Apple to Introduce Advertising in Apple Maps

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Apple has officially announced that the company will introduce advertising within the Apple Maps application available on iPhone and iPad. The advertisements will be shown to users in the US and Canada starting from summer 2026. Citing a Macrumors report on Tuesday (24/3) local time, Apple stated that advertisements can be placed by business owners in the US and Canada to appear in the search results section and at the top of the “Recommended Places” section. “Ads in Maps will appear when users search in Maps and may appear at the top of users’ search results based on relevance, as well as at the top of the new Recommended Places experience in Maps, which will display recommendations based on local trends, users’ recent searches, and more,” stated Apple regarding the advertisements. Apple promises strong privacy protections, particularly regarding users’ personal data. One form of this is Apple stating that users’ locations and the advertisements they view and interact with in Apple Maps will not be linked to the user’s Apple Account. “Maps with ads is as private as Maps without ads,” said Apple. Furthermore, the company stated, “Where you go and the ads you see and interactions you make are not linked to your Apple Account. Personal data remains on your device, is not collected or stored by Apple Ads, and is not shared with third parties.” The introduction of advertising in Apple Maps will clearly help further increase Apple’s services revenue, but this step may disappoint some customers who dislike the presence of advertisements. Business actors can place advertisements in Apple Maps through the new Apple Business platform. More details are available on Apple’s website. It is not yet known whether this feature will be expanded to other countries.