You may notice a very big difference in your points today and we want to take a moment to explain what’s goin’ on. (cue the Marvin Gaye…)

Why did we change anything to begin with?

Well, the old points system didn’t properly reward active user contributions that help everyone. For instance, road munching was given a significantly higher amount of points, as compared to road reporting or map editing. These actions serve to benefit the community at large, and as such, should be given the point-weight that they deserve – dontcha think?

Also, overall the number of points was just getting way too high and hard to follow, so the new system will remedy that issue, too.

So, what’re the actual changes we’re talking about?

A smaller number of points will be granted for each action, and more points will be given for activities that benefit the community, overall. Wanna really amp up your points? Go ahead and edit the map on your computer or report hazards, etc. on the road. The more you contribute to the driving community in your area, the more you earn!

And how will this change affect your existing points?

You’re going to notice a difference. Your points will be lower and your rank might have changed, too, but for some perspective, our users with the highest amount of points will now be hovering somewhere around 150,000 points. Fear not, though, we’ve kept a log of all user events and each of your actions have been retrospectively recalculated based on the new system.

So, what now?

Ummm…lunch? Or, you can look forward to our next version. It’ll include a cool new scoreboard that will show you your points, plus how you rank in your region, as compared to the others in your driving community. Nothing like some friendly competition to motivate the most active of you to really get out there and help make the waze experience the best it can be in your area!

If you encounter any difficulties or would like any further clarification, as always, you can feel free to contact us at alpha@waze.com.