top something that would be difficult to spot manually across millions of profiles. For example, our automated systems detected a sudden uptick in Business Profiles with websites that ended in. Last year, we launched a significant update to our machine learning models that helped us identify novel abuse trends many times faster than previous years. Google also detailed advanced malicious Google Maps campaigns that machine learning (ML) intelligence helped discover: 185,000 businesses protected after suspicious activity detection.20 million attempts to create fake Business Profiles blocked – 8 million more than in 2021.200 million photos and 7 million videos blocked – the content was blurry, low-quality, or violated policies.115 million policy-violating reviews blocked – 20% more than in 2021.

The figures for last year are impressive: Thankfully, Google is watching and preventing many of these malicious attempts from going through. Hackers could use these avenues to upload Google Maps content that might look legitimate to most people who end up clicking on links or phone numbers. The app supports user-generated content, like photos of places and business information.

It’s easy to understand why Google Maps is such a target for hackers.

Google maps directions