About Waze

We knew there was a way to make traffic suck less

In 2009, we created a crowd-sourced navigation app that would make it easier to circumvent literal and figurative bumps in the road. How? By working together. 

The maps and navigation are powered by users. The more people drive with Waze open, the better the navigation.

~190 million monthly active users later

We’re still doing just that. Our community of map editors, beta testers, translators, partners, and users help make each drive better. Potholes? Parades? Need directions? Need a ride? We’re all in this together.

Maps were meant to be redrawn

A static map could never tell us what to expect, because we don’t know what the road has in store on a particular day until we’re on it. So, we update and reroute and pick each other up and listen to some good tunes – or the Terminator – and suddenly getting from Point A to Point B was easier than ever.

Helping drivers helped us do more

We partner with cities, transportation authorities, broadcasters, businesses, and first responders to ensure our community-driven data helps as many people as possible, saving valuable minutes and even lives each and every day.

Got questions?

How does Waze work?

By driving around with Waze open on your device, you share real-time information. Waze uses this information to calculate average speed, check for errors, improve road layout and learn road and turn direction. We understand that when you use our services, you're trusting us with your information. You can adjust your privacy settings at any time.

You can also help improve the map, by sending in reports to the community on traffic, accidents, police traps, blocked roads, weather conditions and much more. Waze analyzes this information to provide other Wazers with the most optimal route to their destination, 24 hours a day.

Who is Waze designed for?

Waze is powered and used by drivers all over the world. Drivers connect to one another and work together to improve each other’s driving experience. As a community-based traffic and navigation app, Waze was created as a social navigation tool for private cars, motorcycles and taxis. Because of that, we don't currently support navigating in lanes dedicated to public transportation, bicycles or trucks.

How Waze learns your routes

For Waze to accurately give you the optimal route, depending on your settings, it needs to have accurate data for all neighboring segments and routes. Waze collects data for every road driven with the app open. Next time a specific road is driven with the app open, Waze will know to compare data between each possible route and will know to suggest the optimal route.

Can I use Waze without an internet connection?

Waze was built assuming a data network connection would be present all, or at least most, of the time. For all aspects of Waze to operate, you must have an active data connection on your mobile device. This connection enriches Waze with real-time traffic-related information and ensures an up-to-date map. Without an internet connection, you won't be able to locate or navigate a route.

If you have an intermittent connection, Waze will try to get data from the servers for traffic alerts and hazards, but may not be able to give you reliable information. Additionally, if Waze doesn't have a connection back to the Waze servers, you won’t be able to report hazards. Waze doesn’t cache reports or map issues to send later.

Need more help? Check out our Waze Community forum for more questions and answers about Direction and navigation