I think that is perfectly acceptable for a product that is otherwise very good and completely free. You don't even need a Google account to use it (at least in the browser, not sure about on phones).
You 100% need a google account on Android. Recently, for a month or so, Maps had been malfunctioning for me -- it wouldn't show any maps. It would still do turn-by-turn directions, but not maps.
It turns out that I had logged out of my google account and forgot to log back in. Once I did that, I could see the maps again. Not that I really want to -- those sponsored locations are much too annoying to tolerate. So I've switched away from Google Maps and logged back out of my account.
It turns out that I had logged out of my google account and forgot to log back in. Once I did that, I could see the maps again. Not that I really want to -- those sponsored locations are much too annoying to tolerate. So I've switched away from Google Maps and logged back out of my account.