Apple has announced that ads will begin appearing in Apple Maps in the United States and Canada starting in the summer of 2026. Sponsored results will show up when users search within the app, and a new Suggested Places feature may also display recommended nearby locations.
Apple emphasizes that personal data will stay on users’ devices and won’t be shared with Apple or third parties. User location data will not be given to advertisers, and interactions with ads won’t be linked to an Apple Account.
What Is Changing in Apple Maps
The ads will appear in two places: search results, where promoted businesses may be listed above organic results, and the Suggested Places feature, which will recommend nearby businesses.
Apple has not provided details on how promoted results will be visually distinguished from non-promoted ones or what criteria will be used to decide which businesses appear in Suggested Places.
Historically, Apple Maps has been ad-free. Google Maps, on the other hand, introduced Promoted Pins in 2016 and has since expanded to include personalized suggestions based on journey history and location data. The way Apple plans to implement ads, as described, does not involve using journey or location history for targeting.
Why Apple Is Expanding Ads Into Maps
Apple’s services revenue has increased as a share of total revenue over the past decade, while hardware revenue has decreased proportionally. Ads are already present in several Apple services, including the App Store, Apple News, and certain Apple TV content. Maps is now being used as an extension of that advertising presence, within a core utility app.
Apple has not specified whether ads will eventually be introduced in more apps or regions beyond the US and Canada at launch, or what the pricing model for advertisers will be.
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