Ads Are Coming to Apple Maps This Summer: Here's What to Expect - MacRumors
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Ads Are Coming to Apple Maps This Summer: Here's What to Expect

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Apple is planning to start showing ads in the Apple Maps app this summer, and signs of ads have already shown up in the iOS 26.5 beta as Apple prepares to roll them out.

Ads Are Coming to Apple Maps Feature

Where Ads Show Up

Ads will be displayed in the ‌Apple Maps‌ search interface. Depending on the search, relevant ads will be shown first in search results.

Apple is also implementing a new Suggested Places feature in Maps that will show recommendations based on what's trending nearby and the user's recent searches.

Suggested Places

The Maps app is getting a Suggested Places feature that recommends locations to visit based on trending places that are around you and your recent Maps searches. Ads will be shown in Suggested Places.

ios 26 5 maps suggested places

No Opt-Out

Similar to ads in the App Store, there will be no option to turn off ads in ‌Apple Maps‌. Ads will be displayed for all users in the U.S. and Canada.

Countries

Ads will be shown in ‌Apple Maps‌ in the United States and Canada first, and could expand to other countries in the future.

Platforms

Ads will be displayed in the Maps app on iPhone and iPad.

What Ads Look Like

Apple says that ads in Maps will be clearly marked as ads with an "Ad" label, similar to how ads show up in the ‌App Store‌ search results.

Businesses will be able to bid for ad placement, which is how ads in the ‌App Store‌ work. The highest bidder for a given term will have their ad shown in the app.

Privacy

Your location and ads that you see and interact with in the Maps app are not associated with your Apple Account, and the data is not shared with third parties.

Beta Testing

Apple is laying the groundwork for Maps ads in the iOS 26.5 and iPadOS 26.5 betas. There's an ads splash screen in the Maps app along with underlying ad code, but ads are not yet live.

Launch Date

Apple only said "summer" for the ads launch. "Summer" in the Northern Hemisphere starts on June 21 and ends on September 22. iOS 26.5 is likely to launch in late May or early June, and it's possible ads will be tied to the update.

Tag: Apple Maps

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Top Rated Comments

noanker Avatar
noanker
4 weeks ago
Apple spent years branding itself as the premium, privacy-first alternative to ad-driven tech only to turn around and cram ads into Maps like every company it once smugly distanced itself from.

If you’re already paying for iCloud+ and other Apple services, the least they could do is not nickel-and-dime you with sponsored pins, otherwise, what exactly are customers funding besides the privilege of being advertised to?

At that point, Apple isn’t protecting users from the ad economy, it’s just cashing in on it from both sides.

When even your paid ecosystem can’t buy you a clean, ad-free experience, the whole “it just works” promise starts to sound a lot more like “it just monetizes.”
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
N
nt5672
4 weeks ago
This is probably the first of many. Expect all Apple Apps to have Ads before long.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C
Ct applefan
4 weeks ago
Apple is the new Google. All about ads and data tracking.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
drak22
4 weeks ago
Apple is removing fewer and fewer barriers that differentiate it from Android. Then they wonder why people might not see the point in paying an absurdly higher price for an experience that's even worse in some cases. I used to laugh at Xiaomi users who have ads in the company's native apps, and now Apple, the company that supposedly cares about your privacy, is starting down this same path.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B
Biro
4 weeks ago
If there are ads when I use Maps in CarPlay, I will delete the app and download the TomTom app. Even if I have to pay for it.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
W
Wasp14
4 weeks ago
Can’t wait for ads in iMessage next. Bit by bit Apple is ruining what used to set them apart and the “premium” experience.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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