Map data, credits and fixing mistakes
Every part of Maps comes from a free, public source, and each source is credited where its data appears. When something on the map is wrong, most of it can be corrected by anyone, at the source.
#What comes from where
| Part of Maps | Source |
|---|---|
| Streets, buildings, businesses, addresses, opening hours | OpenStreetMap, the world map made by volunteers |
| How the map is drawn | OpenFreeMap map styles, from OpenStreetMap data |
| Cities, towns, U.S. ZIP codes, country facts | GeoNames |
| Summaries and photos of places | Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons |
| Hills, terrain and elevations | Open elevation data from the U.S. Geological Survey and others |
| Satellite and aerial pictures | NASA, the European Space Agency's WorldCover mosaic, the U.S. Geological Survey and national mapping agencies |
| Street-level photos | Panoramax contributors |
| Weather radar, warnings, clouds | NOAA, the National Weather Service and NASA |
| Earthquakes | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Wildfires | National Interagency Fire Center |
| Air quality | AirNow (the EPA and its partners) |
| Data centers and AI supercomputers | OpenStreetMap, a U.S. national atlas, Wikidata, Epoch AI and the cloud providers' own lists |
| Directions and travel times | Worked out by 4Search on OpenStreetMap's roads and paths |
The full list, with every licence and a credit for each country's aerial photos, is on About these maps, linked at the foot of every Maps panel and under Sources in the Layers menu.
#The credits on the map
The small box at the bottom right of the map names the sources of what you are looking at, and changes as you move: in France it credits France's aerial photos, in the United States the U.S. Geological Survey. On a small screen it folds up behind an i button. The credit for OpenStreetMap is always there, because every map you see is built from its data.
#Fix a mistake
| What is wrong | What to do |
|---|---|
| A wrong or missing street, address, business, opening hours or phone number | Select Report a map error on the map or at the foot of the panel, or on a place page select Edit it or leave a note. These open OpenStreetMap, where anyone can fix it or describe the problem for a volunteer. |
| A wrong Wikipedia summary | Edit the article on Wikipedia, linked under the summary. |
| A wrong earthquake, fire or air-quality reading | It is the agency's data; Maps shows it as published. |
| A wrong route | Routes follow OpenStreetMap's roads. A missing road, a wrong one-way street or a wrong turn restriction can be fixed there. |
Corrections made in OpenStreetMap reach Maps after a while, usually within about a week.
#Common questions
Can I use the maps or pictures somewhere else?
Each source has its own licence, listed on About these maps. OpenStreetMap data, for example, is open with credit to its contributors. Check the licence of the part you want to reuse.
Why is a new road missing?
OpenStreetMap is updated by volunteers, and new roads take time to be added and to reach Maps. You can add it yourself through Report a map error.
Is Maps affiliated with OpenStreetMap?
No. Maps uses OpenStreetMap's open data, as many websites and apps do, and credits it as its licence asks.