I use Google Maps to get from point A to point B, but I also use it for research. It’s an essential tool for finding new restaurants to try, or for identifying well-reviewed hotels in a new area. While many use it with their Google account, others might like to keep some of their data out of Google’s hands. Using Google Maps while signed out is a good way to do that: You can find new locations of interest without having Google know you’re interested in those spots. However, if you like using Google Maps without an account, be warned: The experience is now much more limited.
As reported by 9to5Google, Google is now limiting the amount of data visible when accessing Google Maps without an account. This change includes things like images, reviews, restaurants, businesses, hotels, parks—really, most labels on the map. From what I can tell, essential labels like city names and highway identifiers are left intact, but even some street names appear to be omitted when logged out.
If you can find restaurants in limited view, you’ll see some of the data points that you’d normally find, but you’ll also notice a number missing as well. That could include labels noting whether the restaurants supports takeout or delivery, user reviews, popular times, photos and videos submitted by users, menus, as well as related locations. I tested it myself in an incognito window, scrolled randomly over Richmond, VA, and clicked the first (of few) restaurants to appear: Laura Lee’s. While I could see the total star rating (4.6), I couldn’t actually click through to any reviews. I could also only see the primary image of the restaurant. There’s enough here to decide whether or not to call, but it’s missing a ton of the data points you’d usually rely on to consider a spot for lunch or dinner.
Credit: Jake Peterson
Google doesn’t necessarily pin the limited view on you being logged out, however. If you check the “Help” pop-up that appears here, titled “Seeing a limited view of Google Maps,” the company explains that there are a few reasons you might be seeing this view. That could include issues with Google Maps itself, unusual traffic from your computer or network, or browser extensions that might be interfering with Google Maps. Only after it lists these reasons does Google suggest that signing in to Google Maps “might help you avoid seeing this limited experience again.”
Of course, logging in brings all this data back as you’d expect, and if you always use Google Maps with your Google account, you’ll never notice the difference. But it’s an interesting line in the sand for Google to draw. How many people who use Google Maps without an account will know this is the reason why their experience just got worse? Perhaps they’ll flock to another option, though there aren’t many. Apple users have Apple Maps, and there’s always Waze—but, surprise, it’s owned by Google too.
