Dropping pins on Apple Maps can be extremely useful for marking locations you want to visit later or share with others. However, your Maps app can get cluttered with pins over time. Fortunately, Apple makes it easy to remove pins you no longer need.
Table of Contents
Why Pins Get Dropped in Apple Maps
There are a few main reasons you may drop a pin in the Apple Maps app:
- To mark a location you want to visit later, like a restaurant or store
- To mark your parking location so you can find your car later
- To indicate a meeting or rendezvous point to share with others
- To bookmark an address without having to create a new contact
The pin acts as a temporary marker that stays on your map until you manually remove it.
How to Drop a Pin in Apple Maps
Dropping a pin in the Apple Maps app only takes a couple of taps:
- Open the Maps app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
- Long press on the location on the map where you want to drop the pin.
- A red pin icon will appear where you long pressed.
That’s all there is to it! You’ve now marked the location with a pin.
Viewing Dropped Pins
Once you’ve dropped one or more pins in Apple Maps, you may want to revisit them later. Here’s how to view dropped pins:
On iPhone/iPad
- Tap the pin icon to open the place card with details about the location
- Swipe up from the bottom to reveal a “Dropped Pins” section showing all your pins
On Mac
- Click the pin icon to open the place card
- Click the Show Dropped Pins icon in the top toolbar (pin icon)
- All dropped pins will display on the map
Removing a Single Pin
Over time, your Maps app can get cluttered with old pins you no longer need. Here is how to remove a single pin:
On iPhone/iPad
- Tap the pin to open the place card
- Scroll down and tap “Remove”
On Mac
- Click the pin to open the place card
- Click “Remove Pin”
The pin will be removed instantly.
Removing All Pins
If you want to get rid of all pins from your Apple Maps app in one go, you can reset the app location data:
On iPhone/iPad
- Go to Settings > General > Reset
- Tap “Reset Location & Privacy”
- Enter your passcode if prompted
- Confirm that you want to reset the location data
This will remove all pins, favorites, collections, and other custom map data.
On Mac
- Go to Maps > Preferences
- Click “Reset My Locations and Directions”
- Confirm that you want to reset the data
Again, this will delete all custom map data in one go.
Pin Alternatives
If you don’t want pins cluttering up your Apple Maps, consider using alternatives like Favorites or Collections to bookmark locations:
- Favorites: Tap the pin’s place card, then “Add to Favorites” to save an address indefinitely. All favorites appear in a handy list.
- Collections: Create named groups of saved locations that function similarly to Favorites. It’s useful for organizing trips, areas to explore, etc.
The advantage of using these features over pins is that they don’t clutter your map and are easier to revisit later on.
Sharing Pins with Others
In addition to your own use, pin locations can easily be shared with friends, family, and contacts:
On iPhone/iPad
- Tap the pin to open the place card
- Tap the Share icon in the upper-right corner
- Choose a sharing method like Messages, Mail, WhatsApp, etc
- Share the pin location
On Mac
- Click the pin icon to open the place card
- Click the Share icon in the upper-right corner
- Choose a sharing option
- Share the location details
The recipient will get a map link with the pinned coordinates, making meetups a breeze.
Summary
Dropping pins makes it easy to mark and share locations on Apple Maps. But pins should be removed when no longer needed to prevent map clutter.
To remove a single pin, open its place card and select “Remove”. To remove all pins, reset the Apple Maps location data via Settings/Preferences.
Consider using Favorites and Collections to bookmark certain locations instead of pins if you find yourself needing to remove pins frequently.
I hope this guide gives you a better understanding of how to effectively use and manage map pins dropped in Apple Maps! Let me know if you have any other questions.
