# Adopting unified Maps URLs Access Maps URLs and options for displaying Maps information across Apple platforms. ## Discussion In iOS 18.4 and later, macOS 15.4 and later, and watchOS 11.4 and later, the Maps platform provides a new, unified collection of URLs that offers the same functionality on all devices. Use the Maps path components to control aspects of the Maps display, ranging from the presentation of a simple map centered on a location you provide, to finding specific points of interest (POIs) and providing complex multistop driving, walking, or transit directions. ## Frame the map display Use the `/frame` path component and `query` parameters to control aspects of the map’s framing and representation. This component allows you to set a map’s orientation, style, visible area (the map’s span), and other perspective controls, as described in the table below. |Parameter |Description | |:---------|:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |`center` |Frames the map on a specific center described by comma-separated coordinate pair, such as `40.773957,-73.970974`. | |`span` |Specifies the size of the area around the center point of the search in degrees of longitude and latitude, for example `0.05,0.05`, which is approximately one km for these examples. For more information on what these distances mean at different latitudes, see .| |`mode` |Sets the map’s mode to optionally allow location tracking: values can be `follow` or `follow-with-heading`, or `none`. | |`heading` |Sets the direction toward which the map orients. | |`pitch` |Sets the the vertical angle the map is oriented to. | |`distance`|Sets the apparent distance from the viewer to the map surface; this parameter also affects the map’s `span`. | |`map` | Sets the type of map to display: values can be `explore`, `driving`, `transit`, `satellite`, or `hybrid`. | The following `/frame` path component examples demonstrate different kinds of map framing, along with details, where necessary, on how specific parameters affect what the map displays. - Center the map at specific coordinate — . - Set map mode to transit and center map at specific coordinate — . - Set the map mode to `explore` and set user tracking to `follow` — . - Set map mode to `explore`; this setting cause the map to focus on a specified coordinate, and sets the map camera attributes — . - Set the map mode to `explore`, and set location tracking mode to `follow` — . If you’re setting tracking mode and camera properties, the tracking mode takes precedence. Setting camera properties requires a center coordinate. - Center the map at a specific coordinate and frame the map to the specified span —  . It’s also possible to frame the map using the `distance` parameter, for example, . - Set the map mode to `explore`, which centers the map at a specified coordinate, and sets the map camera elevation, heading, and angle; in this example, facing East (90˚), a distance of 1 km, and a map pitch of 15˚ — [https://maps.apple.com/frame?map=explore¢er=40.753035,-73.981846&heading=90&pitch=15&distance=10000](https://maps.apple.com/frame?map=explore¢er=37.316115,-122.050910&heading=90&pitch=15&distance=10000). - Center the map at a specific coordinate and set the camera `distance` — . - Center the map at a specific coordinate and set the camera to the specified properties — [https://maps.apple.com/frame?center=40.753035,-73.981846&distance=5000&pitch=15&heading=180&span=1.0,1.0](https://maps.apple.com/frame?center=37.797198,-122.407377&distance=5000&pitch=15&heading=180&span=1.0,1.0). If you provide both the `span` and `camera` properties, the `camera` properties take precedence, since they’re more specific than a `span`. ## Perform general searches You can use the `/search` path component to search for specific kinds of locations using several `query` parameters. |Parameter|Description | |:--------|:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |`center` |Searches the map starting at a specific center point described by a comma-separated coordinate pair, such as `40.773957,-73.970974`. | |`query` |A search string. This parameter can be a general point of interest (POI) such as `pizza`, or a specific location such as an address string, such as `1000 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY`, or a city name such as `San Francisco`. For a list of POIs, see . | |`span` |A span that specifies the size of the area around the center point of the search in degrees of longitude and latitude, for example `0.05,0.05` which is approximately 1 km for these examples. For more information on what these distances mean at different latitudes, see .| The following `/search` path component examples demonstrate how to use the `search` path component to find `pizza`, one of Maps’ POI identifiers, using different kinds of location and distance descriptions. - Show results for `pizza` around a person’s location: . The default center point is a person’s location. - Show results for `pizza` centered on Trafalgar Square in London, United Kingdom — . - Show results for `pizza` within approximately 1 km around Washington Square Park in New York City — . ## Show the place card of a POI Using the `/place` path component enables you to specify a place card that shows useful details about points of interest on the map. Use the parameters in the following table to specify a POI and optionally the place card name and map type. |Parameter |Description | |:-----------|:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |`coordinate`|The latitude and longitude of the location, as a comma-separated pair of floating point values that represent latitude and longitude. | |`address` |The address of the location, such as “1000 Fifth Ave, New York, NY”. | |`place-id` |A Place ID is a unique identifier for a POI, such as `I521E602783BA9605`, The Metropolitan Museum of Art at 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028, United States; for more information on Place IDs, see .| |`name` |A custom name to use for the place card, if the place card is available. | |`map` |The type of map to display. Maps supports `explore`, `driving`, `transit`, `satellite`, or `hybrid` as the map type. | The following examples demonstrate different place card details along with details, where necessary, on how specific parameters affect what the maps displays. - Show the address 1000 Fifth Ave, NY, NY, which is located at the specified coordinate and associated POIs near this address —  . - Show 1000 Fifth Ave, NY, NY, 10028 using an address string and display associated POIs near this address: . - Show the place at PlaceID `IF149E70A3B3C4CB2` — American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central Park W, New York, NY 10024, United States — . To find a specific Place ID, you can use in AppKit and UIKit, in MapKitJS, or see [Place ID Lookup](https://developer.apple.com/maps/place-id-lookup/). - Show a place card at the specified coordinate with custom name you provide — . You can use this parameter when dropping a pin if you need to display a custom name for the place card. - Show a person’s current location — . This parameter requires that a person has given permission for Maps to display their location. - Show the location of a person’s parked car — . This parameter requires that a person has given Maps permission to record the place they parked. ## Explore the environment using Look Around Use the `/look-around` path component and one of the following parameters to specify the initial location to start a session using Look Around. |Parameter |Description | |:-----------|:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |`coordinate`|The latitude and longitude of the location as a comma-separated pair of floating point values that represent latitude and longitude. | |`address` |The address of the location. This parameter is an address string, such as “1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028”. | |`place-id` |A Place ID, which is a unique identifier for a point of interest, such as `I521E602783BA9605`, The Metropolitan Museum of Art at 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028, United States; for more information on Place IDs, see .| The following examples demonstrate Look Around experiences in different cities: - The San Francisco Ferry Building — - The New York Stock Exchange, New York City, United States — - The Tower of London, London, United Kingdom — - The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France — ## Request directions Use the `/directions` path component and following query parameters in several combinations to request directions. |Parameters |Description |Values |Notes | |:---------------------|:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|:----------------------------------------------------------------------------| |`source` |The starting point of the navigation route |Specify an address, coordinate, or a place name | | |`source-place-id` |An optional place identifier for the source parameter |A Place ID |Specifying a `source-place-id` also requires the `source` parameter | |`destination` |The ending destination of the navigation route |Specify an address, coordinate, or a place name | | |`destination-place-id`|An optional place identifier for the destination parameter |A Place ID |Specifying a `destination-place-id` also requires the `destination` parameter| |`waypoint` |This parameter describes destinations in between the `source` and `destination` you can use for multistop routing|Specify an address, coordinate, or a place name |You can specify multiple waypoints by repeating the `waypoint` parameter | |`waypoint-place-id` |An optional place identifier for the waypoint parameter |A Place ID, which is a unique identifier for a point of interest, such as `I521E602783BA9605`, The Metropolitan Museum of Art at 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028, United States; for more information on Place IDs, see | | |`mode` |The transportation mode |You can specify one of `driving`, `walking`, `transit`, or `cycling` | | |`avoid` |The route preferences are specific to the transportation mode |You can specify `tolls`, `highways`, `busy-roads`, or `stairs` |Specify multiple options by using a comma (,) as the delimiter | |`transit-preferences` |The preferred method of travel for transit |Available modes are `bus`, `subway`, `commuter`, or `ferry` |Specify multiple options by using the comma (,) as the delimiter | |`start` |Starts navigation after the delay in seconds that you specify |An integer that indicates the number of seconds to delay | | You can use the query parameters to the `directions` path in a large number of combinations to control how Maps displays directions. Limitations on the combinators or side effect that they may have are listed in the table above. - Show driving directions from a person’s current location to San Francisco City Hall: [https://maps.apple.com/directions?destination=1%Dr.%20Carlton%20B.%20Goodlatte%20Place,%20San%20Francisco,%20CA%20%94102,%20United%20States&mode=driving](https://maps.apple.com/directions?destination=1%Dr.%20Carlton%20B.%20Goodlatte%20Place,%20San%20Francisco,%20CA%20%94102,%20United%20States&mode=driving]). - Show the step-by-step walking directions from the San Franciso Ferry Building to San Francisco City Hall: . - Show multistop driving directions to The San Francisco Ferry Building and San Francisco City Hall — . You can specify multiple `waypoint` parameters for different waypoints. - Show multistop driving directions, in New York City, from Riverside Park to The American Museum of Natural History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The New York Public Library — . - Show transit directions from the New York Public Library to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City — [https://maps.apple.com/directions?source=200%20Central%20Park%20W%20New%20York,%20NY%2010024%20United%20States&destination=200%20Central%20Park%20W%20New%20York,%20NY%2010024%20United%20States&mode=transit](https://maps.apple.com/directions?source=476%20Fifth%20Ave%20New%20York,%20NY%2010018%20United%20States&destination=200%20Central%20Park%20W%20New%20York,%20NY%2010024%20United%20States&mode=transit). Leaving off the `source` instructs Maps to display directions using public transit to the specified destination from a person’s current location, which might not be practical depending on a person’s location. - Show driving directions from The American Museum of Natural History in New York City to Jones Beach State Park on Long Island, New York, avoiding tolls, if possible — . - Show driving directions to 941 Alamo Dr, in San Francisco, CA avoiding tolls and highways, if possible — . You can use ‘,’ as a separator to specify multiple `avoid` options. - Show walking directions from, a person’s current location to 1 La Avanzada St, San Francisco, CA avoiding highways, hills, stairs, and busy roads, if possible — . The `avoid` options are only applicable to their respective transportation modes. - Show transit directions from a person’s current location to Sausalito, preferring bus and ferry — . Leaving off the `source` instructs Maps to display directions using public transit to the specified destination from a person’s current location, which might not be practical depending on their location. ## Find guides and curated places Using the `/guides` path component, you can ask Maps to provide details about place guides and curated collections using the following URL: . ## Report a problem If you find an issue with Apple Maps, you can report a problem using the `/report-a-problem path` component, followed by any of the following parameters: |Parameters |Description |Values | |------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| |`coordinate`|The latitude and longitude of the location |A comma-separated pair of floating point values that represent latitude and longitude | |`address` |The address of the location |An address string, such as 1000 Fifth Avenue | |`place-id` |The unique Place ID for a point of interest; for example, the place ID `I8CAD8EFA77AA3D42` represents Bethesda Terrace in New York City’s Central Park|For more information on Place IDs, see | ### Example problem reports You can report a problem using the same kinds of location descriptors the other queries use. The following examples show how to report a problem using a coordinate, an address, or a Place ID. - Report a problem at the coordinate `40.753035,-73.981846` (The New York Public Library at 42nd St & 5th Ave in New York City) - - Report a problem at the address 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028 United States — - Report a problem at Place ID `IBE1F65094A7A13B1`, the San Francisco Ferry Building — When you open the `report-a-problem` URL, Maps opens a problem report sheet to ask a person for more detail on the nature of the problem, which Apple uses to investigate the report. ## Retrieve a full Maps URL from a shortened URL When people share a map URL from Maps, this system creates a shortened version that’s more efficient to send in the app, for example, Messages or Mail. If you need to recover the full URL, follow these steps: 1. Check to see if the URL is a shortened Apple Maps URL; the host portion of an Apple shortened Maps URLs always end in `maps.apple` (no `.com`). 2. Attempt to access the URL programmatically, the full Apple Maps URL is accessible from the `HTTP 301` redirect response that the `maps.apple` server returns. --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)