New Google Maps feature might benefit Google more than users

Google has been updating Google Maps constantly to the point where it does much more than just get you from point "A" to point "B" with turn-by-turn directions. Maps will allow you to find places of interest to visit and places to eat in the city where you live or are visiting. The app also will send you to locations where coronavirus testing is taking place and much more.

While Google Maps might be one of the standards used by smartphone users of all denominations (iOS or Android), Reddit users have found a new feature for Google Maps that users might not be happy about. Square icons are now found next to some businesses including restaurants. These icons are actually advertisements that cannot be removed from the app and they appear as you navigate toward the specific business.

We haven't seen these icons yet so either Google is testing this using server-side updates, or it is rolling out this new "feature" slowly, again using server-side updates. As we said, the response to these icons has not been positive. One Redditor wrote, "How shitty that they put ads in. It’s not like Google needs more money." But it is also true that no one wants the company to stop adding new features to Google Maps. Unfortunately, this new one doesn't seem to benefit users as much as it benefits Google.

The good news is that the ads are small enough that you can ignore them when they pop-up on the screen. In the example above, The International Spy Shop has an ad for its business which merely states that it is a security system supplier. Considering everything that Google Maps can do for you, we're sure that you can overlook the new icons. And hey, if you happen to be in the market for a security system, without the ad you might have never known that the business was there.