Waze recruits Android users to test its new social navigation app

Waze, the Israel-based startup acquired by Google last year, is recruiting Android users for a beta program that will let them roadtest new features destined for the community navigation app. The Google-owned company announced the new beta program on its community forum yesterday, inviting Android owners to become guinea pigs for the app.

Waze got acquired by Google last year, and now the Israeli-based crowd-sourced mapping startup is preparing to supercharge its service after it introduced a beta group for Android, with the aim of road-testing features before they are launched. Back when Waze was acquired, Google had said the Israeli startup would operate separately — and both Google Maps and Waze have been sharing their respective features. In August last year the Waze app was updated with Google Search, while the Google Maps app started including real-time incident reports submitted by Waze users. The latest program is a closed beta, but you can sign up here for a chance to get in.