An open letter written by Tim Cook back in 2014 contrasted Apple with ad-funded services where customers are the product. That letter has been removed from the company’s website ahead of ads coming to Apple Maps for the first time.
Apple commenter John Gruber has suggested that incoming CEO John Ternus should pull the plug on this and the rest of the company’s ad business …
A few years ago, users of Internet services began to realize that when an online service is free, you’re not the customer. You’re the product. But at Apple, we believe a great customer experience shouldn’t come at the expense of your privacy.
Cook acknowledged that the company does sell ads to app developers, but said this was done under very strict privacy protections. Gruber says he has no doubt that this remains true today, but questions the optics of what has become an increasingly grubby business.
Here in 2026, search results in the App Store not only show paid ads — frequently for casinos — but the search results are visually dominated by paid ads.
Apple is messing with their brand identity. Apple makes money by selling products and services. Ads muddy that message, as it creates the financial incentive for Apple to share customer demographic details to increase the value of those ads. No matter how obfuscated those customer details are, it is a conflict of interest. It is also a disincentive to use Apple services, such as News, or the App (Ad) Store.
We’ve all had the experience of searching for an app by name and seeing paid ads ahead of the actual app we were looking for, and those ads are often for very low-quality apps. This is a terrible user interface experience as well as a poor look for Apple.
Gruber argues that the optics matter more than the privacy protections.
Apple can prove to itself, and to technically sophisticated outsiders who are willing to listen, that it can serve ads — even in Maps — in privacy-protecting ways. But the only way they can prove to most people that they’re not betraying the privacy of their location data or app usage is not to sell such ads in the first place. Seeing is believing, and when people see ads in their maps app, they believe they’re being tracked.
John Ternus should return Apple’s privacy policy to its 2014 clarity. The trust Apple would earn from such a move would far out-value whatever revenue these ads pad to their already hefty and ever-increasing quarterly Services numbers.
Personally, I couldn’t agree more. How about you? Please take our poll and share your thoughts in the comments.
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Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!
