Google is enabling 'promoted pins' in Maps as part of larger advertising push
Google detailed a few specifics Tuesday about “promoted pins,” which will drop a recognizable icon into the middle of your map view.
You may also see a related coupon that you could presumably redeem right away in the store. Google said during a press briefing that it won’t be using your phone’s location history, for now anyway, as part of the ad targeting. And it doesn't appear that the company is sharing Maps users' location with advertisers, either.
During I/O, Google threw out a caveat about “user privacy” during nearly every major product announcement, so the company is aware that people don’t want to feel creeped-out by what their phone knows about them. It’s a delicate balance between privacy and usefulness that Google hopes to strike with this new effort.
The impact on you: Advertising is a natural fit for Google Maps because of the hundreds of millions of eyes that glance at the application daily. While the promoted pins and connected advertisements may get a lot of use from large chains, small storefronts may want tap into this as a way to get noticed when they first open or want to attract new customers.