You can also earn points by editing the maps, usually filling in more detailed information such as street names, house numbers, or even adding locations. All participating editors also earn a separate map editing rank visible in the Waze Map Editor. If you do nothing else, you simply accumulate points for drives while using the app. Initially, Waze awarded users points per mile, but now gives a flat 5-point award for completing a drive.

To be a top-rank Waze Knight or Waze Royalty at the tippity-top, you need to be in the top percentage in your locality, and within the U.S. that means the top in your state. However, the top percentage is calculated once a month, so the total points needed to rank up can fluctuate. That also means anyone has the chance to earn the top marks since it's always changing.

Do you have to participate when using Waze?

It's no secret that the community features, including the event reports from users, the silly icons, and the creative personality, make Waze a lot more interesting than Google Maps. But what's also great about it is that you can be as involved as you want. If you prefer to use the app like any other navigation tool, to stay informed about your in-progress trips, you can do just that. You don't have to submit any reports, share your experiences, or do anything other than use the app on your phone or in your vehicle.

If you do want to rank up, experience all that Waze has to offer, and earn those sweet, sweet community points, well, you can do that too. And if you hate the idea entirely and don't like Google Maps either, there are plenty of other alternatives that users swear by.

If you want to learn more about Waze, we've covered it, including how it makes money. It's helpful information to know, considering the service is free, and that means you are technically the product. Spoiler alert: Google makes money from advertisements within the app, as you might expect.

Enjoyed this article? Sign up to BGR's free newsletter and add us as a preferred search source or follow us on Google for the latest in tech and entertainment, plus tips and advice you'll actually use.

Read the original article on BGR.