Some time ago I started replacing all services and apps that I use with FOSS altnernatives. Most of them were easy to replace but some corpo/big-tech apps had ecosystems too advanced to be conveniently replaced. For example, substituting Google Maps on Android (or I guess Apple Maps on iOS) was a bit of a struggle as the most popular FOSS alternative app was OsmAnd. First of all mad respect and huge kudos to OsmAnd team of contributors but for me the UX was overwhelming and too customizable which is probably a huge bonus to power users but IMO that makes it very unlikely to become a large scale alternative to Google maps. Probably other people realized that too and some 6-7 months ago CoMaps was released, a FOSS app that is also based on OpenStreetMap layer but this time with a simplistic and smooth UX/GUI.
In case somebody is not familiar with OpenStreetMap (OSM) - basically it is a non-profit org, but its heavily maintained by community members and anybody around the world is allowed to contribute and enrich map content. Even if org can theoretically get corrupt I think anybody can make a fork and continue with community contribution. Creating an account is easy, you could start contributing in like 3 minutes. A huge number of services and apps are basing their map layers on OpenStreetMap, such as CoMaps above.
The quality of OpenStreetMap/CoMaps/OsmAnd is as good as the contributions to it are - so the more people use it - the better and more content it will contain. I would like to invite everybody to give it a chance and use https://www.openstreetmap.org/ on desktop and CoMaps on mobile devices. You should have enough motivation to abandon Google or Apple products, but final piece of motivation is that eventually Google Maps will start censoring content (like Reddit or Instagram) or just share your location history to ICE or perform some other serious violation like that (like Microsoft did recently).
CoMaps has a really nice and simple interface where you can add missing places (business, community services, recreation areas etc) while OpenStreetMap on web browser allows to update anything you imagine (e.g. see a missing street? Add it. A new building was developed - just add it!). If everybody enriched only their local neighborhood with features on the map we could really build something beautiful. Existing layer probably already contains 90% of the stuff you’d ever search for as contributors really did a outstanding job throughout all these years. But that additional 10% makes a real difference for it turning into a much bigger scale tool, and this feels like the right time to kick that off.
It is important not to get demotivated that not many people maintain and contribute as your neighborhood might remain a lonely detailed places for years. OSM existed for a long time now and is very likely to keep existing for decades to come, everything that you update or create remains a legacy that stays forever saved in the map (unless somebody further updates it). Perhaps, in 20 years time people will be grateful. And to tidy up and make max out of your neighborhood you really need one weekend or so.
For example, in my local area I’ve started adding location marks of recycling bins, dumpsters, parking lots, playgrounds, pathways, building tunnels and monuments, but also I’ve added missing shops and updated working hours and websites for shops that existed.
Also #1, be responsible when making changes, don’t overwrite other people’s work unless it is an improvement. Double check everything that you add, and also if you don’t have any experience with map editors or GIS software take a watch of some OSM editing tutorial.
Also #2, I most likely omitted some other useful FOSS tools, and it doesn’t matter which one you decide to use as long as it is based on OpenStreetMap or any other community driven layer.
Also #3, tell all your friends and family to do the same.
Yeah, this might not be the most important thing to cure the world at this moment but developing community-driven mindset where everybody takes a small or big part in it is the way to go. Cheers!
EDIT: Amazing input in the comments, I’ll try to summarize additional suggestions provided by other people. Thank you for pointing out URL errors in my post too.
Very useful suggestion by illusionist:
We need more wikipedia images and content, there is still a lot to improve on maps just by contributing to wikipedia. Osmand added custom buttons and now you can enable wikipedia connections with one click which is great
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List of alternative and open-source maps:
- On Android: https://alternativeto.net/software/osmand/?license=opensource&platform=android
- OpenStreetMap curated list of iOS apps that use it (https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Comparison_of_iOS_applications) + one additional map missing on the list: Mapply
- Send official OpenStreetMap as a shortcut to desktop and use web-view instead of an app (works on any OS)
- CartesApp (Only in French for now)
- Cardinal Maps (GitHub)
List of tools for contribution & content management:
- StreetComplete
- Vespucci
- CoMaps for simplistic POI edits
- Official OpenStreetMap website
Thx for making this post and pointing me towards CoMaps! I installed OsmAnd during my own little move away from big Corps last year, but ended up with the same issues. Just installed CoMaps and within a minute I already like it more!
I zoomed in to my local area and typed pizza in the search box. A place with Pizza in the name was at the center of my screen. The search took me to a city in another continent called Pizza.
Contributions from users are wasted if the final UX is so poorly designed.
The quality of the search depends on which app you use and how it prioritizes search results, right? I know this is a bit of a tired argument, bit since CoMaps is open-source, you could submit a patch, or at least a bug report.
I’ve encountered the same behaviour on Google Maps on occasion, too.
I’m proud to say that the OSM map for my neighborhood has been more up to date than Google since I’ve moved here.
I’ve been trying to do the same for Panoramax, but that’s so much more work than just updating some details about a new/closed shop. Especially since I’m self-hosting it and I don’t feel confident enough in my server admin abilities to pull other people into this.
Ohhh, you did setup your own Panoramax? That’s cool :) Do the devs know that? There aren’t many instances out there yet.
I’m not federated, so probably not. I’m not sure if my machine can handle the additional load.
Can we publicly see the images? In either case: you can reach out to the panoramax-devs here: https://app.element.io/#/room/#panoramax-general:matrix.org It’s always interesting to hear back from users, even if those are small usecases
you can also use StreetComplete.
+1.
Very easy to use app. I’ve been contributing to OSM more because of it.
I agree!
I’ve not been able to map much with the weather lately, but last April I was pretty proud to see this ranking on my 7 day activity:
edit: the picture did not turn out how i expected. it’s hard to see, but I managed to be #2 in the US. It’s not a competition, I know, but I have not achieved much in life so this felt pretty cool.
If that’s the only way you’re going to contribute to OSM, by all means, go for it. But as a desktop OSM editor, I really dislike some of the incentives pushed by mobile applications. Primarily not adding objects as polygons (as it would be difficult to draw on such devices), but adding them as POIs (parking, amenities, etc.) and paths (waterways for instance: where paths are often used for just naming, or as water"ways", like for marine traffic). This often leads me to correct these changes, as they really stand out compared to the rest of the map. So generally, I view these tools as complementary, rather than final changes; unless it’s changes to POIs or something, which is where these applications shine, in my opinion.
As developer of https://mapcomplete.org/ - I cannot allow contributors to edit geometries. If I did, I’d have to show all geometries in the vinicinity, which would make it way more confusing for a non-technical user.
Even then, geometry cannot always be exactly determined (e.g. shops in a mall). And some communities even agree to never use geometries for some types of POI!
Editing geometries is hard enough as it is on the desktop (especially with glued points), so I can’t imagine making such changes on the mobile. I think it’s best to not allow editing geometries, and to leave such changes to devices better suited for the task.
so i should use StreetComplete only to add or correct data for stuff that already exists?
Oh, you can add new things, that’s perfectly fine. I still prefer mobile users adding features, even if they are of an unusual object type; effectively being another type of fixme to desktop users. But instead of another desktop user integrating these elements, I rather have mobile users on the desktop as well; as to integrate their mobile changes when at home. If you’re sightseeing, these applications are very helpful, for creating/editing POIs and effectively sketching out non-POI features; but the latter does require some work to integrate them.
Streetcomplete is deliberately a tool for quick and easy editing. You can add notes there, and desktop users can fix them for you in an editor with more features. You can add images to notes to describe the problem. You can subscribe to new notes in an area with an rss reader, so I check new notes every few days in my city, solve them if they contain enough information.
If you want more powerful editing options on mobile you can use Vespucci.
Can I contribute somehow without turning on location on my phone?
yes. both streetComplete and Vespucci let’s you edit through “pan and zoom”
I don’t think you need to turn on location for any of the tools mentioned in this thread. It’s useful, but not necessary. If battery life is an issue you could try out MapSwipe. Everyone’s got to find their favourite way of contributing :)
I’m doing my part! 🙋♀️
I prefer Every Door for simple POI edits. Much easier to use for this use case (updating opening hours for example), especially on small screens.
My favourite thing to do is hike or run a trail and track it in OsmAnd, and then go update the trail to make it more precise or up to date with changes since it was last added in.
Shameless plug for https://mapcomplete.org/ which makes it easy to see and contribute to OpenStreetMap. It has a bunch of maps per topic, making it easy to see what is interesting to you. It also guides (new) contributors, making it very hard to make mistakes.
You mistyped the url: it’s https://www.openstreetmap.org/ no
sat the endThank you I have updated it.
For those who are looking for a app that’s slightly more user friendly, try out cardinal maps - it’s amazing. And also uses OSM for its data, so remember to contribute 🙂
There is no open source car navigation app which is bad. Magic earth is great but not open source. Tomtom is good but not open source.
Osmand is awesome for power users. Comaps is good for causal users.
We need more wikipedia images and content, there is still a lot to improve on maps just by contributing to wikipedia. Osmand added custom buttons and now you can enable wikipedia connections with one click which is great.
There are no menus for restaurants, no pictures, no other stuff. The situation is not really improving for years. Osm is great for a base map but it lacks so much information that it could replace google maps.
Here maps is trash and apple maps is apple, i.e. not better than google
I tried relying solely on osm and I failed simply because you can’t just have a look where cool restaurants or bars are. I use osmand for everything except exploring such random stuff in random cities. Osmand is better for toilets, benches and nieche info.
I‘m using CoMaps (fork of OrganicMaps due to governance issues) and I am happy with car navigation. It has no real-time-traffic-info though
It has no real-time-traffic-info though
I think this is a planned feature, actually
Have a look at https://mapcomplete.org/food - it has reviews (through mangrove.reviews) and you can upload pictures of menus there.
That’s neat! Thank you
Magic earth is great
iswas1 Star rating in the play store since december update
And even before that, it had wrong POI all the time and didn’t update osm data to stay up to date.
I tried every open source app I could find, but none of the open source ones have live traffic, which makes them completely useless for where I live. I honestly don’t understand why we can’t opt-in crowdsource that.
It still is, it is even better than ever for me. Sorry to hear that it’s not working for you. I feel the pain.
I use it for car navigation, nothing else. It works like a charm in Germany.
I use CoMaps for my car navigation. It also shows speed and traffic cameras, which is nice.
Tbh I wouldn’t trust any app, not even Google Maps, for anything beyond location: work hours or menus can change at any moment, and unless the owner updates them you can’t really trust em.
Good points, it is a long road as Google maps are probably among hardest apps to fully replace. Also, for the record two years ago Android auto made sure that Google maps don’t work with my car navigation either so even non-open-source might not work lol.
Just downloaded CoMaps on one of my phones. I’m in the process of degoogling that particular phone
I personally quite like OsmAnd’s granular control, but understand how others might experience this as being overwhelming; which big-tech’s restrictive… I mean “modern” user-experience (UX) might be to blame for. There are however quite some alternatives to pick from, if you wanted a more minimalist approach to UX; which OsmAnd could also provide by default (while allowing advanced users to toggle additional “expert” settings).
What makes Google “Maps” superior to OSM-based maps, is not its inferior “map”, but rather the navigational aspect: businesses and other ‘points of interests’ (POIs) registering their location to Google, public transit data being supplied to it (allowing for planning), traffic statistics (through creepy location tracking, even in the background unless opted out), etc.; and bundles all into a single, undeniably convenient application.
I would argue OSM data is primarily mass imports, from other permissive or open (government) databases; which are strongly dependent on region. For The Netherlands: BAG (basic registration of addresses and buildings) and BGT (basic registration of large-scale topography), make up a large portion of the data presented (which are either directly imported or used as a reference). Although, relative to real-world changes they might temporarily lack behind, and users add details based on satellite imagery.
Regarding satellite imagery: editors don’t always have up-to-date imagery, leading to some users undoing changes others have made. In The Netherlands, the government provides relatively recent satellite imagery: which can be imported into the alternative JOSM editor as an WMTS layer. And you may also want to check the comments of the last change: in OSM’s own iD editor you can click the “last modified …” link, all the way at the bottom of the “Edit object” tab, for the selected object.
Another thing I would really recommend, is checking how other mappers have added certain features. Which is sometimes easier to understand than OSM’s documentation; which doesn’t always correspond to practice (possibly dependent on region). A very useful tool for this is Overpass Turbo, which you can use to search for certain elements, to see how others have implemented these.
I know this might all feel a little overwhelming, but I wish I had known these things earlier in my mapping journey. I started doing it because I noticed things missing, that I knew existed as a mailman. Just starting with smaller changes to get my feet wet, and gradually working my way to larger changes. As long as you don’t start taring up large roads (including their often many relationships), you’ll be just fine; and might even become hooked (as it can be quite satisfying, having created another beautiful part).
You have to add layers here to make them show up in iD: https://github.com/osmlab/editor-layer-index
For JOSM you have to add it to this page: https://josm.openstreetmap.de/wiki/Maps
OSM is a community project, someone have to the the PR, It won’t show up automagically without human intervention.
Are you sure its license is compatible? E.g. The website says I can’t view it because I’m not in the Netherlands. There are a lot of frequent editors from there, it’s strange they haven’t added it yet.
OSM is a community project, someone have to the the PR, It won’t show up automagically without human intervention.
Is this referring to the “mass imports” part, you would argue are done in batches by many contributors? If so, then yes, mass import might give the wrong idea, I agree. But even if imported by many over time, the result is still a mass import from these open databases (minus a few addresses maybe, drawn in by hand; or roads not yet aligned with BGT, in case of The Netherlands).
Are you sure its license is compatible? E.g. The website says I can’t view it because I’m not in the Netherlands. There are a lot of frequent editors from there, it’s strange they haven’t added it yet.
I can’t find the forum post regarding this, but I’m quite sure the conclusion was it being compatible; despite viewing being restricted to Dutch citizens (because it’s a service provided by The Netherlands). It’s a quite common source here, especially for recent changes (which other imagery just doesn’t provide). And they are providing WMTS directly, so if they wanted to restrict usage for georeferencing, I don’t understand why they’d do that.
I was replying about the imagery only, a PR to the layer index.
Adding the imagery to the index and making it the default is the solution to the problem of users undoing changes. Most new users just hit edit on osm.org and start to work with what they have. If you present them the correct imagery they will use that.
On the layer index you can mark an imagery as ‘best’, and it will show up as the default layer for its country
Ah okay, now I get it; I wasn’t familiar with that. Satelliet Data Portaal provides both partial (more recent), and full mosaics (less recent) WMTS from multiple sources (Pleiades-NEO or SuperView-NEO); which might complicate things (having to load the right imagery, based on the location being edited for the partial captures; and selecting the right source). The resolution, especially from the partial captures, but also the mosaics, doesn’t really hold up to something like PDOK or Esri. So perhaps this source being the default might not desirable, but having it as an option (especially the mosaic) would be neat.
traffic statistics (through creepy location tracking, even in the background unless opted out)
yes it’s definitely creepy when Google does it, but it provides invaluable data to other users - advance warnings of tailbacks whilst driving, and accurate ETA for public transport when using bus or train. Would be great if a privacy-respecting way to do this could be found for OSM & its ilk.
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