Google has removed the ability to book an Uber ride from inside Google Maps. You can still look up the route in Maps and then “request the ride from the Uber app,” Google suggests, but it has removed direct Uber booking without providing a reason.

When the functionality was added in January 2017, Google made a big fuss about the ability to book an Uber through the Maps app. Users were able to enter a location, identify their route, then check Uber prices and request a ride without ever leaving the Maps app. Now that functionality is gone, and it’s not completely clear why.

It seems Uber integration was pulled from Google Maps for iOS last summer, but when we tore down the Maps version 9.72 APK for Android in February of this year, it was still there. On one Google Maps Help page, Google simply says “you can no longer book Uber rides directly in Google Maps.”

The integration allowed users to avoid the official Uber app, which has previously been criticized for its aggressive location tracking. Uber would almost certainly prefer customers to use its own app anyway, so perhaps Uber, rather than Google, was behind the decision to block Maps integration.

Either way, you’ll need the Uber app, which you can download from the Play Store by clicking the button below, if you want to continue using Uber rides.

Source: Google