For years, Google Maps has been a go-to tool for millions worldwide, seamlessly integrated into search results for instant access to directions, locations, and more. But if you’ve noticed something missing recently, you’re not imagining things. Due to European Union regulations, Google has been forced to remove its Maps functionality from its search results, marking a significant shift in how we interact with the tech giant’s ecosystem.
That explains why I
- Can’t search for <city> and get a direct link to the maps + position
- The toolbar of services missing maps entirely.
For all the things the EU does…What a stupid decision.
This may feel bad short term but this is actually good long term. It opens up the possibility for competitors for similar map services to exist. When google combined their search engine product with their maps product, everyone had to automatically use their map product. This is very monopolistic
For example in duckduckgo you can type “city !gm” and it will take you to Google maps search results for “city”.
You can also use ddg.gg as a quick way to be redirected to duckduckgo.com without having to type the whole thing
That feature is now gone for users in the EU. Additionally, the Maps tab, once prominently displayed alongside Images and News, has also vanished.
Actually wild of the EU to force an inferior product on people. Glad I’m not there for once.
It’s not about enforcing an inferior product - it’s about enforcing the freedom of choice. The way google was forcing its services down everybodies throat led to a market where people didn’t even know that something besides gMaps exists. Now competitors at least have some sort of chance.
Ii get what you mean, but for the most part this will just inconvenience most people while also not making it any more convenient to use a competiting product.
You’re absolutely right, Google chose to inconvenience their users rather than make it simpler for the user to choose their service. This is what Google chose to do rather than comply with regulation to make the field fairer. Google did this. The article is a PR piece to shift blame from Google for yet another anti-user decision Google made.
Google is not the good guy.
It would be freedom of choice if google was required to put an option to select the default map service in google search
Well… kinda the same as when Microsoft was forced to give its users the “choice” for a different browser. Took ages to implement and still, Microsoft tried to get around it. Just look how easy it is to purge Edge from Win11 or to even replace it with something else for links embedded in the o/s itself.
No. Google did it this way so people would blame the EU. They also could just have added more choice to the interface but they rather wanted to remove it to show their users “how bad the EU is”.
Same thing with the cookie banners. EU said you should give your users the choice if they want to be tracked. And the companies build these ugly banners so everyone would blame the EU. But they could also just have stopped tracking their users.
They also could just have added more choice to the interface but they rather wanted to remove it to show their users “how bad the EU is”.
Or maybe they just didn’t want to actively support competing services?
I don’t care what Google wants. Maybe a search engine shouldn’t be competing using vertically integrated services? Or would you defend them when they remove links to non-Youtube-video platforms, and anything else that competes with their products?
We don’t have to sacrifice healthy competition and functioning services to the wants of corporations.
It is also a pain in the arse for a normal user. When I search for a local plumber, instead of typing my query into the address bar, I need to go to maps.google.com first, and search there. These days, half of my searches are for businesses (the other half for spelling or correct usage of a difficult word), and all those searches now need to be made directly on the map page.
For a user who never uses maps or a user who always uses maps, this has no effect.
It’s for those who use both integrated, but thats pretty rare nowdays. Much easier to ask maps “restaurants near me, plumbers open near me” than having to watch gemini type something out and “rate your plumber” forums, or worse aggregated yelp links.
Nobody will be affected by this, except maybe our data to be harder to mismanage. The headline is stupid.
Much easier to ask maps “restaurants near me, plumbers open near me” than having to watch gemini type something out and “rate your plumber” forums, or worse aggregated yelp links.
Even easier to just slap the thing you’re looking for into the search bar and then read the reviews and get directions all from the one webpage, why did you bring Gemini into this?
Nobody will be affected by this
Nobody I know opens maps to search shit, every one of them would be impacted by this
Still showing up in Australia right now.
I’m ok with this, I can live and love in my peasant existence without their hovering, seemingly inescapable help. If I have to do without Waze someday, that’s a different story.
I give waze less than a year.
They’ve been putting the features into parity with maps They will eventually shut it down.
