diff --git a/INSTALL.md b/INSTALL.md
index e3c5299a5a..9725d8e9f4 100644
--- a/INSTALL.md
+++ b/INSTALL.md
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ After installing this software, you may need to carry out some [configuration st
 
 # Installing compiled shared library database functions (optional)
 
-There are special database functions required by a (little-used) API call, the migrations and diff replication. The former two are provided as *either* pure SQL functions or a compiled shared library. The SQL versions are installed as part of the recommended install procedure above and the shared library versions are recommended only if you are running a production server making a lot of `/changes` API calls or need the diff replication functionality.
+There are special database functions required by a (little-used) API call, the migrations and diff replication. The former two are provided as *either* pure SQL functions or a compiled shared library. The SQL versions are installed as part of the recommended install procedure above and the shared library versions are recommended only if you are running a production server and need the diff replication functionality.
 
 If you aren't sure which you need, stick with the SQL versions.
 
@@ -267,14 +267,12 @@ cd ../..
 If you previously installed the SQL versions of these functions, we'll need to delete those before adding the new ones:
 
 ```
-psql -d openstreetmap -c "DROP FUNCTION IF EXISTS maptile_for_point"
 psql -d openstreetmap -c "DROP FUNCTION IF EXISTS tile_for_point"
 ```
 
 Then we create the functions within each database. We're using `pwd` to substitute in the current working directory, since PostgreSQL needs the full path.
 
 ```
-psql -d openstreetmap -c "CREATE FUNCTION maptile_for_point(int8, int8, int4) RETURNS int4 AS '`pwd`/db/functions/libpgosm', 'maptile_for_point' LANGUAGE C STRICT"
 psql -d openstreetmap -c "CREATE FUNCTION tile_for_point(int4, int4) RETURNS int8 AS '`pwd`/db/functions/libpgosm', 'tile_for_point' LANGUAGE C STRICT"
 psql -d openstreetmap -c "CREATE FUNCTION xid_to_int4(xid) RETURNS int4 AS '`pwd`/db/functions/libpgosm', 'xid_to_int4' LANGUAGE C STRICT"
 ```
diff --git a/app/controllers/api/changes_controller.rb b/app/controllers/api/changes_controller.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 7170e15622..0000000000
--- a/app/controllers/api/changes_controller.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,54 +0,0 @@
-module Api
-  class ChangesController < ApiController
-    authorize_resource :class => false
-
-    before_action :check_api_readable
-    around_action :api_call_handle_error, :api_call_timeout
-
-    # Get a list of the tiles that have changed within a specified time
-    # period
-    def index
-      zoom = (params[:zoom] || "12").to_i
-
-      if params.include?(:start) && params.include?(:end)
-        starttime = Time.parse(params[:start])
-        endtime = Time.parse(params[:end])
-      else
-        hours = (params[:hours] || "1").to_i.hours
-        endtime = Time.now.getutc
-        starttime = endtime - hours
-      end
-
-      if zoom >= 1 && zoom <= 16 &&
-         endtime > starttime && endtime - starttime <= 24.hours
-        mask = (1 << zoom) - 1
-
-        tiles = Node.where(:timestamp => starttime..endtime).group("maptile_for_point(latitude, longitude, #{zoom})").count
-
-        doc = OSM::API.new.get_xml_doc
-        changes = XML::Node.new "changes"
-        changes["starttime"] = starttime.xmlschema
-        changes["endtime"] = endtime.xmlschema
-
-        tiles.each do |tile, count|
-          x = (tile.to_i >> zoom) & mask
-          y = tile.to_i & mask
-
-          t = XML::Node.new "tile"
-          t["x"] = x.to_s
-          t["y"] = y.to_s
-          t["z"] = zoom.to_s
-          t["changes"] = count.to_s
-
-          changes << t
-        end
-
-        doc.root << changes
-
-        render :xml => doc.to_s
-      else
-        render :plain => "Requested zoom is invalid, or the supplied start is after the end time, or the start duration is more than 24 hours", :status => :bad_request
-      end
-    end
-  end
-end
diff --git a/config/routes.rb b/config/routes.rb
index 41dc7cfc53..40676f8653 100644
--- a/config/routes.rb
+++ b/config/routes.rb
@@ -59,8 +59,6 @@
 
     get "trackpoints" => "api/tracepoints#index"
 
-    get "changes" => "api/changes#index"
-
     get "user/:id" => "api/users#show", :id => /\d+/, :as => :api_user
     get "user/details" => "api/users#details"
     get "user/gpx_files" => "api/users#gpx_files"
diff --git a/db/functions/Makefile b/db/functions/Makefile
index a1259fc555..3fa4ae526a 100644
--- a/db/functions/Makefile
+++ b/db/functions/Makefile
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ all: ${DESTDIR}/libpgosm.so
 clean:
 	$(RM) ${DESTDIR}/*.so ${DESTDIR}/*.o
 
-${DESTDIR}/libpgosm.so: ${DESTDIR}/quadtile.o ${DESTDIR}/maptile.o ${DESTDIR}/xid_to_int4.o
+${DESTDIR}/libpgosm.so: ${DESTDIR}/quadtile.o ${DESTDIR}/xid_to_int4.o
 	cc ${LDFLAGS} -o $@ $^
 
 ${DESTDIR}/%.o: %.c
diff --git a/db/functions/functions.sql b/db/functions/functions.sql
index 4f1f7c7169..5e3d4bcb3c 100644
--- a/db/functions/functions.sql
+++ b/db/functions/functions.sql
@@ -42,33 +42,6 @@ END;
 $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql IMMUTABLE;
 
 
--- maptile_for_point returns an integer representing the tile at the given zoom
--- which contains the point (scaled_lon, scaled_lat). Note that the arguments
--- are in the order (lat, lon), and should be scaled by 10^7.
---
--- The maptile_for_point function is used only for grouping the results of the
--- (deprecated?) /changes API call. Please don't use it for anything else, as
--- it might go away in the future.
-CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION maptile_for_point(scaled_lat int8, scaled_lon int8, zoom int4)
-  RETURNS int4
-  AS $$
-DECLARE
-  lat CONSTANT DOUBLE PRECISION := scaled_lat / 10000000.0;
-  lon CONSTANT DOUBLE PRECISION := scaled_lon / 10000000.0;
-  zscale CONSTANT DOUBLE PRECISION := 2.0 ^ zoom;
-  pi CONSTANT DOUBLE PRECISION := 3.141592653589793;
-  r_per_d CONSTANT DOUBLE PRECISION := pi / 180.0;
-  x int4;
-  y int4;
-BEGIN
-  -- straight port of the C code. see db/functions/maptile.c
-  x := floor((lon + 180.0) * zscale / 360.0);
-  y := floor((1.0 - ln(tan(lat * r_per_d) + 1.0 / cos(lat * r_per_d)) / pi) * zscale / 2.0);
-
-  RETURN (x << zoom) | y;
-END;
-$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql IMMUTABLE;
-
 -- xid_to_int4 converts a PostgreSQL transaction ID (xid) to a 32-bit integer
 -- which can then be used to efficiently find rows which have changed between
 -- two given transactions. This is currently used by Osmosis to extract a
diff --git a/db/functions/maptile.c b/db/functions/maptile.c
deleted file mode 100644
index 358a3ba752..0000000000
--- a/db/functions/maptile.c
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,36 +0,0 @@
-#include <math.h>
-#include <postgres.h>
-#include <fmgr.h>
-
-Datum
-maptile_for_point(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
-{
-   double lat = PG_GETARG_INT64(0) / 10000000.0;
-   double lon = PG_GETARG_INT64(1) / 10000000.0;
-   int zoom = PG_GETARG_INT32(2);
-   double scale = pow(2, zoom);
-   double r_per_d = M_PI / 180;
-   unsigned int x;
-   unsigned int y;
-
-   x = floor((lon + 180.0) * scale / 360.0);
-   y = floor((1 - log(tan(lat * r_per_d) + 1.0 / cos(lat * r_per_d)) / M_PI) * scale / 2.0);
-
-   PG_RETURN_INT32((x << zoom) | y);
-}
-
-PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1(maptile_for_point);
-
-/*
- * To bind this into PGSQL, try something like:
- *
- * CREATE FUNCTION maptile_for_point(int8, int8, int4) RETURNS int4
- *  AS '/path/to/rails-port/db/functions/libpgosm', 'maptile_for_point'
- *  LANGUAGE C STRICT;
- *
- * (without all the *s)
- */
-
-#ifdef PG_MODULE_MAGIC
-PG_MODULE_MAGIC;
-#endif
diff --git a/db/structure.sql b/db/structure.sql
index b5c4ec01d1..89a62626ee 100644
--- a/db/structure.sql
+++ b/db/structure.sql
@@ -128,31 +128,6 @@ CREATE TYPE public.user_status_enum AS ENUM (
 );
 
 
---
--- Name: maptile_for_point(bigint, bigint, integer); Type: FUNCTION; Schema: public; Owner: -
---
-
-CREATE FUNCTION public.maptile_for_point(scaled_lat bigint, scaled_lon bigint, zoom integer) RETURNS integer
-    LANGUAGE plpgsql IMMUTABLE
-    AS $$
-DECLARE
-  lat CONSTANT DOUBLE PRECISION := scaled_lat / 10000000.0;
-  lon CONSTANT DOUBLE PRECISION := scaled_lon / 10000000.0;
-  zscale CONSTANT DOUBLE PRECISION := 2.0 ^ zoom;
-  pi CONSTANT DOUBLE PRECISION := 3.141592653589793;
-  r_per_d CONSTANT DOUBLE PRECISION := pi / 180.0;
-  x int4;
-  y int4;
-BEGIN
-  -- straight port of the C code. see db/functions/maptile.c
-  x := floor((lon + 180.0) * zscale / 360.0);
-  y := floor((1.0 - ln(tan(lat * r_per_d) + 1.0 / cos(lat * r_per_d)) / pi) * zscale / 2.0);
-
-  RETURN (x << zoom) | y;
-END;
-$$;
-
-
 --
 -- Name: tile_for_point(integer, integer); Type: FUNCTION; Schema: public; Owner: -
 --
diff --git a/script/vagrant/setup/provision.sh b/script/vagrant/setup/provision.sh
index ad743ae36a..e2cacfff36 100644
--- a/script/vagrant/setup/provision.sh
+++ b/script/vagrant/setup/provision.sh
@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@ sudo -u vagrant psql -d openstreetmap -f db/functions/functions.sql
 ################################################################################
 #pushd db/functions
 #sudo -u vagrant make
-#sudo -u vagrant psql openstreetmap -c "CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION maptile_for_point(int8, int8, int4) RETURNS int4 AS '/srv/openstreetmap-website/db/functions/libpgosm.so', 'maptile_for_point' LANGUAGE C ST#RICT"
 #sudo -u vagrant psql openstreetmap -c "CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION tile_for_point(int4, int4) RETURNS int8 AS '/srv/openstreetmap-website/db/functions/libpgosm.so', 'tile_for_point' LANGUAGE C STRICT"
 #sudo -u vagrant psql openstreetmap -c "CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION xid_to_int4(xid) RETURNS int4 AS '/srv/openstreetmap-website/db/functions/libpgosm.so', 'xid_to_int4' LANGUAGE C STRICT"
 #popd
diff --git a/test/controllers/api/changes_controller_test.rb b/test/controllers/api/changes_controller_test.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 88d3c2e0eb..0000000000
--- a/test/controllers/api/changes_controller_test.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,106 +0,0 @@
-require "test_helper"
-
-module Api
-  class ChangesControllerTest < ActionDispatch::IntegrationTest
-    ##
-    # test all routes which lead to this controller
-    def test_routes
-      assert_routing(
-        { :path => "/api/0.6/changes", :method => :get },
-        { :controller => "api/changes", :action => "index" }
-      )
-    end
-
-    # MySQL and Postgres require that the C based functions are installed for
-    # this test to work. More information is available from:
-    # http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Rails#Installing_the_quadtile_functions
-    # or by looking at the readme in db/README
-    def test_changes_simple
-      # create a selection of nodes
-      (1..5).each do |n|
-        create(:node, :timestamp => Time.utc(2007, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0), :lat => n, :lon => n)
-      end
-      # deleted nodes should also be counted
-      create(:node, :deleted, :timestamp => Time.utc(2007, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0), :lat => 6, :lon => 6)
-      # nodes in the same tile won't change the total
-      create(:node, :timestamp => Time.utc(2007, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0), :lat => 6, :lon => 6)
-      # nodes with a different timestamp should be ignored
-      create(:node, :timestamp => Time.utc(2008, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0), :lat => 7, :lon => 7)
-
-      travel_to Time.utc(2010, 4, 3, 10, 55, 0) do
-        get changes_path
-        assert_response :success
-        now = Time.now.getutc
-        hourago = now - 1.hour
-        assert_select "osm[version='#{Settings.api_version}'][generator='#{Settings.generator}']", :count => 1 do
-          assert_select "changes[starttime='#{hourago.xmlschema}'][endtime='#{now.xmlschema}']", :count => 1 do
-            assert_select "tile", :count => 0
-          end
-        end
-      end
-
-      travel_to Time.utc(2007, 1, 1, 0, 30, 0) do
-        get changes_path
-        assert_response :success
-        # print @response.body
-        # As we have loaded the fixtures, we can assume that there are some
-        # changes at the time we have frozen at
-        now = Time.now.getutc
-        hourago = now - 1.hour
-        assert_select "osm[version='#{Settings.api_version}'][generator='#{Settings.generator}']", :count => 1 do
-          assert_select "changes[starttime='#{hourago.xmlschema}'][endtime='#{now.xmlschema}']", :count => 1 do
-            assert_select "tile", :count => 6
-          end
-        end
-      end
-    end
-
-    def test_changes_zoom_invalid
-      zoom_to_test = %w[p -1 0 17 one two]
-      zoom_to_test.each do |zoom|
-        get changes_path(:zoom => zoom)
-        assert_response :bad_request
-        assert_equal("Requested zoom is invalid, or the supplied start is after the end time, or the start duration is more than 24 hours", @response.body)
-      end
-    end
-
-    def test_changes_zoom_valid
-      1.upto(16) do |zoom|
-        get changes_path(:zoom => zoom)
-        assert_response :success
-        # NOTE: there was a test here for the timing, but it was too sensitive to be a good test
-        # and it was annoying.
-        assert_select "osm[version='#{Settings.api_version}'][generator='#{Settings.generator}']", :count => 1 do
-          assert_select "changes", :count => 1
-        end
-      end
-    end
-
-    def test_changes_hours_invalid
-      invalid = %w[-21 335 -1 0 25 26 100 one two three ping pong :]
-      invalid.each do |hour|
-        get changes_path(:hours => hour)
-        assert_response :bad_request, "Problem with the hour: #{hour}"
-        assert_equal("Requested zoom is invalid, or the supplied start is after the end time, or the start duration is more than 24 hours", @response.body, "Problem with the hour: #{hour}.")
-      end
-    end
-
-    def test_changes_hours_valid
-      1.upto(24) do |hour|
-        get changes_path(:hours => hour)
-        assert_response :success
-      end
-    end
-
-    def test_changes_start_end_invalid
-      get changes_path(:start => "2010-04-03 10:55:00", :end => "2010-04-03 09:55:00")
-      assert_response :bad_request
-      assert_equal("Requested zoom is invalid, or the supplied start is after the end time, or the start duration is more than 24 hours", @response.body)
-    end
-
-    def test_changes_start_end_valid
-      get changes_path(:start => "2010-04-03 09:55:00", :end => "2010-04-03 10:55:00")
-      assert_response :success
-    end
-  end
-end