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What are some alternatives to Google Maps?

I’m sick of using google maps, they started putting gigantic ads for stores on the map and I’m tired of them tracking me. So I ask you Lemmy, what should I switch to?!

EDIT: Was not expecting so many replies, thank you Lemmy! I am checking out Open Street Maps currently thanks for the recommendations!

ssm , (edited )
@ssm@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

Mobile Linux user, the two best maps I’ve found are mepo, and osmin (similar to OSMAnd on the goolag os). puremaps is also decent, and closer to what you expect with something like google maps in terms of feature parity, but it’s much heavier ( not good on pinephone’s anemic cpu and 3G of ram :( ). KDEs marble is interesting, but not a good mobile interface.

I’m sick of using google maps, they started putting gigantic ads for stores on the map and I’m tired of them tracking me.

Yet you use the Goolag kernel? User, how could you!

popcorp ,

Mapy.cz are the best maps available on desktop and android. They use OSM as a source. There is some tracking but in this case it’s worth the hassle.

laughterlaughter ,

What is this “tracking hassle” you’re talking about? And why is it worth it, if the OP is saying that he’s sick of being tracked?

popcorp ,

They collect minor things like search terms and app usage info. The rest is stored on the server only if you explicitly upload a photo or a recorded track or something similar. No collection of location data or WiFi networks etc. The telemetry can be blocked of course if you have such setup (VPN+pihole FIR example)

laughterlaughter ,

Search terms is not some minor thing to collect, though.

HootinNHollerin , (edited )

Is there any way to export Google maps saved places and or lists to any of: magic earth, open street maps, organic maps? I’ve got lots of lists I’d rather not throw away if I can

thepreciousboar ,

If you use Google takeout (the service that lets you access all your data), you can download your Google maps favourites as a GeoSON file. It depends on specific apps if they can directly import it, but there’s surely some converter around to export it to .kml or .gpx, that can easily be imported in other apps

HarriPotero ,
@HarriPotero@lemmy.world avatar

I use navmii for offline navigation. The search functionality is not so great, but the navigation works swell.

deadcatbounce ,
@deadcatbounce@reddthat.com avatar

For navigation, I chose Waze.

There seem to a new wave of navigation apps heading towards us that talk P2P rather than a central server.

muad_dibber ,
@muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml avatar

Waze is unfortunately owned by google for many years now.

deadcatbounce ,
@deadcatbounce@reddthat.com avatar

Upvoted.

Yes. I’m dumb today.

Kindly put, dear internet stranger!

Raiderkev ,

Lol, owned by Google. Kinda defeats OP’s purpose

deadcatbounce ,
@deadcatbounce@reddthat.com avatar

Upvoted.

You got me! I didn’t look at the title properly. Sorry everyone. I’m going to go be dumb elsewhere for the rest of the day.

nuggsy ,
@nuggsy@lemmy.world avatar

I didn’t know Waze was owned by Google either. Since 2013 as well…

hyacin ,

I just switched to MagicEarth since it works with Android Auto. Pretty happy with it so far.

Moonguide ,

I’ve used maps.me for years. Works online and offline. Even took it abroad and used it instead of the stuff locals used, with the exception of london and liverpool, since I couldn’t find a way to check train schedules.

thepreciousboar ,

Organic Maps is the open source evolution of maps.me, by the same developers, have a try

Moonguide ,

Oh, thanks! For anyone reading this, it’s on fdroid. Looks solid.

clark ,
@clark@midwest.social avatar

Great thread this.

Adding onto it; anybody know any FOSS alternatives close enough to Apple Maps in terms of functionality? I mean making routes and tracking your vehicle on your way to the destination along with any warnings of construction work or accidents.

Aphelion ,

Please excuse my non-iOS using ignorance, but isn’t FOSS antithetical to Apple’s closed ecosystem and extreme limitations on side-loading?

clark ,
@clark@midwest.social avatar

Yes. I am asking for FOSS alternatives that have the same level of functionality and efficiency as Apple Maps.

Aphelion ,

Yeah, I totally get that, but how are there FOSS applications on iOS that aren’t side loaded? At best you can get paid ports/skins of open source software through the app store, but Apple changes developers a small fortune to put apps in the store, which generally equates to no free apps that don’t rely on ads or in-app purchases.

Ciderpunk ,

An Apple Developer account is $99 a year and the only prerequisite to putting an app on the store. If it’s free, there are no other fees. I wouldn’t call $99 a small fortune.

There are many “open source” apps on the App Store, though most may argue they technically are not because you never have the option of compiling yourself, so perhaps “source available” would be more apt. Things like KDE-Connect are on the App Store so clearly there is some demand for iOS counterparts to open source multiplatform applications.

clark ,
@clark@midwest.social avatar

I am not looking to download a FOSS app on an iPhone. I am merely looking for a FOSS app similar to Apple Maps in terms of functionality.

Walking_coffin ,

Some great apps have already been mentioned here so I’ll share a last resort if you need: GMaps WV (Google Maps WebView Wrapper). It’s Google maps in a restricted sandbox made by the Divest OS dev and app is on FDroid.

When I used it on a more regular basis a year ago it didn’t have ads and after installing it just now to test and share this, I haven’t found any either.

Privacy wise it’s not as good as omsand~ or Open Street map but you could use it on another profile in your phone if you have android if that is a concern.

More info can be found here along with the source code of the wrapper: divestos.org/pages/our_apps#gmapswv

theshatterstone54 ,

organic maps has gotten pretty good recently

stoy ,

Thank you for this, I like the map design, and it claims to work with car play!

governorkeagan ,

I tested it with car play the other day. Worked fine, except for a strange issue with orientation after using the UI.

usualsuspect191 ,

Second this. It’s also way better than Google maps for downloading and using maps outside of cell service too. I’ve noticed it’s got lots of hiking trails as well

Cube6392 ,

Hell yeah it does! It was originally positioned for OSM users who needed a hiking companion. The other types of navigation have been a later addition

nadiaraven ,

There are no street numbers in osm for my city, Bend, OR. It has a population of 100,000+, so I’m guessing this app is really only useable for major cities.

HootinNHollerin ,

OSMand maps didn’t for my neighborhood but magic earth did so check that out maybe

B0rax ,

Did you report it? Maybe no one noticed yet.

luckystarr ,

Install StreetComplete and put some of them in. Spread the word, it’s really low effort.

iturnedintoanewt ,
@iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee avatar

People start contributing usually after they have used it successfully a few times. I understand “make yourself your own map” might not sound as the most appealing solution here.

Duke_Nukem_1990 ,

Low effort and just super fun. I don’t know why but helping out while walking around activates the happy parts in my lizard brain.

governorkeagan , (edited )

True to some extent. I know there’s been a big effort to get buildings mapped in the US, but it’s not always possible to get house/street numbers from aerial imagery.

Once buildings are mapped you can either add the remainder of the details with on the ground mapping (e.g using an app like StreetComplete) or if the data (e.g from the government) becomes open and available to use.

als ,

It’s all dependant on the community, if there’s missing data that you can add, please do! StreetComplete is a very acessible way to contribute

nadiaraven ,

I’ve contributed a little, but its a bit discouraging. It’s not like can just map the whole city myself

laughterlaughter ,

Thank you for doing your part.

communism ,
@communism@lemmy.ml avatar

I’ve used OSM while staying in a smaller town and the street data was good. It obviously depends on how much the public has contributed to data for your area, which is likely to be a lot for major cities, but there may also be people contributing decent data for less populous areas too.

Debs ,

I like organic maps but I really need traffic data in order to plan routes around my city. As far as I can tell there is no way to get traffic data into organic maps.

franglais ,

I don’t like that it doesn’t give me alternative route options, there are times I want the shortest, not the quickest, or sometimes I want to stick to main roads, and not go through small villages even though I might save 5 minutes. Also, being offline, the routing for a long journey can be cumbersome in my potato phone/aftermarket android car radio.

ShittyBeatlesFCPres ,

Other people have mentioned phone apps so I’ll add that I got a Garmin device for hiking and it’s got road navigation. It’s better in some cases because the maps are downloaded so if you’re somewhere without service, it can still do navigation.

Obviously, they’re meant to supplement a phone for off-grid stuff like hiking, boating, etc. but the road directions seem perfectly fine. It knows where gas stations are. And some of their models are car-only so I guess they’re also used by drivers in areas with spotty phone coverage.

The downside is, obviously, that you have to update the maps and there’s no traffic details. But I just thought I’d mention it as an option. (You also don’t have to use their maps if you prefer OpenStreetMaps or whatever.)

doehni ,

There’s also Here WeGo

franglais ,

I love the routing options, and use it in my aftermarket android car radio but it’s not quite as good as gmaps for address search.

juliorapido ,

Any OpenStreetMap (OSM) app/website:

Organic Maps on iOS/Android: organicmaps.app

OsmAnd (small price) on Android/iOS: osmand.net

OpenStreetMap off course: www.openstreetmap.org

OsmAnd web maps: osmand.net/map/

Maybe some things like TomTom Go or Sygic Maps (is this still a thing?)

Aggravationstation ,

I second this. OsmAnd has done me well for several years.

Fleppensteijn ,
@Fleppensteijn@feddit.nl avatar

None of them seem up to date on public transport when I tried, which makes it kind of useless

juliorapido ,

Probably better to use local services.

PrivateNoob ,

Also they are way slower

eco_game ,

Public transport in Magic Earth mostly works for me. It’s not as good as Google Maps, but it’s better than nothing.

Caligvla ,
@Caligvla@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Magic Earth seems much more complete than OSM from experience, which is curious considering they use OSM data. I wonder where they get the extra info.

2xsaiko ,
@2xsaiko@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

Organic Maps is planning on implementing it. For now I just use a dedicated app for that though, ÖPNV Navigator is great for Germany for example.

igni5s ,
@igni5s@lemmy.world avatar

Citymapper and the Transit app might work, depending on where you live

authorinthedark ,

OsmAnd~ is free on fdroid

juliorapido ,

Including all maps and features?

authorinthedark ,

yeah, OsmAnd is open source, so someone else built it to be released on fdroid, and the original developers have said that they don’t have a problem with that I think as long as they don’t release it on Play/try to sell it

juliorapido ,

Wow awesome!

authorinthedark ,

i found this out after reading through osmand documentation and seeing a bunch of features marked as premium that I DEFINITELY hadn’t paid for, and trying to figure out what happened lol

Librerian ,
@Librerian@beehaw.org avatar

It does lack a few features though, as they rely on proprietary software/libraries. Android Auto for instace, as well as ANT+ for connecting sensors. At least for those features you need the Google Play version.

authorinthedark ,

ah that makes sense

scytale ,

Do you know which of these has the most updated real-time traffic data, like for accidents and road closures? I depend heavily on maps not just for navigation but to also get the fastest routes to my destination. Obviously google maps is great with that because of the sheer amount of crowsourced data it collects, but it’s also effective with rerouting quickly for unpredictable events.

Ironfist ,

Magic Earth is closed source but it claims it respects the users privacy, it uses open street maps and it has decent traffic data for navigation for some countries. It also has the advantage that you can configure it to stick to the original route if you prefer. This is very important for me because sometimes I want to take a scenic route, or just routes I prefer but that are not necessarily the fastest.

scytale ,

Thanks! This looks promising. Unfortunately it doesn’t even have my address yet (new neighborhood). I’ll park it in the meantime but will definitely keep it on my phone and will try it on familiar routes (in case something goes wrong).

lemmyknow ,

Given it uses OpenStreepMap (OSM), you can create an account on osm.org and add the address (and other information) yourself, if you want

juliorapido ,

Maybe TomTom Go? Always had great traffic updates, at least in Europe

governorkeagan ,

OsmAnd is free with enough contributions to OpenStreetMap.

Personally, I was using MagicEarth for public transport when needed but it’s stopped working for some reasons. Once Organic Maps gets support for public transport (currently it only provides train times for me), I’ll fully move there. It’s great for everything else though!

pingveno ,

I love OSM in so many ways, but unfortunately its address resolver is kinda garbage compared to Google Maps. For example, the string “10392 SE 23, portland, or, usa” correctly resolves to what I meant, “10392 SE 23rd Ave, Milwaukie, OR, USA” in Google Maps. OSM needs the exact city (Milwaukie is a suburb of Portland) and the “rd” on 23 to resolve.

mub ,

I don’t think they’ll ever get address and Street information right. It needs a plugin that links gmaps street info into osm.

laughterlaughter ,

Then write to their support team, not just rant here. And donate too.

jeffreyosborne ,

Any openstreet map clients, I enjoy magic earth

doehni ,

I use OsmAnd

vext01 ,
@vext01@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

I use osmand for hikes as it has all the obscure trails.

The ui could be better.

BarHocker ,

Have a look at Organic Maps if you don’t need all the features of OSMand. It is simpler but more polished with a clean and tidy UI.

HootinNHollerin , (edited )

I’m trying them all out and magic earth seems to find the places I would typically nav to the easiest but OSM has more overlays

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