New Crowdsource Android app from Google lets you help improve its services

Millions of people rely on Google’s services daily, whether that’s Google Maps, Google Translate, or even just Google Search. Now the company is asking for users help to further improve those services, just a few seconds at a time. Users can do this by helping out with image transcription, handwriting recognition, translation, translation validation, and maps translation validation.

Users who are fluent in multiple languages can help out with the translation aspect, but if you aren’t, you can still help out with image transcription and handwriting recognition. Image transcription takes blurry images of signs (usually street signs), and asks you to type out what you think it says. Handwriting recognition asks for the same results, but with users’ terrible handwriting (it’s really, really bad).

Do quick, simple tasks that have a huge impact – like improve the quality of Google Translate in your language, or of Google Maps in your country, etc. Each microtask takes no more than 5-10 seconds, so knock away a few the next time you find yourself with a few moments to kill – be it while waiting in line at the grocery store or on the train ride home. Everytime you use it, you know that you’ve made the internet a better place for your community.

The app is available now on Google Play, but it would have been nice if Google was offering some Google Play credit for this, especially since it already does that with Google Opinion Rewards.