API · archived
The Maps JavaScript API Heatmap Layer and Drawing Library are no longer supported and have been removed
departs Date not announced
Quick answers
- Is it true that Google Maps JavaScript API removes Heatmap Layer and Drawing Library?
- Yes — and the date has already passed. As of May 2026, two long-standing Maps JavaScript API features are gone.
- When did it take effect?
- No date has been announced yet — Google has flagged the change but not set one.
- What should I use instead?
- For heatmaps, Google points to third-party integrations such as deck.gl, which provides its own HeatmapLayer implementation.
What this means for you
As of May 2026, two long-standing Maps JavaScript API features are gone. `google.maps.visualization.HeatmapLayer` (the built-in heatmap overlay) is unavailable — Google cites low customer usage — and the Drawing Library (`google.maps.drawing.DrawingManager`, the interactive shape-drawing tools) is unavailable too. Existing code that constructs either class no longer works; the Drawing Library removal shipped in Maps JavaScript API v3.65.3b (release notes dated 4 June 2026).
Where to go
For heatmaps, Google points to third-party integrations such as deck.gl, which provides its own HeatmapLayer implementation. For drawing tools, switch to an alternative such as Terra Draw. Both replacements sit on top of the map rather than inside the Google library, so the migration is a rewrite of the affected overlay code, not a config change.
- deck.gl (heatmaps)
- Terra Draw (drawing tools)
Two features that shipped with the Maps JavaScript API for well over a decade are now removed. The Heatmap Layer was deprecated on 27 May 2025 “due to low customer usage” and is unavailable as of May 2026; Google’s suggested replacement is a third-party library such as deck.gl, which has its own HeatmapLayer. The Drawing Library — the DrawingManager and its polygon, polyline, circle, and rectangle drawing tools — was deprecated in August 2025 and is likewise unavailable as of May 2026, with Terra Draw offered as an example alternative.
Because both were classic, namespaced classes (google.maps.visualization.HeatmapLayer, google.maps.drawing.DrawingManager), the code that breaks is exactly the older, un-migrated code least likely to be watching Google’s release notes — which is why a removed date still belongs on the calendar. The deprecations page lists both under “Completed deprecations,” and the Drawing removal is pinned to Maps JavaScript API version 3.65.3b in the release notes (4 June 2026). Google states only the month (“May 2026”) for the deprecation milestone itself, so this entry carries no single sunset day.
Entry changelog
- — last reviewed.
- — Entry created — Heatmap Layer and Drawing Library listed under Completed deprecations, unavailable as of May 2026 (Google Maps Platform deprecations page; Drawing removal confirmed in Maps JS API v3.65.3b release notes, 4 June 2026).
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