Windows Maps
web mapping client software

Windows Maps is a discontinued web mapping client software from Microsoft. It is included with Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems and is also available for the Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One platforms.
Features
Its features include viewing classic style maps with roads and street names, getting directions, drawing on maps, traffic conditions, GPS location, and viewing Streetside panoramas of roads. Users can synchronise favourites and directions with a Microsoft account. Maps of countries can be downloaded to the user's computer so that they can be used offline.
History
The original Maps app was based on existing Microsoft technologies such as Microsoft MapPoint and TerraServer that were already used in Bing Maps. It was first implemented on Windows Phone 7 as a Metro-style app using Bing Maps as its backend. In 2012 Maps came included with Windows 8 as one of the many Bing Apps. The app was updated with new features in Windows Phone 8.1 where the Maps app took on a Purple paper map-looking logo. Bing Maps at the time was powered by Nokia's data, which later became HERE Maps.
The public source identifies “Windows Maps” as web mapping client software. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Windows, Maps and mapping.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q27856743. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2012.
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This entry incorporates text from “Windows Maps” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.