'My shop disappeared from the map overnight': Milan traders speak out on duplicate image problem

A ceramics shop on Via Vigevano has the same problem as a cocktail bar near Piazza Gae Aulenti and a tailoring atelier tucked into a courtyard off Corso Magenta. All three lost their correct business image on Google Maps and Apple Maps sometime in the past eight months, replaced by a duplicate photograph pulled from a different, unrelated listing. All three say they are still fighting to get it fixed.

The issue — loosely described by platform support teams as a duplicate image replacement error — occurs when mapping algorithms automatically associate a business profile with a photo already indexed elsewhere in the system. For a city whose economy runs on visual identity, from fashion showrooms in the Quadrilatero della Moda to aperitivo venues in Isola, the consequences are more than cosmetic.

Milan's tourism office recorded roughly 9.8 million overnight visitors to the city in 2024, according to figures published by the Comune di Milano. A significant share of those visitors now navigate the city almost entirely through digital mapping tools. A wrong image — a rival café's interior displayed under your address, or a stock photograph of a generic European street attached to your boutique — can mean a customer walks past without stopping, or worse, leaves a review complaining the place looks nothing like expected.

The problem hits small traders hardest

Confcommercio Milano, the city's main retail and services trade federation, has fielded a rising number of inquiries on the topic since late 2025, particularly from independent operators in the Navigli district and along Corso Buenos Aires. While the federation has not yet published a formal report on the scale of the issue, its advice desk has been directing affected members toward the official appeal channels on Google's Business Profile platform and Apple's Maps Connect portal.

The frustration expressed by affected traders centres on response times. Submitting a correction request through Google Business Profile can trigger an automated review that takes anywhere from three days to several weeks, depending on whether the listing has been flagged for broader duplication conflicts. For a small business without a dedicated marketing team, tracking an open ticket across multiple platforms while managing daily trade is a real burden.

One nail and beauty studio on Via Tortona, in the five9 design district, described spending six weeks going back and forth with platform support before the correct exterior photograph was restored. A language school operating out of a building on Via Torino said its profile had, at one point, displayed a photograph of a restaurant located three blocks away — confusing prospective students who arrived expecting a classroom and found a lunch crowd.

What traders can do right now

Practical steps do exist. Digital marketing specialists working with the camera di commercio di Milano Monza Brianza Lodi — the metropolitan chamber of commerce — advise that businesses photograph and geo-tag their own images before uploading them, since images tagged with GPS coordinates matching the verified business address are harder for algorithms to misattribute. Uploading a minimum of ten original, clearly labelled photographs to a Google Business Profile also reduces the statistical likelihood of a substitute image being pulled from elsewhere in the database.

Businesses can flag a suspected duplicate image directly through the 'suggest an edit' function on Google Maps without needing to own or manage the listing, which means that loyal customers can assist simply by reporting the error when they notice it. Apple Maps Connect allows verified owners to upload replacement images and mark incorrect ones for removal, with a standard review window the company states is typically under seven business days.

Milan is entering the most commercially pressured period in recent memory. With the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics opening in February, the city expects a surge in international foot traffic this autumn and winter as athletes, officials, media crews and tourists begin arriving for pre-Games events. For the Via Vigevano ceramics shop and hundreds of businesses like it across the city, getting the right face on the map before that wave arrives is not a technical nicety — it is a matter of survival.