Getting Free Google Maps in Android

Published: 2023-11-28
Updated: 2023-11-28

When integrating Google Maps into your Android app, you can leverage the free Google Maps API by loading it as a WebView iframe. This approach allows you to seamlessly embed a map within your app. Let’s explore the steps to achieve this using Android’s WebView component.

WebView myWebView = (WebView) findViewById(R.id.displaymap);
WebSettings webSettings = myWebView.getSettings();
webSettings.setJavaScriptEnabled(true);
myWebView.setWebViewClient(new WebViewClient());

String html = "<iframe style="width:100%;height:100%;border:none;border-radius:.5rem;" " +
  "src="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Chicago,Illinois,US&z=13&t=&ie=UTF8&iwloc=&output=embed"></iframe>";

myWebView.loadData(html, "text/html", null);

Steps to Load Google Maps in Android WebView:

  1. Initialize WebView:
WebView myWebView = (WebView) findViewById(R.id.displaymap);
WebSettings webSettings = myWebView.getSettings();
webSettings.setJavaScriptEnabled(true);
myWebView.setWebViewClient(new WebViewClient());
  1. Create HTML with Google Maps iframe:
String html = "<iframe style="width:100%;height:100%;border:none;border-radius:.5rem;" " +
  "src="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Chicago,Illinois,US&z=13&t=&ie=UTF8&iwloc=&output=embed"></iframe>";
  1. Load HTML into WebView:
myWebView.loadData(html, "text/html", null);

By following these steps, you can seamlessly integrate Google Maps into your Android app without the need for a Google Maps API key. This is particularly useful for simple map displays or when budget constraints limit the use of a paid API.

Remember to customize the HTML parameters to fit your specific location and zoom preferences. Feel free to explore additional customization options provided by the Google Maps iframe API for a more tailored integration.