this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2025
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Organic Maps fork CoMaps launches on major app stores for iOS and Android (alternativeto.net)
submitted 3 days ago by theangriestbird@beehaw.org to c/foss@beehaw.org
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CoMaps shares core functionality with Organic Maps. It allows users to plan and navigate trips entirely offline. It's entirely free to use, with no ads, and it collects no personal data. Additionally, its efficient design ensures minimal battery consumption, making it suitable for travelers seeking private, uninterrupted navigation.

What sets CoMaps apart is a fully transparent governance approach. All decisions about the app's development are made publicly, with users and contributors having a voice in its future direction. This focus on community engagement aims to deliver value for its users rather than prioritize profit.

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[–] TDCN@feddit.dk 14 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Already deleted organic maps and downloaded comaps instead and used it yesterday. Works great for navigation showing intersections and turns at a nice zoom level and clear guides. Love it over Google maps already.

Only major downside is live traffic and also that map changes for closed roads doesn't seem to update the navigation. The navigation still takes me down a temporary closed road that as far as I can see on osm.org is marked as closed but I'm not sure who's fault it is because the road is also still visible on osm.org and only by selecting the road and looking at metadata can I see that it is closed. Not sure how and where to report this bug.

[–] blah3166@piefed.social 15 points 3 days ago

CoMaps (unless they've diverged from Organic Maps already) only updates map info once a month. Once a month they "cut" whatever is latest on Open Street Maps (OSM) and update their database. if someone updates OSM today, you may not see it on CoMaps until the monthly update is available.

[–] theangriestbird@beehaw.org 3 points 3 days ago (2 children)

osm seems like a mess. your comment got me poking around my local area to see if they had marked a recent road closure i was aware of. They hadn't, and the Walgreen's next to the road was marked as a generic building. I dug into the editing tools, made an account, and made some edits. Then I tried asking OSM to give me directions to that pharmacy, and it just says it can't find a route. lollll great thanks OSM.

It seems interesting as a hobby to keep up with. Feels like editing Wikipedia articles but you're getting in on the ground floor, so your individual contribution is way more valuable.

[–] infeeeee@lemmy.zip 22 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

We don't map temporary features: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Good_practice#Don't_map_temporary_events_and_temporary_features

If the road closure is less than a month long it shouldn't be on OSM. A lot of people use the map offline, it's better to have the default "open" state on the map for them.

Clients are free to mix the OSM basemap with their proprietary data. E.g. Magic Earth has some live traffic data from 3rd parties and from its users, and you can report temporary closures in the app as well and it displays them while driving. (Unfortunately it doesn't consider them for routing)

OSM is not a map service like Gmaps, it's a geospatial database and a community maintaining the database. OSM by itself is not really usable for end users, CoMaps and others should build their services on top of the data. This is the reason it's not licensed by some kind of CreativeCommons, but it has its own special license ODbL. It allows easier commercial usage than CC-BY-SA, which was used by OSM before 2012. https://osmfoundation.org/wiki/Licence_and_Legal_FAQ/Why_CC_BY-SA_is_Unsuitable

The routing was not working for the same reason. OSM does not route, as it's just a database. It just displays a 3rd party routing engine which uses outdated data, from before your change.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 7 points 3 days ago

This is an excellent explanation. I've always wondered how it all worked, now I see the map data is separate from dynamic data.

Wish these mapping apps would explain that, so people would understand the apps are providing the updated/dynamic data with the map data coming from OSM.

[–] theangriestbird@beehaw.org 2 points 3 days ago

interesting. thanks for the info!

[–] marius@feddit.org 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

If you want to improve the map in your area, use streetcomplete. It's incredibly easy and feels like a video game

[–] theangriestbird@beehaw.org 4 points 3 days ago

great tip, checking it out now

[–] ThorrJo@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Anybody got a summary of the drama I smell behind this?

[–] infeeeee@lemmy.zip 10 points 3 days ago

The full story is in the Open Letter, but it's long: https://openletter.earth/open-letter-to-organic-maps-shareholders-a0bf770c

AI summary from this comment from the osm forum:

Concrete Issues Leading to the Open Letter

  • Misuse of Donations: Alexander Borsuk allegedly used project donations to cover personal holiday expenses, raising concerns about financial integrity.
  • Lack of Financial Transparency: Contributors were consistently denied access to financial information, including total donations received and expenditures.
  • Secret Hiring Practices: The hiring of the first full-time developer in January 2024 was kept secret from contributors, who only learned about it months later.
  • Closed Decision-Making: Key project decisions, such as agreements with external partners (e.g., Kayak.com), were made without informing or consulting contributors.
  • Shareholder Control: The governance structure allowed shareholders to make unilateral decisions, sidelining the input of long-term contributors.
  • Conflict Among Shareholders: A significant conflict between shareholders Roman Tsisyk and Alexander Borsuk has led to a breakdown in collaboration, jeopardizing project stability.
  • Lack of Accountability: The board, composed solely of shareholders, failed to rotate members or ensure accountability, leading to a stagnant governance model.
  • Potential for Profit Motives: Contributors expressed concerns that the project could be sold or monetized for shareholder profit, undermining its community-driven mission.
  • Inadequate Communication: Shareholders did not adequately communicate the role of Organic Maps OÜ as a for-profit entity, leaving contributors unaware of its implications.
  • Violation of Open Source Values: While the maps generator code is technically available, the version in production contains private changes that are not disclosed, and the server used for downloading maps operates with proprietary elements, contradicting the project’s stated commitment to Free and Open Source Software principles.
[–] doeknius_gloek@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] paperBark@slrpnk.net 6 points 3 days ago

So far, the developers have voted on the project’s name, chosen a new color scheme for branding, removed the Kayak affiliate links carried over from Organic Maps, and started moving away from several Google services.

Oof I had no idea Organic Maps was going to shit. I never really got on with Organic Maps anyways and ended up preferring OSMAnd~ after getting it figured out.

May check out coMaps once they've had a few updates to get their feet situated and see what they would do differently.

[–] take6056@feddit.nl 4 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Been using OsmAnd for years now, but I hear organic maps (or now CoMaps) mentioned way more often. What features does CoMaps have that OsmAnd lacks?

[–] infeeeee@lemmy.zip 9 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

CoMaps has far less features, but that's the point. Some people love the simplicity, they don't need all the confusing and overwhelming options of osmand.

Osmand has some performance issues on some devices, but Comaps was generally much more responsive on any device I tried it.

CoMaps has 3d buildings. Its map is very nice, but this is subjective.

CoMaps aims to be fully FOSS, this was not true for its predecessors, OM and Maps.me. Osmand is not fully foss.

If you are perfectly happy with osmand you don't really need it, but for new users who are only familiar with the very basic interfaces of other commercial map apps, it can be much more welcoming.

[–] toketin@feddit.it 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Hi, is there any chance to download a gpx track on CoMaps?

[–] infeeeee@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Do you want to import or record?

To import: star button -> import bookmarks and tracks. Then you can just pick it from your file browser. You can't use it for navigation, it's just displayed as an overlay.

To record: Hamburger menu -> Record track

[–] toketin@feddit.it 1 points 2 days ago

I'd like to plan a trip and then to download it's gpx track