Google just confirmed that it’s pulling the plug on one of our favorite Google Maps features.
The navigation app has long allowed users to follow other users and Local Guides. Not only does this allow you to keep track of restaurants that your friend with good taste has recently visited, it also allows you to seamlessly see their public contributions like reviews and photos. Similarly, other users that follow you get to see all your public contributions.
Google has decided to deprecate the feature, essentially taking away a neat way to stay social without the accompanying pressure of more traditional social media platforms.
This comes soon after Google removed the ‘Show media playback controls’ toggle from the app’s settings, paired with the removal of the ‘Default media app’ option.
The tech giant confirmed the change in a community support post (via TechIssuesToday), indicating that it will kick in later this fall. “From September 2025, you’ll no longer be able to follow a Google Maps contributor or have profile followers,” wrote the tech giant.
Although the feature was often criticized for being laden with bot followers, for genuine users, it did add a social element that they could explore when not actively seeking directions.
The feature was live for five years
Come September, all relevant data connected to your followers and who you follow will be deleted. Additionally, while following others as a concept will be killed off, your existing profile visibility settings won’t change, and other users will still be able to see your contributions.
The main difference would be that these updates won’t show up as a feed in the app’s For You tab. “Since there will be no more followers, you won’t need to approve or reject them on your restricted profile,” wrote the tech giant.
To fill the gap, Google suggests using Local Guides Connect to continue seeing updates from Google Maps contributors.
Did you regularly use Google Maps’ follow feature, or did you never bat an eye at it? Let us know in the comments below.
