Google Saved Places → Apple Maps Converter

This project converts Google Maps “Saved Places” (Google Takeout JSON) into formats that can be opened easily on macOS/iOS and saved permanently in Apple Maps (Favorites or Guides).

Since Apple Maps does not support direct import of GPX/KML/JSON/CSV, this tool generates an HTML launcher page containing one-click Apple Maps links for each location. This allows fast, semi-bulk saving of places directly into Apple Maps.

This project converts Google Maps “Saved Places” (Google Takeout JSON) into a format that can be opened easily on macOS/iOS and saved permanently inside Apple Maps (Favorites or Guides).

Apple Maps does not support direct import of GPX, KML, JSON, or CSV files. This tool generates an HTML launcher page that opens each location directly in Apple Maps, allowing fast semi-bulk saving.

Features

• Extracts coordinates from Google Takeout:
  • geometry.coordinates
  • Coordinates embedded in google_maps_url (?q=lat,lon)
• Extracts names from:
  • location.name
  • q=Place+Name in Google Maps URLs
  • Fallback labels when missing
• Generates:
  • HTML Launcher Page with place names, Apple Maps links, Google Maps links, and metadata.
  • fallback coordinates embedded in google_maps_url (?q=lat,lon)
• Extracts names from:
  • location.name
  • text inside Google Maps URL (?q=Place+Name)
  • other fallback labels
• Generates:
  • HTML Launcher Page containing:
    • Place names
    • One-click Open in Apple Maps links
    • Google Maps links
    • Coordinates, dates, notes, addresses

Works on all devices, and relies on Apple Maps’ native “Add to Favorites / Add to Guide” buttons for permanent saving.

Input Format (Google Takeout)

Export from:

Google Takeout → Maps → Saved Places → Labeled places.json

Example:

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [
    {
      "geometry": { "coordinates": [0, 0], "type": "Point" },
      "properties": {
        "date": "2025-01-01T12:00:00Z",
        "google_maps_url": "http://maps.google.com/?q=50.82253,-0.13150",
        "Comment": "..."
      }
    }
  ]
}

Output Format (HTML Launcher)

Running the script produces:

saved_places.html

This HTML file contains:

• A table of all places
• Open in Apple Maps links
• Google Maps URLs
• Coordinates + metadata

Open it → click a link → Apple Maps opens → Click Add to Favorites or Add to Guide → saved permanently.

Installation

Ensure Python 3 is installed:

python3 --version

Usage

Clone your repository:

git clone https://gitlab.com/your-username/saved-places-applemaps.git
cd saved-places-applemaps

Usage

Place your Google Takeout file in the project directory, then run:

python3 saved_places_to_html.py "Labeled places.json" saved_places.html

Open saved_places.html and click each Open in Apple Maps link, then save the location in Apple Maps.

Then:

1. Open saved_places.html
2. Click Open in Apple Maps for each location
3. In Apple Maps, click Add to Favorites or Add to Guide

Apple Maps syncs saved places through iCloud across Mac, iPhone, iPad.

How It Works

Google Takeout often includes:

• Real coordinates
• Or fake [0,0] placeholders + real coordinates hidden in URL query strings

This tool:

1. Reads coordinates from geometry.coordinates

2. If [0,0], extracts lat,lon from:

   google_maps_url → ?q=lat,lon
   

3. Extracts a readable name from:

   • location.name
   • ?q=Name+Text
   • fallback fields

4. Generates an Apple Maps deep link:

   https://maps.apple.com/?ll=LAT,LON&q=NAME
   

Opening this link loads the location instantly inside Apple Maps.

Apple Maps Limitations

• No Apple Maps API for importing locations
• No GPX/KML/JSON import
• No file format for Guide creation
• No programmatic Favorites import
• No AppleScript support

This tool provides the closest possible workflow using official, supported behaviour.

Roadmap

• Grouping places by region/date
• Apple Shortcuts automation template
• macOS GUI wrapper app

License

MIT License — see LICENSE.

Free for distribution, create with help of GPT Reza Mirfayzi