Original toot in Spanish says: “OK, so I need some alternatives to Google Maps, because I just decided seconds ago to stop using it after I got proposed a trip with a completely unnecessary detour which adds two extra minutes just because it pass by a gas station that sponsors this trip.”
Even if this isn’t true, as some here suggest, it still points to an idea that might or might not come to Google Maps in the future. What would prevent them from suggesting multiple routes, where the first route is an advertised one, and we’d have to explicitly scroll a few pixels down to get to the non-advertised one. It’s the same with the Google search results.
So, we should really think of an alternative before it’s too late.
If they can’t monetize, they drop. In business terms that makes sense. No profit? Stop the bleeding.
In a wider sense though, Google has done a tremendous job at showing me I can’t rely on them for almost anything. I’ve begun moving email, search, browser, cloud storage… Within a few months Android Auto will be the only thing I can’t undo, except to use my car’s nav. Maybe I’ll do that too.
How has your email transition been? I have been moving away from Google slowly for a few years/intentionally avoiding onboarding with Google services. I don’t use Chrome, no google search, haven’t used messenger ever, that sort of thing.
But moving away from Gmail is hard. Would love your thoughts.
I’ve noticed Waze (owned by Google) sometimes suggests a route I don’t feel like (eg I’m on the highway and not in a rush so I don’t feel like taking an exit Waze suggests), but when I ignore it and it recalculates, the estimated time goes down.
On the one hand, I know that it has to explore the alternative routes from time to time to know which ones are fastest and that if it’s directing a sufficient portion of the overall flow, it has to use multiple routes or else any single route it suggests will become bogged down with too much traffic, but I gotta wonder if there’s other motivations, especially when it’s a highway exit.
The picture suggests that there was an ad that suggested a stop at the sponsored gas station, if the user clicked on the suggestion / ad, then the route would be modified.
IMO that’s massively different than the detour being added by default. If they actually did / were doing that, it would be a huge scandal, but I don’t think that’s what’s happening here. Instead, it’s just an intrusive, annoying ad.
You’re right that this is not generating monetary gains
But it’s generating outrage towards Google when what you accuse them of doing isn’t the reality, that’s pretty disingenuous
Not defending Google as a whole, but let’s keep honest about the current developments
The day sponsored trips are the default is the day I’m dropping Maps
Might be. It’s indeed hard to tell by the picture, but the user seems to knows the place so I don’t know. What seems about right is the title is misleading so I’m going to change it.
Please change “added a sponsored detour” to “proposed a sponsored detour” and it won’t be as misleading anymore
Google surely cannot be that stupid. Early Aprils fools joke I presume.
They already have sponsored location pins for retail stores. Even if I don’t have a route active it shows me icons on the map for Chick-Fil-A and some outfit called “Homesense” I’ve never heard of before even though I never asked it to. Even if I’m zoomed out far enough that it’s not showing me POI pins for any other businesses I still see these. And they’re actual icons of the store’s logo, not just the usual generic fork-and-knife or shopping cart pins like other businesses get. So I guarantee you they’re getting paid to do that.
This was a joke on here the other day, people were joking about getting 1 or 2 minutes added to their trip to pass a KFC.
People were sharing conspiracies on if they do it or not but the original was a joke. Other commenters said they thought they were kept off main roads for VIPs.
I’m wondering if this was a coincidence or if the two are connected.
I had never heard of this until now.
My personal Google Maps conspiracy is that when I need to take a turn, Maps on Android Auto will say “take right at xyz street” (paraphrased) but if there happens to be a Jack In The Box at the intersection, the maps will always call it out – “take a left after the Jack In The Box” (paraphrased).
I’ve never heard it namedrop any other business like that.
I thought I was going crazy but the last time I used Google maps right as I was at a fork a Walgreens™️ ad took over the whole screen and I was like wtf, thankfully I wasn’t driving so I was able finagle out of it, but it literally took over and we drove past it. I am also looking for alternatives, I’ve been thinking about getting a Garmin for my car, but I’ll be absolutely damned if they think I’m going to tolerate ads that can get me lost in pensly-tucky 😡
