Maps Instead

Set up in about a minute

Safari extensions are off until you turn them on. These are the exact taps.

1

Open Settings, then Apps

On iOS 17 and earlier, skip this step: Safari is directly in the main Settings list.

Settings with the Apps entry highlightedScreenshot slot
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2

Tap Safari

The list is alphabetical, so Safari is under S.

The Apps list with Safari highlightedScreenshot slot
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3

Tap Extensions

Extensions is under the General section of Safari's settings.

Safari settings with Extensions highlightedScreenshot slot
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4

Tap “Maps Instead” and turn it on

Extensions are off until you turn them on. If you use Safari profiles, switch it on for each one. Private Browsing has its own switch.

“Maps Instead” settings page with the Personal, Work and Developer profiles switched onScreenshot slot
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5

Open a Google page in Safari, then Manage Extensions

Tap the button at the left of the address bar, then Manage Extensions, and make sure “Maps Instead” is on.

Safari’s page menu with Manage Extensions highlightedScreenshot slot
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6

Tap “Maps Instead” in the same menu

Open the menu again. “Maps Instead” is now listed in it, just above Describe Extension.

Safari’s page menu with “Maps Instead” highlightedScreenshot slot
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7

Choose Always Allow…

"Allow for One Day" would mean setting it up again tomorrow. Safari's mention of passwords and credit cards is its standard wording, not something Maps Instead does. Here's what it actually does.

Safari permission prompt with Always Allow highlightedScreenshot slot
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8

Choose Always Allow on Every Website

This sounds bigger than it is. Maps Instead only asks for Google's domains and Google's short-link domains, so “every website” here means every Google site. It still can't touch anything else. Safari treats each Google site separately, and this option covers them all at once.

Safari confirmation with Always Allow on Every Website highlightedScreenshot slot
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9

Test it

Open the Maps Instead app and press Test it. Safari opens a real Google Maps directions link and Apple Maps should take over with directions to Apple Park.

Apple Maps showing 1 Apple Park WayScreenshot slot
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Cartoon of a woman in a pink dress dancing

That's it. Tap any Google Maps link in Safari. Dancing optional.

Is it safe to allow this?

Yes. A Safari extension is a small add-on that changes how Safari behaves on certain websites. Safari can't know what any one extension will do, so its warning describes the most an extension could do on the sites it's allowed on. Every extension that works with web pages gets the same wording.

What Maps Instead does

  • Runs only on Google's sites, and looks only for links to Google Maps
  • Turns those links into Apple Maps links, on your device
  • Asks Google where a shortened map link leads, when the link doesn't say
  • Remembers two things: whether it's switched on, and how many links it has redirected

What it doesn't do

  • Run on any site outside Google, such as your bank
  • Read passwords, card numbers or what you type
  • Keep or send your browsing history
  • Use analytics, ads, accounts or servers of its own

You don't have to take our word for it

Apple reviews it

Maps Instead is sold only through the App Store, and Apple checks each version before release. Its privacy label there is "Data Not Collected".

Safari enforces the limits

The list of sites an extension can reach is fixed in the extension itself. Safari blocks it from everything else, whichever option you chose.

The code is public

Anyone can read exactly what it does on GitHub, including the list of sites it asks for.

Changed your mind?

You stay in charge. Switch it off in the same Settings screen, or delete the app and the extension goes with it. Nothing is left behind, because nothing was kept anywhere else. For any other extension, the same habits serve you well: get it from the App Store, check its privacy label, and notice which sites it asks for.

Not working?

The support page covers the three things that account for nearly every problem, and how to report a link that misbehaves.