How to Use Apple Maps on Windows and Android Devices

Feb. 26, 2021



Apple Maps is still only officially available on Apple devices, which means Windows and Android users don’t even have the option to try it out on their computers and smartphones. That said, there is a workaround that does allow you to use it on Windows, Linux, Android and pretty much any non-Apple device. So if that sounds interesting, read on to find out how you can use Apple Maps on Windows, Linux and Android devices using theprivacy-focused search engine, DuckDuckGo.

Use Apple Maps on Windows, Linux and Android

Use Apple Maps on Windows, Linux and Android

DuckDuckGo uses Apple Mapsinstead of Google Mapsas its default mapping software. Which means you canswitch from Googleto DuckDuckGo to access Apple Maps on your web-browser on pretty much any connected device, irrespective of its make or operating platform. There are some obvious limitations, but the trick works on allpopular web-browsers, includingChrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera and Safari.

Note:If you feel uncomfortable sharing your real location, learn how you canfake your geo-location on any web-browser, including, Chrome, Firefox and Edge.

You can use the same method to use Apple Maps on Android devices as well. I am using the privacy-focused Firefox Focus (free) for the demo below, but the process is identical on Chrome, Edge and the standard Firefox.

Using DuckDuckGo will let you get a taste of Apple Maps on any non-Apple device, including Windows, Linux and Android. However, the experience is far from perfect. While you still get to use its full mapping potential, the experience is nowhere near as complete and feature-filled as Google Maps. Firstly, there’s no built-in support for route planning, which means you can’t really use this service for pre-planning a trip and plotting your route in advance.

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