Ads are now live in the Apple Maps app. in both the United States and Canada, so Maps users will soon be seeing them when they search for locations or view Suggested Places. Plus, there is no way to turn them off.
Back in March, it was revealed that Apple was planning to brings ads to the Maps app, and that the feature would begin rolling out in late summer. Now 9to5Mac has received confirmation from Apple that ads began showing up for users over the last few days, with ad placement to ramp up in the coming weeks.
Users will see ads in “Suggested Places” if their search keywords have been bought by a company. Ads are shown at the top of search results and only one ad will appear for each search request.
While you cannot currently turn off ads in the Maps app, the ads are labeled with a blue “Ad” tag, allowing you to clearly determine if a result is an ad. If you tap the ad, Apple says there are privacy protections, so the ads you interact with are niot associated in any way with your Apple Account, and no data is shared with third parties.
Apple has been laying the groundwork for ads in Maps all summer long, and signs of that preparation have showed up in iOS 26 updates. Apple began selling ad slots to businesses in August, offering a 15% credit toward future ad spending as an incentive.
Per Apple’s Advertising Services policy, ads for home services, bail bonds, and cryptocurrency ATMs are not allowed in the Maps app. While ads for medical services may be allowed, they are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. All Maps ads also have to follow all of Apple’s other advertising rules.
Apple last year rebranded its ads business from “Search Ads” to “Apple Ads,” foreshadowing its plan to display ads in more apps and services.
