One of Google Maps' biggest flaws is something you probably use every day without realizing

Published May 14, 2026, 3:30 PM EDT Megan is a Software Writer at XDA Developers who has been writing about consumer technology since 2016. With a postgraduate degree in New Media journalism, she has always been passionate about diving deep into topics and writing about them in a way that makes them easier to understand for everyday consumers. She runs her own blog called Tech Valkyrie and has contributed to Tom's Guide and Android Authority. She also worked at MakeUseOf as a Lead Editor. In her spare time she plays video games and geeks out about the latest tech. Google Maps is the default navigation app for most people, and the integration of Gemini has elevated the app's features and expanded its functionality. At the same time, it still has plenty of issues. Many users are aware of its sometimes confusing audio directions and its clumsy pronunciation of local place names. But regardless of where you live, there's another issue with the app that's hiding in plain sight — the way its ads make finding relevant places much more difficult. Related Google Maps has more ads than you realize While I usually just use Google Maps to quickly navigate to an address or a location, there are plenty of other features and tabs aimed at helping you explore your surroundings. But it's when you delve into these features that monetization begins to rear its head. Just like Google Search, when you search for certain terms in Google Maps, sponsored results will show up first. These are paid listings that target users based on keywords and locations — so, in other words, adverts. This includes searches for phrases like "restaurants near me". Even when you tap on the bubbles under the search bar, such as Restaurants, Shopping, or Coffee, you will see sponsored listings. Another way advertisers can target users through Google Maps is with promoted pins. These are paid pins that look different from standard pins. These ads flood out more useful results One of the ways companies excuse using our data for targeted advertising is that it makes content more relevant. But when it comes to Google Maps' sponsored listings, relevancy is an afterthought. For example, when I search for "coffee shops near me", the first listed result is a place that is around 22 miles away. This isn't because I live in a remote area — my closest coffee shop is about 500 meters away from me. But the sponsored listing takes precedence over every other coffee shop in the area. Similarly, when I search for vegetarian restaurants, a number of sponsored results further away appear before actual local venues. I could excuse the vegetarian search results if the sponsored result included a strictly vegetarian or vegan restaurant — but it's not. In fact, if this was what I was looking for, I'd have to scroll a significant amount to find any of these options. Searching for places within Google Maps is already not a great experience depending on the search term. For example, there are limited filters available when searching for places within a certain category. This would be helpful in differentiating searches for strictly vegetarian restaurants from those with vegetarian options. This search experience is further eroded by sponsored listings, which are barely relevant and often ignore criteria like close proximity. I've mostly stopped using Maps to find places near me I use search engines and recommendations from others The search experience in Google Maps is so degraded that I barely use it to actually discover locations nowadays. Usually, I just rely on search engines and recommendations from people in the same area to find new restaurants or a hardware store that offers competitive prices. For example, I'll search for a product online and then find out if that store has a nearby branch. This helped me with finding local hardware stores that weren't properly surfaced by Google Maps when I searched for them there. Some were even closer to me than the search results that showed up in the app. I still use Google Maps for other functions, such as scoping out parking near a location I'm visiting using Street View. I even use it to virtually explore potential places for stops in Pokémon Go. But Google Maps has lost me when it comes to location discovery. I wouldn't mind the ads if they were a bit more relevant. Rather, they've replicated the same model that drove me away from Google Search as my default search engine. Users have also brought up other issues such as fake reviews on sponsored listings — a common problem on sites like Amazon that has made its way to Google Maps. While I don't encounter this issue in Maps much, it's likely a result of the market I live in. Ads ruin what could be a very useful feature Google doesn't have to get rid of ads in Maps completely, but the experience needs to be way better to not drive users away from features that would otherwise be useful. I can't remember the last time I actually found a worthwhile place to visit when using search within Maps, and sponsored results play a large role in this. I hope that when Gemini rolls out for more users in Maps, it will be able to provide better results for searches. However, if it also pushes the same type of irrelevant places, users won't be much better off. While I'd love to replace Maps with another open-source Android app, it's unfortunately one of those Google apps I still rely on.