By Barrabi
Google Maps appeared to be experiencing a global outage on Friday afternoon, with users around the world reporting the service was down and maps were not loading.
DownDetector, a site that tracks outages, noted a spike in users reporting issues with Google Maps not loading beginning around 11:30 a.m. ET. One frustrated user reported the service “refuses to fully load map.”
Google confirmed the outage. In a statement, a Google spokesperson said: “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.”
When attempted to access Google Maps on an Android phone, the service briefly displayed an error message and then could not render its map image.
Google Maps is widely used for planning driving routes and assessing traffic conditions. The service shows satellite images of locations around the world, often down to the street level.
Apple Maps, a competitor to Google Maps, was not experiencing any issues.
Social media users quickly took to Twitter to voice their frustration that Google Maps wasn’t working.
“Google Maps is down and now we have to read road signs like some kind of caveman,” one user wrote.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
