Google Phone app loses the Nearby Places search feature on Android

Unsurprisingly, the Phone by Google dialer app is losing the search for nearby places feature on Android. The change was announced by Google in early February and the decision is now implemented.

As spotted by 9to5google, the ability to search for businesses in the Phone by Google app has been removed. Instead of the “Search Contacts & Locations” field at the top of the app, Google added a “Search Contacts” field that lets users search for contacts, not locations.

Not only that, but it appears that “Nearby Places” has also been completely removed from the settings, but this makes sense since this feature was supposed to use your location when searching for places.

According to Google, the decision to remove search for nearby places was based on the fact that “only a very small number of people use this feature.” Additionally, Google claims that the “the vast majority of users go to Google Search or Maps when looking for business phone numbers.”

When revealing the change to the Phone by Google app, the search giant said the feature would be removed “In the coming months.” Well, it looks like the latest update turns words into reality, so expect to lose this feature very soon if you haven't already.