Apple Announces Ads Are Coming to Apple Maps

[hans1972]

"Your iMessage is just as private as it was before - we never sell your messages or contacts to anyone!"

"This message was brought to you by Carls Jr".

Fast forward 5 years and this non-sense will be across all Apple Services.

There are no privacy violations since no personal information tied to you went back to Carls Jr.

Here it how it works:

• Carl Jr provides and ad for Apple
• Carl jr asks Apple to show the ad to males over 30 years of age in California
• Apple, who mostly know who you are, shows this ad to people fitting the requirements
• Apple reports back to Carl Jr how many times the ad was shown and other statistics

No information about you went from Apple to Carl Jr, thus no privacy issue.

 

[FatLouie]

You never use it, and you conclude it's the worst. Hmmm, nice logic. 🧐

I don't use it because it is garbage, but I have used it, and I see others using it. Sometimes I click a link that opens Apple Maps, and I am again reminded that it is still garbage. Nothing wrong with my logic, but replies like yours are usually what I see from nit-pickers, trying to disparage another member.

 

[The_Gream]

Through the money I give them for their hardware. We pay a premium for Apple devices over Android devices because (at least we were used to be told) we are not the product.

People on MacRumors used to mock Android users for stuff like this. I defend a lot of stuff Apple does that is unpopular here (one App Store, no sideloading, restricting third-party access), but this cheapens the platform for literally zero consumer benefit.

I find this funny. Sure we pay premium for Apple hardware, but there are a number of Android devices that cost a lot more than anything Apple offers when it comes to phones. Sure there are cheaper android phones too.

No matter what company it is, the end user is always the product. Big difference between Apple and the rest of the gang, Apple keeps your info for themselves with their ad system being more like old school news paper ads.
While the other guys build profiles to ad target you.

 

[FatLouie]

Google Maps generates a lot of revenue from ads in maps and can invest hundreds of millions into making Google Maps better.

Apple Maps doesn't have that same budget. How do you expect Apple Maps to get as good as Google Maps when Apple doesn't invest the same amount as Google Maps?

I never asked Apple to provide a map or mapping services. How they pay for the service and how they justify the cost is up to them. Look at what they pissed away on the Car project. How did that get paid for?

The consumer has become so accustomed to paying for every little nuance or feature from a company that they have become numb to how manipulated they have become. The more someone identifies with that company, as do Apple fanboys, the easier it is to get the customer to justify what they pay for.

I will wait to hear how the Apple fans justify Apple having pop-up ads in MacOS.

 

[edrozenberg]

Users announce they have other options which aren't ridden with crp ads. Already plenty of users switching to Garmin watches to avoid the garbage Watch OS 26. Maybe we'll see a return to Garmin nav devices, I already keep one in the car because I can't trust any online maps to still work when outside of mobile coverage despite claimed "offline modes".

 

[Minghold]

I am almost tempted to install a "modern" MacOS version just to find out whether AppCleaner can zot the otherwise undeletable Maps, News, TV, and other detritus as easily as it can on, say, Mojave.

 

[840quadra]

well? how do you expect Maps to get better if you don't have any money to pay for the improvements?

maybe stop complaining and enjoy new features you'll get that is paid for from the ads you can just mentally ignore. it's not hard.

really getting tired of the whole "but but but Apple is worth a trillion dollars!". that's not how it works 🤦‍♂️

Valid,

But they also don't charge for;

• Keynote
• numbers
• GarageBand
• Pages
• iMovie

Which all used to be part of the (paid) iLife suite, but moved to be free apps that continue to get updated.

It is reasonable for Mac / iPhone users to expect that bundled applications remain free once they are put into that position. We didn't ask for Apple Maps, they bundled it into iOS and later MacOS for free and replaced Google Maps that people were happy with.

 

[Izauze]

I’m sorry, but this is just a betrayal. Maybe you think that’s an overreaction. It’s perhaps a “small thing” that will likely be dismissed and forgotten, but the truth is that it fundamentally shifts the relationship Apple has always had with its customers - one in which we’ve paid a premium (compared to other spam-boxes) to buy a product designed with *US* at its core instead of one that trades away our needs to an advertiser for profit. In this model, *we* become the product that is sold to them.

When you’re spending around $1000 on a device, all of its core services should be designed around you — maps obviously being one of them. It may as well be a TV panel that makes you watch an ad to change the volume… or one of these “smart fridges” that pumps ads into my kitchen without any choice on my end.

This breaks the contract Apple has with its users. Period. Shame on them. Shame on Tim Cook and the executive leadership specifically.

 

[kiensoy]

There are ads in app store. How is it different than that?

I don't use the app store in a daily basis. Plus the app store is a store.

 

[lolrepeatlol]

As expected, Apple has officially announced that ads are coming to the Apple Maps app on the iPhone and iPad in the U.S. and Canada starting "this summer."

Apple says businesses in the U.S. and Canada only will be able to place ads in search results and at the top of a new "Suggested Places" section in the app.

"Ads on Maps will appear when users search in Maps, and can appear at the top of a user's search results based on relevance, as well as at the top of a new Suggested Places experience in Maps, which will display recommendations based on what's trending nearby, the user's recent searches, and more," says Apple.

Similar to the ads that are already shown in App Store search results on the iPhone and iPad, ads in Apple Maps will have an "Ad" label, and Apple promises strong privacy protections. For example, Apple says a user's location and the ads they see and interact with in Apple Maps are not associated with a user's Apple Account.

"Maps with ads is just as private as Maps without ads," says Apple. "Where you go and the ads you see and interact with are not associated with your Apple Account. Personal data stays on your device, is not collected or stored by Apple Ads, and is not shared with third parties."

The introduction of ads in Apple Maps will obviously help to further increase Apple's services revenue, but the move will disappoint some customers.

Businesses will be able to set up ads in Apple Maps via the new Apple Business platform. More details are available on Apple's website.

Article Link: Apple Announces Ads Are Coming to Apple Maps

really disappointed about this

 

[hans1972]

Just because they say "you're not the product" doesn't mean it's true. If Apple customers are not the product, what exactly are businesses paying for?

They're paying Apple to

1. show ads in Maps (only Apple can do this)
2. only show ads to people meeting a specific set of requirements (only Apple can do this in this context)

 

[surferfb]

They're paying Apple to

1. show ads in Maps (only Apple can do this)
2. only show ads to people meeting a specific set of requirements (only Apple can do this in this context)

That's exactly my point. We're the product being sold to Apple's business customers.

 

[uiterlix]

Marketeers want your profile in order to serve the right ad. Apple is heading in the wrong direction here.

 

[daneoni]

Enishification continues...

 

[hans1972]

That's exactly my point. We're the product being sold to Apple's business customers.

It's more the Apple users' attention which is the product, not Apple user's (personal) information.

 

[Zenman12]

“Disappoint some customers.”

Lol.

 

[dypeterc]

Apple Maps only advantage over Google Maps was the absence of ads. Google Maps is superior in search results, reviews, and routes so there's now no reason not to use Google Maps.

 

[Evil Eric]

Shame on you Apple. I admit, I’m deep into the Apple ecosystem, but not that deep that I won’t switch if you continue down this path. 😒

 

[steviewondercansee]

I never asked Apple to provide a map or mapping services.

I never asked Apple for Image Playground, Journal app, Freeform app, mindfulness app, Apple Sports app, Magnifier, walkie talkie app, period cycle tracking, measure app, etc...

How they pay for the service and how they justify the cost is up to them.

Yes. They will pay for Apple Maps by including ads into Apple Maps.

Look at what they pissed away on the Car project. How did that get paid for?

Don't see the relevancy.

The consumer has become so accustomed to paying for every little nuance or feature from a company that they have become numb to how manipulated they have become.

Pretty sure very little people will pay for Apple maps at $15/year.

The more someone identifies with that company, as do Apple fanboys, the easier it is to get the customer to justify what they pay for.

I'm thinking objectively.

I will wait to hear how the Apple fans justify Apple having pop-up ads in MacOS.

large portion of the device cost pays for macOS updates. very minor portion of the device cost pays for Apple Maps service, something of which Apple seems to want to invest more in to make it better for users.

so instead of raising prices on the cost of devices (which people are being very price sensitive to), it makes a ton more sense including ads to prevent the cost of a device from raising higher than it should.

 

[surferfb]

It's more the Apple users' attention which is the product, not Apple user's (personal) information.

I agree it's better than Google's approach, but I still think it's a significantly worse experience and I think it's a mistake. A large part of what Apple sells a user experience that is supposed to be aligned with the end-user. We can argue how true that is, but I think we can all agree Apple definitely markets their approach as putting the customer first. This directly contradicts that supposed alignment. There is no customer benefit for this.

Apple has spent years positioning privacy and user-first design as core differentiators, and I'd argue that injecting paid placements into Maps undermines that in a way that's specifically corrosive. Google Maps has ads and nobody is surprised. Apple Maps having ads feels like a betrayal because Apple has spent years explicitly telling us they were the alternative to that model.

 

[BSDnostalgia]

It's more the Apple users' attention which is the product, not Apple user's (personal) information.

It is both. As we all know, many other companies both bombard us with ads and seller-driven content, and, co-opt and misuse our personal information. Apple has been supportive of people who don't want that, and, Apple users have rewarded Apple by buying and recommending Apple products.
The morally depraved "everybody is doing it" slogan was explicitly rejected by Apple. It isn't an enforceable contract, but, Apple will be needlessly self-inflicted damaged by changing directions on this. Oh, Apple! What's next? AI-driven sports betting integrated into every app?

 

[MrSnirf]

It's more the Apple users' attention which is the product, not Apple user's (personal) information.

You are the product. If you are seeing ads, that means Apple is selling you as a person to a company who wants you to view those ads, doesn't matter what language you try to use to sanitize it. That is just the simple fact.

They can say they "anonymize" your data of any personally identifying information which is ********, because there is no such thing as anonymous data. They build a profile of you based on information Apple has like your Name, Address, Credit Card Numbers, Banking Information, Photos, Location, Purchasing Habits, Family connections and connections to other people, Messages, Music listening habits etc. The reason those information are valuable is because with that information they can show you ads based on where you been, things you've bought, music you've listened to, your search history without giving your name and address to a 3rd party company. If that information was not valuable nobody would be paying for ads.

I agree it's better than Google's approach.

How?

 

[bushman4]

Not Good!! Truly shameful that Apple has to resort to advertising in Maps
But you can be sure there will be a paid ad-free version coming out soon
SHAME ON APPLE!!!

 

[steviewondercansee]

Valid,

But they also don't charge for;

• Keynote
• numbers
• GarageBand
• Pages
• iMovie

Which all used to be part of the (paid) iLife suite, but moved to be free apps that continue to get updated.

Cost to build/maintain Keynote/numbers/garageband/pages/iMovie is not *nearly* the same as Apple Maps. Apple Maps, they literally have hundreds (maybe thousands) of engineers/people in cars driving around the world/people wearing lidar backpacks walking around the city/maintainers correcting erroneous data/ actively updating the entire world of data every single day. Not to mention servers serving billions of requests every day.

Garageband's last update was 4 months ago. which is likely handled by the same team that handles Logic Pro (which is being paid for by the Logic software sales and the new creator subscription).

It is reasonable for Mac / iPhone users to expect that bundled applications remain free once they are put into that position.

Yes it would be crazy for Apple to ask everyone to suddenly pay for Apple Maps which is why they're making it free still with ads.

And we don't know if costs to maintain Apple Maps as is increased which would have increased the cost of the device to pay for Apple Maps. Entirely possible Apple is doing everything they can to delay the inevitable price increases (or least soften the blow).

We didn't ask for Apple Maps, they bundled it into iOS and later MacOS for free and replaced Google Maps that people were happy with.

Not quite sure what the point of this is. Plenty never asked for Image Playground, Journal app, Freeform app, mindfulness app, Apple Sports app, Magnifier, walkie talkie app, period cycle tracking, measure app, etc...

 

[UliBaer]

I always needed offline maps for some trips to offline areas around the world, so I started with Magic Earth and liked it a lot! Since Magic Earth unfortunately also went the monthly-renting-route, I finally trashed it for good. Since around 1,5 years I use Organic Maps instead, which has really good and detailed maps also in areas not so flooded with tourists and the routing works great.