Google Maps Platform offers cloud-based maps styling features that make it easy to style, customize, and manage your maps using the Google Cloud Console, letting you create a customized map experience for your users without having to update your apps' code each time you make a style change.
Styles created before September 15, 2020 don't display Google Maps enhanced natural features. To use Google Maps enhanced natural features support for your map styling, you must create a map Style.
cloud-based maps styling lets you create and edit map styles for any of your apps that use Google Maps, without requiring any changes to your code once the map ID is in place. All style changes can be done in the Cloud Console, with no coding skills required. Change the appearance and color of many map elements such as roads, buildings, bodies of water, points of interest, and transit routes.
These features include:
- Cloud-based map styling: Rather than styling your map in code using JSON, manage and style your dynamic or static maps in the Cloud Console using map IDs and map styles.
- Business POI filtering: Five categories of business points of interest can be optionally removed from the map display.
- POI Density Control: The density of points of interest shown on the basemap can be adjusted to show greater or fewer points of interest by default.
While cloud-based maps styling is available on Maps SDK for Android1, Maps SDK for iOS, JavaScript, and Maps Static API, not all features are visible on all platforms.
Before you begin
- Create a map ID
To use Cloud-based maps styling, your map must be loaded using a map ID. - Update from hard-coded styling
Before adding a map ID to use cloud-based maps styling
on an existing map that is customized with hard-coded styling, such as JSON or
URL query parameters, remove the hard-coded styling to avoid a
potential conflict with future features. You can
import your JSON styling into a new map style.
- On Android, update the
MapStyleOptions - On iOS, update the
GMSMapStyleclass - On JavaScript, remove the
MapTypeStylestyling - On Maps Static, remove the
styleparameter
- On Android, update the
To use cloud-based maps styling, you must be using 18.0.0 or later of the Maps SDK for Android and use the latest Maps SDK for Android renderer.
Billing
Using cloud-based maps styling requires a map ID. On Maps SDK for Android, Maps SDK for iOS, and JavaScript, using a map ID incurs a charge against the Dynamic Maps SKU. On the Maps Static API, using a map ID incurs a charge against the Static Maps SKU.
Examples
Run the ApiDemos sample app
To run the ApiDemos sample app, see the GitHub sample
(Java
| Kotlin)
and view the CloudBasedMapStylingDemoActivity demo
(Java
| Kotlin).
You can find a Java and Kotlin sample application that demonstrates how to style your Android map from the cloud.
Known Issues
Once your app is delivered to customers, custom styles for maps with map IDs can be updated from Google Cloud Console. The new styles will be reflected in your app in a few hours.
To make sure new custom styles show up immediately for testing purposes, clear app data from your test device. For more information on clearing data from your device, see Android Help - Free Up Space.
Note that settings can vary by phone. For more information, contact your device manufacturer.
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cloud-based maps styling is not available on the Android Lite mode. ↩