Definition: Waze

A mapping and navigation application for mobile devices from Google. Waze provides real-time traffic updates that are crowdsourced by drivers on the road, which is known as "social navigation." The Waze app sends current traffic data to the cloud so that slow traffic and traffic jams are taken into account when calculating a route for other Waze users traveling in that direction.

Founded as community-based FreeMap Israel, Waze Mobile was formed in 2008 by Ehud Shabtai to commercialize the project. Google acquired Waze Mobile in 2013, and Waze augments Google Maps with up-to-date information. See Google Maps, crowdsourcing and GPS.

The Waze App

Also accepting voice commands, Waze makes it easy to submit traffic jams, accidents and other events while driving.