Offline Maps for a Holiday Drive, Without Filling Your iPhone

You're driving to family for Thanksgiving on November 26, and part of the route has no signal: a mountain pass, a long rural stretch, a canyon. You want the map on the phone before you go. But the phone already says storage is almost full.

The short answer: download only the area you'll actually drive through, check the size before you tap Download, do it on Wi-Fi the night before, and delete the map when you're home. In Apple Maps it's your picture or initials → Offline Maps. In Google Maps it's your profile picture → Offline maps. Both apps can do this on iPhone; the steps for each are below.

First: see what's already saved

Old offline maps are easy to forget. Go to Settings → General → iPhone Storage and find Maps (and Google Maps, if you use it) in the list. If either is bigger than you expected, a map from a past trip may still be saved.

Then open the app and look at the list itself. In Apple Maps, tap your picture or initials next to the search field, then Offline Maps. Each saved map shows its file size, and you can delete any you don't need with Delete Map. Apple notes you can only delete offline maps inside the Maps app, not from Settings (Apple Support).

Apple Maps: download only the stretch you need

Apple Maps offline maps need iOS 17 or later, and they're only offered in some areas. Per Apple:

1. Open Maps, tap your picture or initials, then tap Offline Maps.
2. Tap the add button, then type a place or choose Current Location.
3. Drag the box to cover the area. Maps shows the file size before you download, so resize until it fits the space you have.
4. Tap Download.

You can also search for a town, tap it, and tap Download (or More → Download Map), or tap an empty spot on the map and choose Download from there.

Two settings in the same Offline Maps screen are worth a look before you leave:

• Downloads: choose to download offline maps only on Wi-Fi, so a big map doesn't eat your data plan.
• Optimize Storage: when on, Apple says unused offline maps are deleted automatically after a period of time. Apple doesn't say how long, so don't count on it for this weekend's space.

Automatic Updates is on by default, which keeps the map current if a street or business changes.

Google Maps: same idea, one extra rule

In Google Maps on iPhone, per Google's help page:

1. Connect to the internet and make sure you're not in Incognito mode.
2. Tap your profile picture or initial, then Offline maps.
3. Tap Select your own map, adjust the area, and tap Download.

The extra rule: Google says offline driving directions only work if the entire route is inside the downloaded area. So a small map of Grandma's town isn't enough if the dead zone is two hours before it. Google also says transit, cycling and walking directions don't work offline, and you won't get traffic or alternate routes.

Google's offline maps also need updating before they expire. If one is 15 days or less from expiring and you're on Wi-Fi, the app tries to update it on its own; you can also turn on Auto-update offline maps from the settings icon in the Offline maps screen.

If the map won't fit

Shrink the area first: a route corridor is smaller than a whole region, and you can save the start and the end as two smaller maps if the middle has signal. If it still won't fit, make room somewhere that's easy to get back. Long videos are usually the quickest win. In Photos, the Media Types → Videos collection lets you find old clips, and this guide to finding the largest videos walks through it. Apps you haven't opened in months can be offloaded, which keeps their data so they come back as they were.

To find the biggest videos and near-identical shots in one pass, Phone Diet lists Largest Files and can compress videos to about half the size at the default level.

Leave some room on top of the map, too: the trip itself will add photos and video, and a phone that's completely full can stop the camera from taking new shots.

After the trip: delete it

Once you're home, the map has done its job. In Apple Maps: picture or initials → Offline Maps, tap the map, tap Delete Map. In Google Maps: profile picture → Offline maps, tap the map, tap Delete. If you drive the same route every holiday, keeping it is fine; just know where the space went the next time iPhone Storage shows Maps as a big slice.

Where Phone Diet helps, and where it doesn't

We make Phone Diet, so to be plain about it: it cannot see, download or delete offline maps. iOS keeps each app's files private, so only Apple Maps and Google Maps can remove their own downloads. What Phone Diet does is the other half of the job: it scans your photo library for duplicates, similar shots, screenshots, screen recordings and the largest videos, and can compress videos, so there's room for the map. Photos stay on the device. The scan is free, and your first photo cleanup of up to 1 GB is free; after that it's Premium.

Quick answers

How much space does an offline map take?

It depends on the area. Apple Maps shows the size before you download, and you can drag the box smaller until it fits. A city is much smaller than a wide region.

Do Apple offline maps delete themselves?

Only with Optimize Storage turned on, and then only after an unspecified period of not using them.

Can a cleaner app delete my offline maps?

No. Delete them in the Maps or Google Maps app. Cleaner apps work on your photo library, not other apps' downloads.