Test Map Path
What this page tests. Map Path’s job is to rewrite map links so a click opens Apple Maps instead of the original service. Each section below tests a real-world link pattern. Hover any link — Safari’s status bar shows the rewritten URL. Click — Apple Maps opens. Two sections at the bottom document things Apple’s platform doesn’t allow any extension to do.
This is a test page, not a marketing page. Every link
below is a real-world map link — the messy kind
you actually get from a “Share” button, an address bar, or a
“Get directions” button on some business’s site,
complete with @ coordinates, /data= blobs, and
tracking parameters. Each points at a US national monument or patriotic
site. With the Map Path Safari
extension installed and enabled, the links in the first groups should
open Apple Maps. The last group proves the extension
leaves the wrong things alone.
How to use it
- Install and enable Map Path in Safari (Settings → Extensions), and allow it on this site.
- Press Check links. It reports, for each link, whether it now points at Apple Maps — without you having to open every one.
- Or just click any link: it should open Apple Maps at the monument. Hover first to see where it now points.
The check runs entirely in your browser — it only reads where the
links on this page point. Nothing is sent anywhere. A link counts as
“rewritten” when it now starts with
https://maps.apple.com/.
In-page map preview
Expected: limited — by Apple’s design.
maps.apple.com URLs are universal links built to open the
Maps app on Apple devices. Apple sets HTTP headers that block these URLs
from being embedded inside an iframe (this is true for everyone, not
just this extension), so in-page preview isn’t achievable. The
click test above is the meaningful verification.
The links below still work as ordinary rewrite tests: hover to see the rewritten URL, click to open Apple Maps.
-
Google share URL — USS Arizona Memorial
google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=21.3656%2C-157.9500 -
Waze URL — Fort McHenry National Monument
waze.com/ul?ll=39.2638%2C-76.5796&navigate=yes -
Bing URL — Bunker Hill Monument
bing.com/maps?q=Bunker+Hill+Monument+Boston -
HERE URL — Castillo de San Marcos
wego.here.com/?map=29.898889,-81.311111,16,normal&msg=Castillo...
Google Maps
Expected: hover each link — Safari’s status bar shows
maps.apple.com/.... Click — Apple Maps opens with the
correct location. This is the everyday real-world case: a link to Google
Maps routes to Apple Maps.
-
Statue of Liberty — full place URL copied from
the address bar (
/data=blob and all)
google.com/maps/place/Statue+of+Liberty/@40.689,-74.044,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6… -
Lincoln Memorial — search results URL with map
center
google.com/maps/search/Lincoln+Memorial/@38.8892686,-77.0509287,17z -
Gateway Arch —
maps.google.com/?q=with city and state
maps.google.com/?q=Gateway+Arch,+St.+Louis,+MO -
Independence Hall — a dropped pin (no place
name, just
@coordinates)
google.com/maps/place//@39.9489668,-75.1500233,18z/data=!4m2… -
Mount Rushmore — a “Get directions”
link (
/dir//destination)
google.com/maps/dir//Mount+Rushmore+National+Memorial,+Keystone,+SD/@43.879… -
The Alamo — raw coordinates in
?q=(a shared pin)
google.com/maps?q=29.4259671,-98.4861419 -
Liberty Bell — classic
?daddr=with a full street address
maps.google.com/maps?daddr=Liberty+Bell+Center,+526+Market+St,+Philadelphia,+PA -
Washington Monument — share API with
coordinates and a place id (
%2Cencoded)
google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=38.8894838%2C-77.0352791&query_place_id=ChIJ
Waze
Expected: hover each link — Safari’s status bar shows
maps.apple.com/.... Click — Apple Maps opens with the
correct location. This is the everyday real-world case: a link to Waze
routes to Apple Maps.
-
Vietnam Veterans Memorial — Waze app share
(
ll=with encoded comma)
waze.com/ul?ll=38.8910500%2C-77.0479700&navigate=yes&zoom=17 -
Gettysburg National Military Park — live-map
directions (
to=ll.)
waze.com/live-map/directions?to=ll.39.8118000,-77.2311000&from=ll.39.83,-77.23…
Bing Maps
Expected: hover each link — Safari’s status bar shows
maps.apple.com/.... Click — Apple Maps opens with the
correct location. This is the everyday real-world case: a link to Bing
Maps routes to Apple Maps.
-
Thomas Jefferson Memorial — share link with a
FORM=tracking parameter
bing.com/maps?q=Thomas+Jefferson+Memorial&FORM=HDRSC6 -
Mount Vernon — center coordinates with an
encoded tilde (
cp=lat%7Elng)
bing.com/maps?cp=38.7293%7E-77.0861&lvl=16.0&style=r
HERE WeGo
Expected: hover each link — Safari’s status bar shows
maps.apple.com/.... Click — Apple Maps opens with the
correct location. This is the everyday real-world case: a link to HERE
WeGo routes to Apple Maps.
-
Hoover Dam — map center with a label
(
?map=lat,lng&msg=)
wego.here.com/?map=36.0160250,-114.7376790,15,normal&msg=Hoover%20Dam -
Arlington National Cemetery —
?q=search
wego.here.com/?q=Arlington+National+Cemetery
geo: links
These show up in apps and on some mobile-friendly pages; Safari hands them to Map Path the same way.
Expected: same as above. geo: URIs work the same way.
-
Crazy Horse Memorial — coordinates with a label
(
geo:lat,lng?q=)
geo:43.8366,-103.6232?q=Crazy+Horse+Memorial -
Valley Forge — plain coordinates
(
geo:lat,lng)
geo:40.1018,-75.4566 -
Plymouth Rock — label only
(
geo:0,0?q=)
geo:0,0?q=Plymouth+Rock,+Pilgrim+Memorial+State+Park
Edge cases — rewritten, but results can be fuzzy
Expected: these still rewrite to Apple Maps, but as a text query rather than precise coordinates, so the pin may land slightly off. They open Apple Maps; exact placement depends on the client’s geocoding.
-
Google Plus Code — rewritten as a text query;
geocoding quality may vary by client
google.com/maps/search/87G8Q9X6+6X -
Unusual coordinate format — DMS notation is
rewritten as text and may not pin precisely
google.com/maps?q=38°53'23.6"N 77°00'32.5"W
Links Map Path leaves unchanged
These links are intentionally left as-is, for one of two reasons: they already point at Apple Maps (nothing to convert), or they can’t be rewritten safely — shortened links Map Path won’t follow over the network, ordinary web pages, look-alike domains, and embed widgets. The check counts each as correct when it does not become an Apple Maps link (except the Apple Maps one, which should stay Apple Maps).
Expected: hover each link — the original URL is unchanged. Map
Path deliberately leaves these alone. Shortened links (goo.gl) are
skipped because resolving them would require a network call, which would
break the on-device privacy promise. Look-alike domains like
atmosphere.com contain the substring “here.com”
but are not HERE Maps — the parser classifies by hostname, not
substring.
-
Lincoln Memorial — an Apple Maps share link
(already Apple Maps, left unchanged)
maps.apple.com/?address=1+Lincoln+Memorial+Cir+NW…&ll=38.8893,-77.0502&q=Lincoln+Memorial -
Waze short link — shortened share links are
left as-is (no network expansion)
waze.com/ul/hsv8pb0k8p -
Google Maps embed URL — embed sources should
not be rewritten
google.com/maps/embed?pb=...
Expected: the Google Maps iframe stays as-is. Apple doesn’t ship a web embed equivalent to Google’s Maps Embed API, so there’s nothing to swap to. Sites use Google’s embed widget because it’s the only mainstream embeddable map — and Map Path’s job is to rewrite link targets (the navigation action), not replace inline map widgets. The action that matters (a nearby “Get directions” link) still gets rewritten.
-
Shortened Google link — not followed (that
would need a network call)
maps.app.goo.gl/8xQqA6Yz2bExmp -
Old-style short link —
goo.gl/maps, also left alone
goo.gl/maps/Xv9bExmpLE2 -
National Park Service directions page — an
ordinary web page, not a map link
nps.gov/stli/planyourvisit/directions.htm -
A look-alike domain —
atmosphere.comcontains the text “here.com” but is not HERE Maps
atmosphere.com/maps?q=not-here-maps