How what3words is being used in California

what3words is perfect for California. Sprawling cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco can be hard to navigate, and hidden gems can be difficult to find.

what3words has given every 10ft square in the world a unique address made of 3 random words: a what3words address. This makes every precise location, from your favourite coffee shop to a car parking space in DisneyLand, easy to find. It’s also available in over 50 languages, so people from around the world living or visiting California can communicate precise locations in their own language.

California also has incredible terrain spanning deserts, mountains and coastlines, but without street addresses locations in these places can be hard to find. what3words provides a simple solution for anyone needing to communicate a hard-to-describe location, whether that’s for planning a hike or telling emergency services exactly where help is needed.

Here are a few of the ways what3words is being used in California:

For car navigation

Street addresses aren’t reliable enough for precise navigation and are unable to take drivers to a building entrance or parking space. Many places, like festivals or hiking trails, do not have an address at all.

what3words is integrated into the navigation systems of many Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Land Rover, Subaru and Mitsubishi vehicles in America. This makes it easy for drivers to enter the what3words address straight into their car’s infotainment system to get directions to that exact destination. what3words addresses are simple to enter and some compatible cars, like the VinFast V8, offer voice input so all drivers need to do is speak 3 words into their car to navigate there.

Car influencers Forrest Jones and Vehicle Virgins shared with their followers journeys they took to what3words addresses.

In your neighbourhood spots

Many businesses in San Jose, from bike shops and street food trucks to water sports rental stores and bars, are helping visitors find them by displaying their what3words address on signs.

If you’re on the go, the easiest way to use what3words is on your smart watch. Both Wear OS and WatchOS support what3words, allowing you to find, share and navigate to what3words addresses. Use the what3words Compass if the destination you’re looking for is within walking distance. All you need to do is follow the arrow, and it’ll even let you know when you’ve arrived.

Epic adventures

If your hobby takes you off the beaten track, what3words is perfect for helping you find unique locations. It also works offline so you can find and save a what3words location, even if it’s too remote to have a data connection. Photographer Ben Horton used what3words in a Land Rover Defender to help capture the perfect shot in the Alabama Hills.

Emergency Services

Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) has officially adopted what3words as a tool to help locate callers faster in an emergency. It helps save valuable time, especially when callers struggle to describe their location. Read more rescue stories from across the US and Canada here .

Try it yourself

Start using what3words by downloading the app.