12mo ago

Google Maps tests new pop-up ads that give you an unnecessary detour

www.androidauthority.com Google Maps tests new pop-up ads that give you an unnecessary detour

Google Maps is testing a new ad format that gives users the option to add a stop for a sponsored location during navigation.

Jesus, that is a gross way to inject advertising into turn-by-turn navigation.

Edit/update from 9to5google so this post does not spread what is apparently inaccurate information: https://9to5google.com/2024/07/08/google-maps-pop-up-quick-detour-ad/

260 comments

How long before they weight routes based on the billboard ads you’ll see along the way.
- Man. I almost downvoted you purely outta anger for that idea lmao. Fucking hell.
  
  Google execs already thinking "shit, buy some electronic billboards and show relevant ads as each phone goes past".
  Sad that will be the only part of Blade Runner we get. Where's the flying cars, dammit!
- With gmaps constantly suggesting off-ramp->on-ramp detours at over/underpasses to help you ~~shorten your eta by 1 minute~~ increase merging traffic, I doubt they would have any ethical hesitancy behind it.
  Honestly, I imagine they may already have a deal (possibly under the table) with clearchannel and the likes.
  
  I've not seen gmaps taking these kinds of routes. I'm UK based if it makes any difference at all, but I'm always grateful for my route seeming to prefer a smooth choice to the absolute fastest.
- This man has manager written all over him! Put him in charge of google maps! - Google probably

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Organic_Maps
- Does it have traffic data?
  
  Unfortunately not, and the time estimates are quite inaccurate. Sigh, it's the price for not having to deal with Googles shit
  
  No.
  The only OpenStreetMap based navigation app with live traffic data is Magic Earth. It's not foss, but gratis.
  They get the traffic data from some third party, not by following their users like gmaps. That is the reason live traffic is only available in just some countries: https://www.magicearth.com/feature-availablity/#hd_traffic
  
  No, if you want that, just use Magic Earth. It’s a great app, btw.
- Id recommend osmand over organic maps
  
  Personally I been using organic maps because Osmand isn't giving me better directions and it needs more permissions and it doesn't have working voice directions
  
  Osmand would be the best one if it wasn't so slow. Compared to organic maps the rendering lag is not only noticeable but very annoying
  
  I don’t like how OsmAnd limits the number of maps you can download for free, Organic Maps’s donation model is much better in my opinion.
  
  Organic Maps is fine. It's what I use, although I am not located in a great area for OSM. Are there any specific benefits to OSMand?
  
  Did Osmand change that bullshit where if you changed your device you can fuck right off with your previously bought maps and pay for them again because they didn't tie them to store account
- Is there any way I can help contribute public transport information to OSM? It's the one thing that Google maps does that I can't replace.
  
  If public transport mapping is your goal, it might make sense to try out the MapComplete Train Station https://mapcomplete.org/stations and Bus Routes https://mapcomplete.org/transit themes which give an easier, more focused, mapping interface. Quest apps like Street Complete can also make getting into OSM a bit easier, though OSM Beginners Guise is great too. https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Beginners%27_guide
  
  Yes! https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Public_transport though it is a bit complex to fully add routes, adding stops is super easy!
  
  OSM doesn’t really track live and exact public transport schedules (you can define static routes and say which interval the tram/whatever comes but that’s about it). Organic Maps is working on implementing live data: https://github.com/organicmaps/organicmaps/issues/5331
- I wish I could get satellite view but I totally get why that's not a thing

Is it too much to ask for an app that just does one single thing. Everything doesn't need to be an advertising platform.
- But line no go up.
  
  Google is definitely turning into IBM where they just exist because of inertia and not because of anything they actually produce.
  
  The only line I care about is the line that takes me from A to B
- They need the money for the next quarter earnings report.
  
  So do I :((
- Those AI electricity bills don't pay for themselves.
  
  Yeah... we pay....
- Is it too much to ask
  Are you willing to deliver them consequences if they don't do it the way you want?
  
  I stopped using Google maps so I guess so
- Interesting to observe how our intuition is failing us while dealing with digital products. When someone gives you something for free on the street, naturally you get suspicious and start asking yourself "where is the catch?" But when there's a free app - no second thought. Everyone is using it so it must be ok. Well, Google and Facebook are nothing but glorified advertising agencies. The whole reason of their existence is to make money on ads. Edited: typos.

Damn Google be speed running how quickly they can make me replace all their services. Google Maps and Youtube are about the only 2 I still use.
- They used to have a reputation for employing smart people... Dumbass middle managers took over a while back and started making the stupidest decisions.
  
  That's what happens when MBAs start to weasel their way into any business.
  
  Same thing that happened at Boeing.
- Revanced on my android.

I've been getting a lot of 'suggested' locations and sponsored pop ups in Google Maps the few weeks. I get that it's a 'free' product, but ugh. My GPS while I'm driving down the highway is one of those things that really, really needs to be clutter-free.
- Google doesn't give a shit if you live or die, so long as their corporate partners at Shell Oil and Sheets checks clear
- It is by no means free tho. They are making lots of money from selling your location data and furthering their market dominance by forcing it on everyone by default
  
  They get that same location data with or without maps. As long as you are using stock android, Google knows exactly where you've been even if you enable airplane mode. They get your position with WiFi networks and other phones around you and store that data with timestamps. Maps doesn't give them any extra data, it simply binds you into their ecosystem.
  
  I get that it's a 'free' product, but ugh.
  Yes, he/everyone understands that for the past decade lol.
- It's not a free product, your data is being sold.
  
  I know. I'd assume everyone on Lemmy knows. That's why I said 'free' in scare quotes and not free.
- clutter-free is OsmAnd (Open Street Map) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/OsmAnd

This ad company is becoming a huge nuisance.
- And unfortunately, for maps, it's basically just Apple and Google. I'm trying to get used to OSM, but it just isn't easy to do the things I want to do: find directions to a store.
  
  MapQuest is still a thing. Bing maps... exists. Wave, even though owned by Google, hasn't been fucked yet.
  Magic Earth is another open source alternative besides OSM.
  
  osm sucks at addresses. The only way I can use it for navigation is doing google to coordinate conversion and just saving all the places. I haven't seen this new google change but we'll see if its enough to make me drop the last google service I use.

Edit/update from 9to5google so this post does not spread what is apparently inaccurate information:
I know we are desperate for content here on Lemmy, and I can google hate circle jerk with the best of them, but maybe just delete the post if it is a complete clickbait lie… you could also reword the post as a fact check, ‘no, google isn’t injecting adds into maps.’
- Wait dude, you interrupted me mid jerk. Shame on you.
  
  Here, something to keep you going.
- It's possible former Redditors don't realize you can edit the title of Lemmy posts.
- Sure, I could. But I wanted to leave the original post as it was for transparency. I figured that was the most "open" thing to do.
  
  You can edit titles on Lemmy, make say "BS journalists throwing google under the bus to get more ad revenue from google ads."
  
  Fair enough, but reading the comments it appears your edit isn’t explicit enough, or people just read the headlines I guess.

The moment this starts happening to me, I’m going to start giving every single sponsored stop I see a 1 star review.
- Tbh that kind of behavior will almost certainly be stopped automatically
  
  It'll be fun while it lasts.
- Excellent idea. I give gas stations that play loud video ads 1 star and don’t go back. I give places that ask for a tip for a to-go order 1 star as well
- I get the feeling, but if the business has no say in getting recommended, aren't you just punishing businesses that may not even know this program exists? That would suck for very small businesses.
  Edit: my brain was thinking recommendations not paid ads so please disregard.
  
  Google isn't going to promote small businesses that have no say. Google isn't putting these ads up for fun. They do it because businesses pay them to.
  
  It's an ad, not a recommendation. As far as I know, Google doesn't just serve ads for businesses that don't pay for them.

I dont know if i can keep using google stuff if this is the way they are going.
Why does everything have to be a fucking advert.
Who even likes adverts?
Just fuck off.
- who even likes adverts?
  Advertisers
- I have been using Kagi as an alternative search engine for over a month now and can't see me going back to Google anytime soon. Googles results are just full of adverts and garbage.
- Google expected infinite growth in a finite system. Now that the growth is slowing they are trying to increase yield from their current pool of resources instead.
  
  Why dont these companies accept theybarent worth as much any more and just provide less services until they balance off.
  The stuff they cant afford to provide could be taken on by someone else. Being a one company does all type master of none sort of thing is clearly bad for society and the economy.
  I dont really know what im talking about but i just dont get why they see losses and an end to growth but take the position of "we need to find a way to keep this going" instead of "we need to sell off things until our company is making money again, even if its less money"

Gmaps has been actual hot trash for way the hell too long now.
GraphHopper, OSRM, and Valhalla all blow Google's shitty routing algorithm out of the water.
OSMAnd really the only mobile app competitor worthy of putting gmaps out of its misery. The only problem is it still uses a renderer from the stone age and has lackluster address data despite the fact that said data is available for free online from several open source mapping projects (there's some nice github scripts that can import ir for you).
Garmin forgot to invest in mobile technology. Sygic went to crap. Waze is just Gmaps+. Maps.me died even harder than Sygic.
It's 2024 and yet some of the best navigation tech I've seen is from 15+ year old devices.
Edit: Also Android Auto can go to hell.
- The old maps.me is reborn and active as Organic Maps now.
  
  +1 for Organic Maps though I feel it's lacking in some basic features.
  Still renders much better and smoother than OSMAnd.
- I've been using Gmaps since forever and can say I've never had any problem with it. I mean, it took me to the business office instead of the main entrance to a theme park once, but I can hardly fault it for that. Calling it actual hot trash just seems so out of nowhere to me. It's a fine product that I've had great experience with.
  
  Give it time. This shit gets worse every year.
  
  Yeah. It was great for me on vacation. Searching for nearby restaurants or tourist attractions worked well.
- Is there an alternative to android auto?
  
  Practically speaking, a dedicated head unit that runs its own software or a head unit that simply mirrors the output from a phone.
  Both exist but the former has become rare in terms of quality UI and Navigation
- Any links for the OS data street-number scripts?
  
  https://github.com/pnoll1/osmand_map_creation?tab=readme-ov-file

Screw off.

Ok google take me to Liverpool.
I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that. Today you are going to Vape Palace in Swindon, sponsored by CryptoPonzi++: you put the coins, we loot the coins!

It would be considered illegal where I live to interact with that popup while driving.
- Same, I wonder if there would be any way to report it to the state AG, maybe some pressure to ban it could hit google
- They’d rather you be forced to have it on your screen, like old school tv ads.

"Google have borrowed this idea form Waze" doesn't Google own Waze ?
- Have never seen an ad on waze
  
  Is this a joke?
  Half the icons on the screen are Dunkin Donuts or McDonald’s and any time you stop at a light a banner add covers have the screen.
  
  If you’re using a device or network-wide ad-blocker like I do, then you won’t see them. When I try to use Waze on somebody else’s phone, the ads are unbearable.
- Last I knew, yeah. Google bought them years ago. Moreover, I don't remember that "feature" being in Waze before Google acquired them. Those ads were the biggest reason I dropped Waze a while back.
- "Google has been testing this idea in Waze "

Ragebait is working: Fuck that evil corporation! OsmAnd all day every day.
- Openstreetmap is really good...except for the detailed information about shops which is why I still use Google Maps if I need to know opening hours and other information.
  OSM is just not widespread enough to be on the radar of shop owners to put their information on it themselves so volunteers have to do it. :/
- OSM for the win
- Is there any alternative that works well on android auto?
  
  Maybe organic maps?
  https://organicmaps.app/
- I have been testing OsmAnd for daily use today, and I'm gonna be closing my maps presence in the coming months :-) . I was really happy how it worked and felt, very close to what I want. After some extra tweaking, it's bound to be fantastic!

I smell reVanced Gmaps coming soon...
- Waze works well also.
  Edit: I'm getting a lot of down votes and just wanted to clarify that I have never seen an ad in Waze.
  I 100% believe people saying there are a lot of ads. I think the way that I have my phone setup is why I'm not getting ads.
  Will definitely have to look into the others mentioned here.
  
  Also owned by Google, so this change might make it over
  
  Google appears to have borrowed this ad format from Waze, which has delivered similar ads for quite some time.
  OsmAnd is getting there tho.
  
  Waze has plenty of ads in it though

PSA: Apple Maps used to suck badly but now it's way better than Google Maps.
- OpenStreetMaps clients also works and are available everywhere
  
  Thats what I use now
  
  Any recommendations for an iOS client?
- Bought iPhone last year.
  Tried Apple Maps the first week.
  Put in address to friend’s new condo building.
  Took me to a parking lot behind a grocery store next to the building, and then acted like I could drive through an old wooden fence to get to the condos.
  5/10 I only had to drive to the other end of the block to find the only entrance to the property.
  
  At one point Google Maps moved my whole apartment building/address three streets from where it should be. It was wrong for months even though I reported it when I had to keep telling delivery people that got misdirected because they used it to navigate. Anecdotal evidence etc.
- I’m sorry but as long as Apple Maps rely on and force you to install the Yelp app for reviews, I’m never using it.
  
  They’re moving away from that, only using Yelp for backfill when they have no data. There is instead a “thumbs up/down” set of buttons (because the 5-star system is uselessly Boolean anyway). Contribute to the ecosystem by rating places using this, and eventually it will reach parity with Google.
- LOL
- ~~The only thing Apple Maps lacks now is a Waze-like ability to report hazards, speed-traps, road closures etc.~~ apparently that’s been a thing for a few years now, thanks!
  I’ll have to check it out where I am, but I have a feeling that there might not be a big enough active user base to sufficiently crowd source the datapoints.. I guess, be the change you want to see in the world!
  
  You can report hazards, speed checks, and crashes in Apple Maps.
  https://support.apple.com/en-us/105024

"Google, tell me how to get to this place"
"Here are your directions, including a McDonalds break! You deserve a break today, with a delicious tiny BIG MAC being sold for 400% of what it was 5 years ago, at 50% the size."
"........when did the movie idiocracy go from being a mockumentary to a documentary?"
- 2016
  
  Legit had an Idiocracy-watching party in 2016 hahaha

I've been wanting to leave the Google ecosystem for years but Maps was always the thing that kept me there. Thanks Google for freeing me at last!

I'm going to paste here the comment I wrote on another post about this same issue:
Organic Maps and OsmAnd are not adding ads during navigation. Nor "promoted pins". Nor ads when browsing the map. Nor tracking your every move.
Seriously, give them a try. And remember that, if the maps are lacking information, you are free (and encouraged) to improve them on OpenStreetMap.
- But they aren’t providing live traffic congestion, right? That’s the only reason to use Google Maps. Not because of the maps or navigation.
  
  Well that kind of comes as a result of the whole 'tracking your every move' part
  
  Magic Earth gives you live traffic info, and is based on Openstreetmap. Not open source though (unlike OsmAnd and Organic Maps).
  
  I'm sure congestion info on the maps is valued by some, but not all. Many people just use maps to navigate unfamiliar places.

This won't always work, but I get it to stop changing the fucking route by putting it in airplane mode while I'm driving. It's locked in to the route I picked, GPS still works, no distractions.
- If you have to fight with software that much just to use it for its core function, it’s time to use something else.
  
  Which GPS app do you use?

Apple Maps sure had a rough start back in the day, but I will always use that over Google/Waze. It’s just so much better now and no worries about this type of junk.
- Apple Maps fuckin sucked ass at first, now it hasn’t failed me in years.
  You’re completely right. I won’t use any other map thing now.
  RIP MapQuest

Just a reminder about the open-source OpenStreetMap. You can improve it online by adding features like a Wikipedia for maps. You can even use the gamified app StreetComplete to add stuff and get points for walking around and mapping.

I remember a long time ago when I was considering using Waze, had heard really good things. Then I was driving with a friend who used it and it served an ad saying “click here to take a pit stop at McDonald!”
I never downloaded Waze so… good luck google.
- It sucks because Waze is really great, and Googlenshittification had to get in on it and now it’s a shell of its former self. I still use it because many of the core features that made it great are still there, but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time at this point.

I have an iPhone and while I don’t like Apple Maps, I will absolutely switch to it in a heartbeat if this is added.
- I’ve preferred Apple Maps for a few years now, Googles used to be top of the game but it’s fallen off while Apple’s have IME improved
  
  Same here. I have been happy with Apple Maps.
  I was an early adopter for Waze and helped them build and fix their maps. I loved Waze. Several months after Google bought Waze, I repeatedly noticed battery draining faster and location was more frequently being used by Waze. I wrote to them about it. After some time passed and no response or change, I ditched them.
- It's gotten so much better. Once they brought offline maps I made the full switch.
- It happened to me yesterday in SoCal and I immediately switched to Apple Maps. Will try OSMand Maps & Magic Earth that I just set up

One of their last few products that was actually quite good. I bet gmail is next.
- What do you mean? Gmail been injecting ads disguised as email in your mailbox for ages.
  
  I saw these on my wife's browser and was completely appalled. I am not receiving them for some reason, but I'm also running privacy badger and ublockO.
  
  To be fair, it only happens on the Promotions tab for me. They don't inject anything on my normal inbox (at least on PC).

Welp time to stop using google maps I guess
- What would you move to?

Stallman was right

I'm willing to pay for an ad-free version. Google maps are very useful. I don't need it to be free. But ads are poison.
- Interesting, you don't think they make enough off your data already? I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I will never pay google a single cent for anything they have to offer, ever.
  
  There is no such thing as making "enough" money under the chicago-school dominated business thought. A business should always make as much money as it can for its investors, always. A friend who read Friedman's works says that the Friedman doctrine makes room to say that a wise business will optimize investor outcomes by investing in its product, workforce, and other smart long-term choices, but in practice, nobody ever reads that deep into the Friedman doctrine. It's just "philosophical" license to make (and demand, on the part of investors) the shallowest slash-and-burn business decisions possible to make line go up NOW. I will accept arguments about how it's capitalism, but I'd like to point out that we experienced a very distinct culture shift in business leadership starting around the time that Chicago school thought became all the rage.
  
  I'd much rather pay with money than data.
- I would too, but they need to also not collect my data. Like, at all. I'd pay $2-3/month for that.

I've had something like this happening to me a long time ago. While going from a city in Uruguay to a city in Argentina, Google Maps "suggested" a route that was 2 hours longer but took me through the ferry (a paid business). Even though I chose "keep my route" several times, from time to time, the suggestion popped up with a "time limit" to confirm. If I failed to notice it, the suggested route would be selected.

Not to defend Google, but it seems unclear right now if this is something that will happen while driving, or similar to something Waze already does.
- In Virginia, at least, it's not a meaningful distinction.
  There used to be an exception for GPS, but the state changed the law a few years ago so that any non-hands-free use of a phone in a non-parked is a ticketable offense. Swiping away an ad at a red light would technically be illegal.
  
  I do not live in Virginia. Is this law actively enforced? Lots of things are "technically illegal".
- Waze has popped up ads on me plenty of times while I'm driving. Yes it knows I'm driving, the map is still scrolling along my route. At one point it was bad enough that the ads were remaining after every stop light, and finally clearing about half way to the next light. I haven't seen it happen in awhile though, maybe they finally got it fixed.
- I'm honestly surprised it's taken them this long. They bought Waze in 2013. I feel like Waze has been doing this kind of ad for at least that long.

Anyone who capitalizes every word should be shot. I will not take questions on this.
- Who Is Doing That?

Thanks I hate it. Also not even new, this shit was what killed in dash sat navs....
- Nitpicking, but I'm not sure that it was ads that killed dash sat navs. At least in my experience, they never really developed to that point where car companies would put ads in.
  It was more that they were expensive options to install, a pain to keep updated, and generally weren't all that good.
  Even before the live traffic and automatic detour features, phones didn't cost money to keep the onboard maps up to date, and you already had one, so you didn't need to either buy an add-on, or get a special unit for it.
  With android CarPlay and Apple Auto, you could just put your phone map on the screen, which was basically the same thing, but a cheaper equivalent, since the hardware was on your phone instead.
  
  I'm absolutely certain that it wasn't ads that put a firm like TomTom on a downward slope. This was actually the first time that I've heard someone proclaim that ads are the reason.
  If your business is to sell maps + navigation devices for money and then the times change and now nearly everyone already owns a smartphone with built in gps + some car manufacturers provide sat nav as a default + another company is giving access to a map away for free, well then your business is in trouble.
  I've never even heard of ads in TomTom or Garmin, since I stopped using a dedicated sat nav once I had a smartphone, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was one of the things they tried to stay afloat after smartphones became ubiquitous.
  
  So I was around during this time and yes ads did play a part in this, but not like you think. The ads where how these companies planned to pay for the sat nav data (came on a DVD). They had restaurant and gas station suggestion with the same detour "feature".
  Fun part is that it fell apart quick since almost no one updated there sat nav and you can still get a 2008 acura with recommendations for places long long gone. Its also fun to see people talking about Zagat rated places on forums from the time.
  https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-audio-bluetooth-electronics-navigation-294/zagat-guide-questions-833757/

Time to switch to open street maps

Thats a test destined to fail
- But somehow they are still going to do it.
- As far I knew it was already a thing, kind of. They know what you search for and route you near those things… and make sure the businesses show up on the map.

So will we soon have to go places we Don't want to go... Just so we can get directions to where we want to go?
If incorrect directions will be the norm...maybe it's Time to find a new map app

I've been getting little bubbles for store/restaurant logos popping up on the map for about a month as I drive, and I assumed that's what it was. So every time I see one, I make a point to not eat/go there for awhile just out of spite.

Yeah that's just unsafe. You're gonna make me have to reroute my GPS while I'm driving? No thanks.
Crazy watching Google kill themselves in real time.

Popups while driving? With buttons that have to be pressed for it to go away? What could possible go wrong diverting the attention of a driver this way?!
- The article was updated, this was fake news. There are no popups while driving.
  It was all based on someones Tweet, which either made it up or was confused.
  
  Ah, the eagerness to publish some “news” based on a Tweet or a Reddit post from a random person with no confirmation at all.

It’s too bad androidauthority doesn’t think the “reject all” cookies rule applies to them.

Remove the detour by drinking a verification can

Can my steet gang put in some of these ads? Only to high end luxury automobiles?

And i thought it was bad when the gps says to make a right at the starbucks instead of using the street name.

Why not? Their global emissions are already skyrocketing due to AI hype. Fuck the planet, let's make more money this quarter!!!

That was killed quickly.

Google also notices a spike in Google searches for "alternative to Google maps"...ignores it.

2024: year of the openstreetmaps

Who The Fuck Types In Sentence Case All The Time Like This?
- Germans.
  
  But.. why?

But why line go down?!

Magic Earth works really great for me :)

I suspect they were already doing this just to populate data. There are times I got sent on god-forsaken routes and persistently had the route I had selected overwritten with new ones. At least this tells you what it is and lets you choose.

260 comments