Apple announced at the start of this year that it would start showing ads in Apple Maps very soon. It turns out the time is finally here, as ads are officially rolling out to the app in the US and Canada.
Ads have arrived on Apple Maps
Apple recently confirmed to 9to5Mac that it has already started showing ads in its navigation app in the last few days. The rollout is still in its early stages, and more users will start seeing it in the coming weeks. It currently appears to be limited to the United States and Canada, and the tech giant has not yet announced its plans on when it is thinking of making ads a global thing in its navigation app.
That said, the ads will appear in the app both before and after making a search. Before you make a search for any location, you will see ads in the Suggested places on the search screen. After you have searched for a location, the ads could also appear in the search results if someone has bought an ad for things that are relevant to your search keyword.
Ads in Apple Maps. | Image by Apple
Similar to the App Store, you can't disable ads in Apple Maps. It's worth noting that ads will clearly have a blue "Ad" tag attached to them. The good news is that you won't be bombarded with ads, as the app will reportedly display one ad per set of search results.
Recommended For You
Which navigation app do you think is the best?
What about your privacy?
The Cupertino giant has always portrayed itself as the brand that gives top priority to its users' privacy, and it has continued the same approach this time as well. According to Apple, your location and the ads you interact with in its navigation app are not at all associated with your Apple account. Furthermore, your data remains private to your device, and Apple does not collect it or share it with third-party services.
All that said, you can visit Apple's official page if you own a business and want to book ads for it on Apple Maps.
A few other interesting announcements have come out about another Apple product:
The only reason many users appear to rely on Apple Maps instead of Google Maps is that the former doesn't display ads as the latter does. Otherwise, the navigation app from Google offers a few extra features that make it way better than the Apple option.
For instance, Google Maps offers features like a street view, supports faster routing, has stronger traffic data, displays more detailed alerts, and has broader EV support. If you are into the AI stuff, then you could also use Gemini that comes integrated in Google Maps to get a conversational driving and navigation experience.
User appreciating Google Maps. | Image by Reddit
After the announcement of ads officially becoming available in Apple Maps, many users mentioned that they are now going to switch back to Google Maps. One user commented under a relevant post that there is now absolutely no reason to continue using the navigation app from Apple. Another user mentioned that since both the apps show ads, they will use the option that Google offers, as its reviews are more useful.
Ads are everywhere now
Whenever someone used to ask me whose services I liked the most between Apple and Google, I always used to take the name of the former, as its services didn't affect my experience by showing ads in almost all places. But it appears that Apple has also started following the path of Google, as most of its popular services, whether it be the App Store, Apple News, or Apple Maps, have all started displaying ads.
I understand ads are an important revenue source, so I am not saying to completely get rid of them. Instead, what the tech giant could do is introduce a new perk to its iCloud plan that basically disables ads. This way, users who don't want to see ads would eventually become iCloud paid customers, ultimately boosting Apple's revenue.
Aman Kumar is a news writer at PhoneArena covering Google Pixel phones, Android features, AI-powered smartphone tools, and mobile tech news. Before joining PhoneArena, he spent over five years writing about consumer technology for publications like MakeUseOf, How-To Geek, and Guiding Tech. His current daily drivers are the Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, while his red iPhone SE (2nd gen) remains a personal favorite. Aman also appreciates bold smartphone experiments and still considers the Nokia N-Gage one of the industry’s most iconic designs.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: