Apple Maps Just Got Ads, and You Can’t Turn Them Off

Remember Apple Maps? Apple certainly does, even if it’s arguably the least-opened app on most iPhones. And instead of giving people a reason to open it more, Apple’s solution is ads. The change is currently limited to the US and Canada, but Apple says it will expand to more countries over time. Here’s everything you need to know about ads in Apple Maps.

Apple Is Now Introducing Ads In Apple Maps

Apple first revealed this plan back in March, promising that ads would arrive by the end of summer. It kept that promise with days to spare: ads have now started appearing for users in the US and Canada, and Apple says the rollout will keep expanding over the coming weeks.

There are two places that you need to watch out for where these ads will appear within the app:

• Suggested Places: Before you even type a search, Apple Maps shows a Suggested Places panel built from what’s trending nearby, your recent searches, and popular searches. This section will now show ads recommending places in your area.
• Search Results: These ads will also appear in the search results if they are relevant to your queries.

Every ad carries a small blue “Ad” badge so you can tell it apart from regular listings. Apple, the so-called saviour of privacy, claims it uses a privacy-centric approach when showing ads. This means that the locations you search and the ads you see won’t be associated with your account. Also, all your personal data stays on the device and is not shared with third parties or advertisers.

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So the next time you search for a coffee shop, don’t be surprised to see a sponsored pick sitting above everything else. If you’re one of the five people who still choose Apple Maps over Google Maps, you can now add “ads” to the list of things you put up with, right alongside the occasional wrong turn.

Can I Disable These Ads?

No, you cannot disable ads in Apple Maps. And if you are thinking about turning off personalized ads, it won’t work here. Apple’s own advertising documentation confirms personalized ads aren’t part of how Maps works at all. You only ever see contextual ads based on things like your search terms, so there’s no personalization switch to flip.

The only aspect you can control is the location, but at the cost of making Maps unusable. You can turn off location-based advertising by heading into Settings->Privacy & Security->Location Services and setting it to Never.

Also, since ads are currently visible in the US and Canada, you won’t be seeing them in India atleast for now. That might change as Apple plans to expand this feature to all regions in the future.

So how does this change affect your Apple Maps? Do let us know on our X account.