Offline Map Cache
Also known as: google maps offline storage, map cache size, offline map cache, downloaded maps storage
An offline map cache is the on-device store of map tiles, routing data, and downloaded regions that lets navigation apps work without a connection. It can grow to several gigabytes and is often counted as app data rather than user files.
- Includes an automatic tile cache plus explicit offline region downloads with routing data.
- Counts as app data or Documents & Data, not as photos or user files, in storage breakdowns.
- Only the map app can delete its downloaded regions — clear them in-app, not via system cache wipes.
What the offline map cache holds
Navigation apps like Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze store two kinds of data on your phone: an automatic tile cache and explicit offline downloads. The tile cache is a rolling set of map images, labels, and vector data for areas you have recently viewed, kept so panning and zooming stay fast and so the app still draws something when the network drops.
Offline maps (sometimes called downloaded areas or offline regions) are deliberate downloads of a whole city or area, including the road graph used for turn-by-turn routing and points of interest. These are larger and longer-lived than the automatic cache, and a few densely mapped regions can add up to several gigabytes.
Where it lives and how to manage it
On the system storage screen, map data usually appears inside the app's own footprint rather than under photos or documents. On Android it is split between the app's cache and app data partitions; on iOS it counts toward the app's Documents & Data. That is why clearing the system cache rarely removes downloaded regions — those are treated as user-chosen content.
To trim it, open the app itself. In Google Maps, go to your profile picture, then Offline maps, to review and delete downloaded areas, and use Settings > About, terms & privacy > Clear application data for the tile cache. In Apple Maps on iOS, downloaded regions live under the account menu's Offline Maps list. Deleting an offline region frees its full size at once.
Why a cleaner flags it
Because offline regions and tile caches sit inside app storage, they show up in storage breakdowns as large, opaque blocks of "app data" with no obvious link to a file you remember saving. A user who downloaded a few cities for a trip can lose multiple gigabytes to maps they no longer need.
A storage cleaner surfaces these heavy apps and points you to the in-app controls, since neither iOS nor Android lets a third-party app delete another app's downloaded regions directly. The fix is to open the map app and remove regions you are done with.