Yelp is tackling gender neutral bathroom discovery in its latest update

It's a simple feature, but it will make a huge impact for some.

Yelp, the first big name in discovering restaurants near you that offer exactly what you're craving, has made several significant moves in the name of inclusion and acceptance recently. It was one of the few apps that lets you know when a restaurant is wheelchair accessible or offers a military discount, and now there's a feature for anyone in need of a gender neutral restroom.

From Rachel Williams, Yelp's head of Diversity and Inclusion:

On desktop and mobile versions of Yelp, users will be able to see whether or not a business offers gender-neutral bathrooms to patrons. We will also be rolling out the ability to search for businesses on Yelp by the Gender Neutral Restrooms attribute in the weeks to come.

Yelp will collect this information from users and business owners in two ways. We will begin asking users who check into or review businesses like restaurants and retail shops if those establishments offer restrooms that are gender neutral. Additionally, businesses owners can edit the Gender Neutral Restrooms attribute from their business user account.

It's a relatively small update to the Yelp service, but will make a significant difference in places where locating a gender neutral restaurant in states where "bathroom bills" have caused so many problems. This update has started rolling out to business already, and will be available for users in the Yelp app soon.

Image credit