Using the Maps SDK for iOS, you can customize the way in which users interact with your map, by determining which of the built in UI components appear on the map and which gestures are allowed.
Map controls
The Maps SDK for iOS provides some built-in UI controls that are similar to those found in the Google Maps for iOS application. You can toggle the visibility of these controls using the GMSUISettings class. Changes made on this class are immediately reflected on the map.
Compass
The Maps SDK for iOS provides a compass graphic which appears in the top right corner of the map under certain circumstances. The compass will only appear when the camera is oriented such that it has a non-zero bearing. When the user clicks on the compass, the camera animates back to a position with bearing of zero (the default orientation) and the compass fades away shortly afterwards.
The compass is disabled by default. You can enable the compass by setting the compassButton property of GMSUISettings to YES. However, you cannot force the compass to always be shown.
The My Location button appears in the bottom right corner of the screen only when the My Location button is enabled. When a user clicks the button, the camera animates to focus on the user's current location if the user's location is known. You can enable the button by setting the myLocationButton property of GMSUISettings to YES.
Swift
mapView.settings.myLocationButton=true
Objective-C
mapView.settings.myLocationButton=YES;
Floor picker
The floor picker control appears near the bottom right of the screen whenever an indoor map is featured prominently. When two or more indoor maps are visible the floor picker relates to the building nearest to the center of the screen. Each building has a default floor which is selected when the picker is first displayed. You can choose a different floor by selecting it from the picker.
You can disable the floor picker control by setting the indoorPicker property of GMSUISettings to NO.
Swift
mapView.settings.indoorPicker=false
Objective-C
mapView.settings.indoorPicker=NO;
Map gestures
You can disable the default gestures on the map by setting properties of the GMSUISettings class, which is available as a property of the GMSMapView. The following gestures can be enabled and disabled programmatically. Note that disabling the gesture won't limit programmatic access to the camera settings.
scrollGestures — controls whether scroll gestures are enabled or disabled. If enabled, users may swipe to pan the camera.
zoomGestures — controls whether zoom gestures are enabled or disabled. If enabled, users may double tap, two-finger tap, or pinch to zoom the camera. Note that double tapping or pinching when scrollGestures are enabled may pan the camera to the specified point.
tiltGestures — controls whether tilt gestures are enabled or disabled. If enabled, users may use a two-finger vertical down or up swipe to tilt the camera.
rotateGestures — controls whether rotate gestures are enabled or disabled. If enabled, users may use a two-finger rotate gesture to rotate the camera.
In the example below, both pan and zoom gestures have been disabled.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-18 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThis documentation outlines how to customize user interaction with the Google Maps SDK for iOS, focusing on controlling built-in UI components and map gestures.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDevelopers can enable or disable UI controls like the compass, My Location button, and floor picker using the \u003ccode\u003eGMSUISettings\u003c/code\u003e class.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eMap gestures such as scrolling, zooming, tilting, and rotating can be individually enabled or disabled through properties of the \u003ccode\u003eGMSUISettings\u003c/code\u003e class.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDisabling a gesture does not restrict programmatic access to camera settings, only user interaction.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThese customizations provide developers with flexibility to tailor the map experience within their iOS applications.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["The Maps SDK for iOS allows customization of user interaction with the map via the `GMSUISettings` class. Built-in UI controls, like the compass, My Location button, and floor picker, can be toggled on or off. The compass is enabled by setting `compassButton` to `YES`, the My Location button with `myLocationButton = YES`, and the floor picker is disabled by `indoorPicker = NO`. Map gestures (scroll, zoom, tilt, rotate) can be enabled or disabled by setting the properties of the same name to `YES` or `NO` respectively.\n"],null,["\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nSelect platform: [Android](/maps/documentation/android-sdk/controls \"View this page for the Android platform docs.\") [iOS](/maps/documentation/ios-sdk/controls \"View this page for the iOS platform docs.\") [JavaScript](/maps/documentation/javascript/controls \"View this page for the JavaScript platform docs.\")\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nUsing the Maps SDK for iOS, you can customize the way in which users\ninteract with your map, by determining which of the built in UI components\nappear on the map and which gestures are allowed.\n\nMap controls\n\nThe Maps SDK for iOS provides some built-in UI controls that are\nsimilar to those found in the Google Maps for iOS application. You can\ntoggle the visibility of these controls using the `GMSUISettings` class.\nChanges made on this class are immediately reflected on the map.\n| **Note:** Each control has a predetermined position relative to the edge of the map. You can move the controls away from the edges by [padding](/maps/documentation/ios-sdk/map#map_padding) the map.\n\nCompass \n\nThe Maps SDK for iOS provides a compass graphic which appears in the\ntop right corner of the map under certain circumstances. The compass will only\nappear when the camera is oriented such that it has a non-zero bearing. When the\nuser clicks on the compass, the camera animates back to a position with bearing\nof zero (the default orientation) and the compass fades away shortly afterwards.\n\nThe compass is disabled by default. You can enable the compass by setting the\n`compassButton` property of `GMSUISettings` to `YES`. However, you cannot\nforce the compass to always be shown.\n\n\nSwift \n\n```swift\nlet camera = GMSCameraPosition(latitude: 37.757815, longitude: -122.50764, zoom: 12)\nlet mapView = GMSMapView(frame: .zero, camera: camera)\nmapView.settings.compassButton = true\n \n```\n\nObjective-C \n\n```objective-c\nGMSCameraPosition *camera = [GMSCameraPosition cameraWithLatitude:37.757815\n longitude:-122.50764\n zoom:12];\nGMSMapView *mapView = [GMSMapView mapWithFrame:CGRectZero camera:camera];\nmapView.settings.compassButton = YES;\n \n```\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nMy Location button \n\nThe My Location button appears in the bottom right corner of the screen *only*\nwhen the My Location button is enabled. When a user clicks the button, the\ncamera animates to focus on the user's current location if the user's location\nis known. You can enable the button by setting the\n`myLocationButton` property of `GMSUISettings` to `YES`.\n\n\nSwift \n\n```swift\nmapView.settings.myLocationButton = true\n \n```\n\nObjective-C \n\n```objective-c\nmapView.settings.myLocationButton = YES;\n \n```\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nFloor picker \n\nThe floor picker control appears near the bottom right of the screen whenever an\nindoor map is featured prominently. When two or more indoor maps are visible the\nfloor picker relates to the building nearest to the center of the screen. Each\nbuilding has a default floor which is selected when the picker is first\ndisplayed. You can choose a different floor by selecting it from the picker.\n\nYou can disable the floor picker control by setting the `indoorPicker` property\nof `GMSUISettings` to `NO`.\n\n\nSwift \n\n```swift\nmapView.settings.indoorPicker = false\n \n```\n\nObjective-C \n\n```objective-c\nmapView.settings.indoorPicker = NO;\n \n```\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nMap gestures\n\nYou can disable the default gestures on the map by setting properties of the\n`GMSUISettings` class, which is available as a property of the `GMSMapView`.\nThe following gestures can be enabled and disabled programmatically. Note that\ndisabling the gesture won't limit programmatic access to the camera\nsettings.\n\n- `scrollGestures` --- controls whether scroll gestures are enabled or disabled. If enabled, users may swipe to pan the camera.\n- `zoomGestures` --- controls whether zoom gestures are enabled or disabled. If enabled, users may double tap, two-finger tap, or pinch to zoom the camera. Note that double tapping or pinching when `scrollGestures` are enabled may pan the camera to the specified point.\n- `tiltGestures` --- controls whether tilt gestures are enabled or disabled. If enabled, users may use a two-finger vertical down or up swipe to tilt the camera.\n- `rotateGestures` --- controls whether rotate gestures are enabled or disabled. If enabled, users may use a two-finger rotate gesture to rotate the camera.\n\nIn the example below, both pan and zoom gestures have been disabled.\n\n\nSwift \n\n```swift\noverride func loadView() {\n let camera = GMSCameraPosition.camera(\n withLatitude: 1.285,\n longitude: 103.848,\n zoom: 12\n )\n\n let mapView = GMSMapView.map(withFrame: .zero, camera: camera)\n mapView.settings.scrollGestures = false\n mapView.settings.zoomGestures = false\n self.view = mapView\n}\n \n```\n\nObjective-C \n\n```objective-c\n- (void)loadView {\n GMSCameraPosition *camera = [GMSCameraPosition cameraWithLatitude:1.285\n longitude:103.848\n zoom:12];\n GMSMapView *mapView = [GMSMapView mapWithFrame:CGRectZero camera:camera];\n mapView.settings.scrollGestures = NO;\n mapView.settings.zoomGestures = NO;\n self.view = mapView;\n}\n \n```\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e"]]
