Google Maps is a web mapping platform developed by Google. It was first unveiled on 08 February, 2005. Since then it has become the one of the largest mapping platforms and the most popular.[citation needed]
| Basic Information | |
|---|---|
| Release Year | 2005 |
| Product Type | |
| In Production | Yes |
| Official Website | https://www.google.com/maps |
Consumer-impact summary
Incidents
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents related to this product. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Google Maps category.
Restricting access without an account
Google now restricts data visible on Google Maps behind an account sign-in (see Forced account). Requiring users that wish to view reviews or photos of a location to have a Google account and be signed in.[1][2][3] This also forces users to agree to Google's TOS and data collection policies. Which is then aggregated with data from other Google services, such as YouTube and Google Search, and then sold to advertisers through the Google Adsense program to deliver targeted ads to customers.[4]
Example incident two (date)
...
Consumer friendly alternatives
See also
References
- ↑ Gunther, Cory (2026-02-19). "Google Maps will make you sign in to get its best features". How-To Geek. Archived from the original on 2026-06-05. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ u/Mr-MuffinMan (2026-02-17). "Can't view images without logging in?". Redlib. Archived from the original on 2026-06-05. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ u/jogetgemoy69 (2026-02-14). "Google Maps now forces you to sign-in". Redlib. Archived from the original on 2026-06-05. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Google and YouTube Will Pay Record $170 Million for Alleged Violations of Children's Privacy Law". Federal Trade Commission. 2019-09-04. Archived from the original on 2026-06-05. Retrieved 2026-06-05.