Hello,
I received this email below from GMP. My maps are working but wondered if you have done something to address this change or if I need to do something.
Please advise.Hello Google Maps Platform customer,This communication reminds you about the upcoming deprecation of the
class in the Maps JavaScript API and provides the necessary resources for transitioning your applications to modern alternatives.This follows the initial communication that we sent on
April 13, 2026.What you need to knowThe
functionality in the Maps JavaScript API will no longer be supported. This feature is deprecated as of today, and was made unavailable in version
of the Maps JavaScript API, releasing in
August 2026. You can keep using the KML Layer until
May 2027, by explicitly using Maps JavaScript API versions that still support it.Developers are required to migrate to other ways to display geographic data like
Data-driven styling (DDS) for boundaries and datasets, or client-side rendering with the
Data layer. Combining the Datasets API with the new Map Management API, developers can create a fully automated pipeline for managing their geographic datasets with Google Maps Platform. By utilizing Data-driven styling for datasets, developers can not only bring their data to a map with dynamic styling, but also allow users to interact with the data.What you need to doTo ensure your applications continue to function correctly while developing a migration,
you must make sure to
pin your Maps JavaScript API version to 3.65
, which became available in May 2026.We recommend migrating your KML implementations to one of the following migration paths:
- Data-driven Styling for Boundaries: Ideal for highlighting administrative areas like countries, states, or localities.
- Data-driven Styling for Datasets: Recommended for uploading and styling public geo datasets in KML, GeoJSON or CSV formats.
- Client-Side Rendering (Data Layer): Best for developers with small datasets and who want to self-host their data in the GeoJSON format.
- 3P Libraries: Alternatively, open-source libraries such as
Deck.gl
or
geoxml3
can be utilized.
For detailed implementation guides and code samples, please refer to our comprehensive
KML Migration guide
.
What happens if no action is taken?The
will only be available in version up to
of the Maps JavaScript API. In
August 2026, the weekly channel of Maps JavaScript API switched to version
, which means that if you utilize the weekly channel your maps will stop working.In
November 2026, when the quarterly channel changes to version
, the
will no longer be available in the quarterly channel.After the
May 2027 rollover, version
will no longer be available, and applications still attempting to use
will encounter breakages as the feature will no longer be present in any JavaScript Maps API version.Your affected projects are listed below:
Timeline
- May 2026:
- Release in the weekly channel of the last version (
) of the Maps JavaScript API that supports the
. You can choose to load this specific version to delay the impact on your applications.
- August 2026:
- Release in the weekly channel of the first version (
) of the Maps JavaScript API that no longer supports the
.
- Release in the quarterly channel of the last version (
) of the Maps JavaScript API that supports the
. You can choose to load this specific version to delay the impact on your applications.
- November 2026:
- Release in the quarterly channel of the first version (
) of the Maps JavaScript API that no longer supports the
.
- May 2027:
- Version
will no longer be available. The
will no longer be available on any available Maps JavaScript API version.
We are here to helpWe understand these changes may take some planning. If you have any questions or require assistance, please feel free to contact our support team at
Google Maps Platform Support
.Thanks for choosing Google Maps Platform.
