Google Maps is down, but no one wants to use Apple Maps

We're all lost without Google Maps.
By Sasha Lekach  on 
The Google Maps icon on a phone resting on a laptop keyboard.
Google Maps isn't working. Credit: Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images

UPDATE: Mar. 18, 2022, 3:08 p.m. EDT Google Maps is back up and running all over the world as of Friday afternoon. A spokesperson said in an email statement that the issue had been resolved, "We can confirm that the technical issue from earlier today is now fixed." The original story follows below.


Google Maps went down Friday, March 18, for some users, making it difficult to find directions for driving, walking, biking and modes of transportation.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the outage with an email statement that explained, "We're seeing reports of difficulties accessing some Google Maps and Google Maps Platform services. Our team is investigating and working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible."

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According to Downdetector (note the site is owned by Mashable's parent company), the outage started late Friday morning and is widespread throughout the U.S. Users in Europe, India, Australia, and other countries also reported issues with the mapping service.

A chart showing Google Maps outage
Definitely down. Credit: Downdetector

It's affecting both the desktop and app versions of the mapping platform. Other apps that use Google Maps are experiencing issues as well.

While Google figures out what's causing the problem, people are turning to Apple Maps as an alternative. Or not. Twitter is filling up with comments about avoiding using what's widely considered an inferior maps app.

There's always paper maps!

Topics Google

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Sasha Lekach

Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.


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