As of 2020, Google Maps was being used by over one billion people every month around the world. Google Maps began as a C++ desktop program developed by brothers Lars and Jens Rasmussen at Where 2 Technologies. In October 2004, the company was acquired by Google, which converted it into a web application.

To provide this more accurate location, when turned on, GLA periodically collects location information from your Android device—including GPS and information about Wi-Fi access points, mobile networks and device sensors—using a temporary rotating device identifier that is not associated with any specific person.

There are countless ways to make money from Google Maps. You can perform local marketing services, analyze maps, and even translate them. Other than that, you can be a local guide, use the platform to promote your business, and build custom applications that utilize Google Maps' APIs.

Google Maps was created by a pair of Denmark-born but Sydney-based developers. Brothers Lars and Jens Rasmussen co-founded a startup mapping company in early 2003 called Where 2 Technologies. A year later, they sold that company to Google, which would later turn it into Google Maps.