In a bid to improve its mapping services and bring more businesses online, Google is testing a paid crowdsourcing service called Task Mate in India that will help select users earn some money. In the "early access" beta testing phase, the 'Task Mate' service is currently "limited to selected testers" through a referral code system, reports 9to5Google.
A Reddit post by a user also suggested that such Google service is now live in the country: "Google seems to be testing their new Task Mate app in India which pays you in Indian currency for completing tasks regarding Google app ecosystem. (Currently invitation only)".
The 'Task Mate' lets you "find tasks nearby," "complete a task to begin earning," and then "cash out your earnings." The latter is done by registering an e-wallet account or with the in-app payment partner. When that is done, users can earn the money by hitting the "Cash Out" button.
The tasks are "simple" and are categorised as "Sitting" or "Field". For example, some sitting tasks include transcribing, recording spoken sentences and translating from English to your local language.
The field tasks include taking photos of a nearby restaurant or shopfront which can be used in enhancing mapping details. Google was yet to make an official comment on the report.
The app which is still in beta provides users with tasks they can complete on smartphones to earn money.