How to Block Adult Content in Google Maps
Parents (and adults) might consider limiting Google Maps to reduce the risk of stumbling across adult content while using the app's search feature.
Parents who want to preemptively block adult content for their children online often have questions about Google Maps. While adult content isn’t often considered a problem on Google Maps, it still exists because of the unfortunate nature of community-driven image feeds. There are options that parents can consider to completely block adult content in Google Maps.
We’ve had many parents ask us about how to use Apple Screen Time to just block images on Apple’s app, but unfortunately, Screen Time doesn’t have any features that disable image content in their own apps. Parents should consider other options, like screen monitoring or blocking the servers Google uses to display images on their app.
Choosing an Effective Approach for Block Adult Content in Google Maps
Normally, anyone using Google Maps can search for a location and view community photos taken at that location, like this:
However, as some parents have pointed out, not all places are family-friendly, and these photos are community-provided. This presents the chance that explicit or “racy” content might get included.
If you want to block inappropriate content in the Google Maps app, you might have wondered if Screen Time or Google Family Link blocks this content in Google Maps. As of March 2026, there is no current way to use Screen Time or Family Link to filter out potentially explicit content without blocking the app entirely.
But there are a few effective options for ensuring inappropriate content isn't accessed in the Maps app:
- Block the images and media from displaying in the Maps app completely.
- Use a screen accountability for iPhone to ensure inappropriate content isn't being searched for in the Maps app.
Block Images on Google Maps
The most reliable way for parents to restrict access to inappropriate content in Google Maps is to block the web addresses that Google uses to show images in the app. This will block images on Google Maps, but other features (like navigation and search) still work without being affected.
If you’re using Tech Lockdown’s DNS Content Policy to manage your child’s internet connection, we’ve created a dedicated rule preset that blocks the correct domains for you:
If you don't want to block images in Google Maps permanently, you can use the LivingRoom for iOS app to unblock images when Google Maps activity is fully supervised.
This app automatically blocks images in Google Maps until the screen is recorded. Then, images are automatically unblocked.
A parent or accountability partner can also see screenshots of what was looked at in Google Maps to determine if there's any problematic use of Google Maps.
You can also block these domains manually:
lh3.googleusercontent.com gz0.googleusercontent.com
Blocking the above addresses with Screen Time's website blocklist may not work properly. Apple prevents Screen Time from blocking certain addresses related to Apple's services. See our dedicated guide for blocking websites on iPhone for more information.
Block Nudity Automatically in Google Maps
If you’re using the LivingRoom for Families app to monitor a child or accountability partner's iPhone/iPad, the app automatically detects and blocks nudity in any app.
I discuss this more in the YouTube video below:
This ensures that if extremely inappropriate content is discovered in Google Maps, LivingRoom will quickly block the content.