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Google Maps Will Show Ads, But Not While Driving

By Laura Tucker
Google Maps Ads Featured2

There have already been many complaints about the plans to add ads to Google Maps. However, Google is speaking out to let everyone know they don’t see it as a big deal, as the ads will not be pop-ups that appear while you’re driving.

Google Maps Ads Feature Posted to X

A Google Maps user posted to X a screencap of what he saw on his Google Maps while driving. He passed a gas station and saw an add pop up for “Royal Farms,” suggesting he add it as a stop to his navigation.

Google Maps Ads Android
Image source: Unsplash

The user added that he didn’t even type anything about gas or food, yet he still got this ad. All he put in was a request for directions to get down to the shore. He was given options to “Add Stop.” It brings up immediate questions of what other kinds of ads would pop up, if you don’t even have to be looking for or typing anything related to get a pop-up.

Comparisons were made to the Waze navigation app, which Google owns. Waze has that type of ad format, so this isn’t a new thing for Google – just a new thing for Google Maps. Additionally, it’s not that unusual for an app to highlight sponsored businesses. But asking to add it to your route seems like a step too far.

Google’s Response to the Maps Ads

A Google rep, with the username of “adsliaison,” responded to the user, saying, “Promoted pins in navigation are not new – they let people see relevant ads for businesses, like gas stations, restaurants, and stores along their route. To avoid driver distraction, these ads do not pop up, expand only if they’re tapped on, and disappear quickly after.”

This is good to know, that the Google Maps ads don’t pop up while driving, as that could be very hazardous. And again, the promoted pins aren’t new. But they are new to Google. The user responded to Google, confirming that it did pop up and that he hadn’t tapped anything. He was just driving and following the directions.

Google Maps Ads Phone Mounted Dashboard
Image source: Unsplash

What it does, though, is set a precedent. This leaves the ball in Apple’s court. Will they now conform to the same idea? Will they add ads to their Maps app? Or will they take the opportunity to claim they are better than Google, as they are not adding ads?

And, of course, there’s also the argument that Google hardly needs the extra revenue that the ads provide. They’re far from a struggling business.

Yet, they’re also reportedly doing such things as trying to stop relying on Apple to use Google Search in Safari. This is despite iPhones providing 36 percent of the total revenue earned through Google Search. Google must be feeling confident with the money they are currently making, or will be making, with the Google Maps ads.

Image credit: Unsplash

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Laura Tucker Avatar
Laura Tucker
Laura has spent more than 20 years writing news, reviews, and op-eds, with the majority of those years as an editor as well. She has exclusively used Apple products for the past 35 years. In addition to writing and editing at MTE, she also runs the site’s sponsored review program.

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