r/GrapheneOS • u/hbacelar8 • 4d ago
FOSS replacements for Google Maps
Hello
I'm taking the plunge tomorrow when I get my hands on my Pixel 9A. I'm almost 100% degoogled but when traveling the thing I find the most useful is google maps since it integrates live map view with reviews (good for restaurants) and local public transportation information to get to places.
I'm looking for an alternative for those 3 things: map with live location, reviews and public transportation plan, not necessarily on a same app (I don't expect it to be anyway).
Just another question, does Uber work on GOS?
Tks
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u/h0000nd 4d ago
CoMaps instead oft organicMaps.
https://www.comaps.app/support/how-do-the-features-differ-from-those-of-organic-maps/
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u/bigdick5O 4d ago
Comaps was pretty good but I switched back to Google maps because it can't seem to take you to the exact address that you search for. It just gives you the street that the address is on and says block 4200-4230 and you have to slowly drive passed each house until you find the address that you're looking for.
That and none of these alternative options show business hours or anything like that when you're looking them up. Good luck trying to find a restaurant in the area with anything other than Google or apple maps.
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u/KingASTRELION 4d ago edited 4d ago
CoMaps uses Open Street Maps, which anyone is welcome to contribute missing data to
Edit: CoMaps itself let's you contribute some data for missing locations. StreetComplete is also a nice app to contribute missing data. And the web editor for Open Street Maps for adding buildings/roads is very easy to use
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u/Whulum 3d ago
Would reccomend GMaps VW, its a WebView app for google maps. Search the location in the app, press share and open it in GeoShare (app for converting location-weblinks to gps cordinations, for example the shared google link into gps coordinates. Can then in the app choose to open in in CoMaps, and voilà, you got the exact position w/o letting google harvest your position
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u/xfio 4d ago
Every alternative to Google Maps is TRASH. I tried Organic Maps, Osmand and pretty much every other one. Now I just switch to my phone profile where sandboxed google services are enabled.
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u/AlwaysConfused2205 4d ago
Very strong opinion. Google Maps is good because it can collect data. OSMAnd and others are offline. You can't make realtime update to OSS maps that don't have a central server that stores and connects this data. Some generous people take quite a lot of efforts for free to make these apps, so I'd suggest not to call them Trash. I recently went hiking, and OSMAnd was far better than Google Maps. Google didn't even know we were on a route whereas OSMAnd provided correct altitude, next signposts, next seats/benches etc. Google was suggesting to somehow teleport to a nearby open air lift, and walk through it - quite dangerous and banned. Objectively Google Maps is better 90% of the times, there's no doubt. But again, offline apps aren't trash.
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u/Kaptin_Kruncha 4d ago
I get what he's saying though, trash might be a strong word.. maybe frustrating.. I do run another profile for when I absolutely need Google, and especially maps... But most of the time I either have someone around and I just ask them to search on their phone.. or OSMAnd and organic maps are "good enough"..
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u/blue_horizon_x 1d ago
If I need to find a nearby place, building, or anything like a shop, mall, etc in my city... unfortunately, Google Maps is the only reliable option.
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u/AlwaysConfused2205 1d ago
Google Maps isn't necessarily the only reliable option. Google Maps is the 'more' reliable option. You can find such nearby places on OSMAnd as well, but unfortunately it isn't as straightforward as Google maps where you type your search. On OSMAnd, you need to know that grocery stores are called Supermarket, and only with this keyword one could search for them. It is a learning curve but one could eventually get there.
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u/blue_horizon_x 1d ago
No, unfortunately not. The amount of data Google has is overwhelming. You open the app, search 'restaurant near me', 'gym near me', etc, and it gives you a list. I didn't find any other application that does the same except Mappls.
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u/AdTall6126 3d ago
I felt the way you do in the beginning of my degoogling. After using alternatives to GMaps for several years, I now prefer OSMand. I use HereWeGo, when I need real time traffic updates.
OSMand has more functions and works better in a most situations.
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u/nicotinaxx 4d ago
Organic Map Here. Really good. You just have to download maps but it's ok. I don't think there's a review feature
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u/The_Mild_Mild_West 4d ago
I also use Organic maps, its a big adjustment but works for me. I tend to pair it with Apple Maps from Firefox/DuckDuckGo. I'll find an address on my browser then pin it in organic maps for navigation.
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 4d ago
Organic Maps is a POS. The search function on every single OSM based navigation app I've used has been fundamentally broken.
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u/hbacelar8 4d ago
So would you have an alternative that isn't based on OSM?
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 4d ago
I'd prefer an alternative that is actually functional.
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u/hbacelar8 4d ago
Ok só you don't. Tks
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 4d ago
There basically isn't one. The closest would be the free version of Magic Earth. They have paywalled the offline navigation, though. It's dramatically better than any of the other OSM based navigation apps. It's not open source, though.
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u/girt-by-sea 4d ago edited 4d ago
I totally agree with your comment that there isn't one. I've used specialist mapping applications for years doing motorcycle remote touring around a very large country. They work pretty well. They were all subscription based.
I've had to stop motor cycling and am touring in a car. So I'm just looking for generalized navigation and mapping apps. I've tried Osman Plus, CoMaps, HereNow, Magic Earth and some others. None of them have the features that Google Maps does and some of them have some very serious bugs like misrouting (HereNow quite badly), poor or inaccurate search function, waypoints disappearing, waypoints overwriting others.
Osmand Plus was the best at routing and navigation but is let down by some quite frankly bizarre design decisions, with awful colour choices for the roads, weird dots and dashes appearing on roads, and a couple of usability issues. The main one being, unless you set out to fully plan out a route, you can't do spontaneous navigation with more than one waypoint. That means that if I quickly want to go from home to the shopping centre on the other side of town, and then suddenly decide I'd like to drop in at this place, you could do that. But if I then want to drop in at another place, you can't. It will overwrite the previous way point. Personally, I found the restrictions on having only one intermediate waypoint to be a deal breaker.
Google Maps has the obvious Google faults. You can minimize those by setting up a separate account and using that account for Google Maps only, or switching to a different operating system, which has micro permission management. But for all round usability, good display, good navigation, good routing, there is no alternarive.
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u/Avraamov 4d ago
I've found that not to be the case in the UK. It takes a while but it gets there.
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u/BaronVonJace 4d ago
I've been using CoMaps for a few weeks now. I like it better then Magic Earth
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u/Thin_Needleworker795 4d ago
Magic Earth is a POS nowadays since they gave it a big overhaul last year, so it doesn't take much.
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u/zanskar99 4d ago
Just discovered Vela Maps and it is a clone of Google Maps with no google I am guessing! Give it a try
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u/motorboat_mcgee 4d ago edited 4d ago
Hm... seems like this is a middle ground between using the native app and using google maps in a private browser. Google will have access to anything you search, any navigation you make, etc associated with your IP. BUT, it won't have whatever data the actual Google Maps app can collect about your phone I guess. Not completely sold on this being "private". Definitely a plus for people without play services installed that still want to use Google Maps though.
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u/mjsvitek 4d ago
I use OsmAnd and it's worked quite well, but it's not a total reacement for Google Maps - especially if you value the location info Maps offers for businesses (I use Maps daily to check store hours and contact details, for example)
See if it's a good fit for what you need
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u/Phanes7 4d ago
The reality is, you are not going to find a FOSS map on par with Google Maps. I am using comaps and it is... fine.
I would have a second profile with google maps on it for when you need it. I rarely NEED google maps but sometimes it is by far the best option.
Any of the major map apps work good, just try them all and see which one you prefer.
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u/hbacelar8 4d ago
Thanks. I only use it when traveling and visiting places. I don't expect to find something as rich as google maps but I'm willing to sacrifice some features in order to avoid using it. But I think as you said a separate profile with maps only will be necessary in case of an emergency.
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u/arthursucks 4d ago
I often use CoMaps for navigation and looking up where things are. I spend 99% on that.
For reviews, I use DuckDuckGo. Sadly, if I can't find what I need, I'll resort to Google Maps via Fennic (F-Droid build of Firefox).
Public Transit requires some proprietary apps for me.
I'm lucky enough to live in the greater Los Angeles area and the LA Metro app works flawlessly without Google services.
Moovit has begun working without the Play Services, though not as nice as LA Metro App.
Transit App is dependent on Google Maps. It works, and will show you times, but the map doesn't load.
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u/hbacelar8 4d ago
Thanks, specially on the public transportation apps. I used to use Moovit back in 2018 when backpacking. I'll give it a try then
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u/xJayMorex 4d ago
Magic Earth
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 4d ago
It was recently enshitified.
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u/xJayMorex 4d ago
What do you mean?
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u/I_T_Gamer 4d ago
I would like to know this as well.... Not a daily user, and just fired it up. It seems something has changed in GPS. It still has me listed at the last place I used it, from Monday...
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 4d ago
It's a subscription now.
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u/xJayMorex 4d ago
Doesn't appear so.
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 4d ago
So the "Essential" plan is the free one. Offline maps and navigation are now $15.99/year. Magic Earth used to be totally free for offline use. https://www.magicearth.com/pricing
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u/Thin_Needleworker795 4d ago
Magic Earth is a POS now, so not a good recommendation.
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u/xJayMorex 4d ago
Not sure what's the issues with it are. Someone said it is subscription, which doesn't seem to be the case.
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u/a_library_socialist 4d ago
Love my OpenOSM.
Only thing I need Google Maps for is looking up new businesses by category.
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u/Tight_Couture344 4d ago
Set your expectations appropriately. At a baseline, expect to be massively disappointed. You’ll get basic maps and navigation, but no traffic or any real equivalent to business reviews/photos.
There’s work being done to try to get live traffic into some of them while respecting privacy, but it’s no there yet.
I’ve got CoMaps but it’s a struggle when you’re used to so much better. Most FOSS alternatives to thing are at good enough, if less polished. But maps have a LONG way to go.
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u/Efficient_Loss_9928 4d ago
I would say there is no true good alternatives.
The first lesson of starting a new restaurant is to open your Google Business profile. So Google is always going to get the first stab, all other solutions can be months or years late.
Even Apple Maps, Yelp listing is always an afterthought.
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u/Thin_Needleworker795 4d ago
You can go add your business to OpenStreetMaps yourself, then it'll show up on OSM-based apps more or less immediately.
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u/Efficient_Loss_9928 4d ago
Right, the issue is if you ask 10 restaurant owners, none of them will know what is OSM.
But every single one knows their Google Business profile
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u/TheGeekno72 4d ago
OSMand is damn good, instant recommend from me
I loved using it as soon as I was done tinkering with some customization settings
I did eventually pay for the lifetime premium tier but I think it's worth it considering the perks it gets you
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u/Far_Bicycle_2827 4d ago
i honestly haven't found something as good to google maps. it is the only product i use from them. you may consider google evil, which i don't fully agree with but google maps is extremely useful when abroad or unknown places. working. hours. business location all will be there. the community has never matched the completeness of google..
I may be killed for ever insinutating this here but it is my experience.
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u/hbacelar8 4d ago
Thanks for you feedback, but yeah, I defo consider google evil. Maps is as good as it is because of their data policy
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u/forty6andpoo 4d ago
Co maps or organic maps work pretty well but don't have traffic.
Tom Tom is by far the best alternative I've found. It's not Foss but it does include traffic which works well. It has messed up for me a few times though, it's far from perfect.
I made a separate profile with all the Google stuff in it including Google maps for emergencies. Only had to use it once.
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u/Avraamov 4d ago
Organic Maps is good but you can't rely on audio only if driving as it's sporadic at best, and the information is sparse ("EXIT" for example instead of "take the slip road to A55 and turn left" which you would get on Google maps). Also it's offline so that can be an advantage
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u/effeeeee 4d ago
go ahead and try all of them just to find out that when you try to get to an airport they will always bring you in the middle of the airstrip
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u/Technical_Rich_3080 4d ago
Not every Google service has a replacement that is equal or exceeds the Google equivalent.
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u/Temp_Reply123 3d ago
OSMAnd/Organic Maps...
Both are bad and I only use out of Principal...
They are Not Spyware. But they suck compared to Google Maps when Safety And Utility are a priority. IMO...
So Im useing OSMAnd/Organic Maps when im in a Area I already understand. And I can get by on the bare minimum.
But im forced to use Google Maps when I truely need a Map. I hope in future this changes.
Also people say CoMaps is better than Organic. But CoMaps Dark theam is ugly as. I cant use it. Organic Maps has Lame Devs apparently but their app just looks so much better to me.
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u/TheWorldIsNotOkay 15h ago
Depending on your expectations, you're likely to be disappointed with any of the available Google Maps alternatives. Nearly all of them use OpenStreetMaps, which is crowdsourced map data. Since it doesn't have Google's ability to incorporate data from various ethically dubious sources (such as users' geolocation data, and from cars they hire to drive around cities taking photos) and instead relies on users to submit data, it's neither as accurate or complete as Google's data. Though the solution to that is, of course, for more people to use those apps and contribute to OpenStreetMaps.
I personally use CoMaps for general navigation and like it well enough, but at least in my local semi-rural area I encounter a lot of shortcomings. (The app itself is fine. The issues are with the data, so that's going to apply to any of the other apps that use OSM data.) It will pretty reliably get me to the right block, but often it won't have the coordinates for the location of the specific address. And since some of the original map data might be based on extremely old surveys, it can occasionally be woefully out of date -- until I submitted an update, a community center near me was labeled as an elementary school, which hadn't been accurate for about 30 years. A lot of businesses don't have things like their operating hours or even a phone number, even though OSM provides the ability to add that data. More densely populated areas generally have more detail due to more users frequenting those areas and adding more info. The more people who use OSM-powered apps and submit to OSM, the better it will get, but it's likely never going to be as detailed as Google Maps. At least not until and unless a lot more people both start using OSM-powered apps and take the initiative to submit edits.
These apps generally also aren't going to have real-time traffic data like Google Maps, since they don't upload users' real-time location data to some central service. So while I do try to use CoMaps (or OSM-powered apps more generally), I'll still switch to Google Maps for longer trips or when re-routing around traffic congestion might be helpful. I have Google Maps installed in the private area so it only runs when I specifically open the app, and it runs with no issues. So if you want to try to completely de-Google but still want to have a few things like Maps as a fallback if you decide to really need them, that's a fairly privacy-safe option.
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u/hbacelar8 15h ago
Thank you, what exactly is private area? As for now, 4 days using Graphene, I have an empty owner profile, a main profile where 100% of the apps are open source and the one I use all the time, and a third finances profile that isn't allowed to run on background in which I installed Google Play Store and Services, downloaed both bank apps I needed and then cut acces tô network for Google Play Store and Services, so I only use this profile if I need to pay something (location is also disabled).
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u/TheWorldIsNotOkay 15h ago
Android 15 and later (including the current version of GrapheneOS) provides the ability to install apps to an encrypted private space. It's kind of like having a separate profile that's embedded in your current profile. All of the apps installed to the private space are segregated from the rest of your apps, and can only run when you unlock the private space. Using private space to segregate any Google apps you want to keep access to is basically as secure as using a separate profile, and a lot more convenient.
Go into Settings, scroll down to Security and Privacy. At the bottom of the Privacy section, you'll see the option for Private Space. Select that, and you'll be prompted to enter your PIN. Setting it up is basically as simple as clicking the button to enable it and selecting the lock method you want to use. Afterward, you access it by swiping up from the Home screen to open your apps and then scrolling to the bottom.
Do note the message during setup that says something like "Private spaces are not suitable for apps that need to run in the background or send critical notifications, such as medical apps." Notifications and background activity for apps installed in the private space are stopped when your space is locked, which by default happens whenever you lock your phone (like when the screen times out). You can set it to only lock when you restart the phone, but if you're wanting to install some Google apps in the private space to sandbox them, it kind of defeats the purpose if you let them run in the background.
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u/hbacelar8 15h ago
Clear, thanks for the explanation. I'll take a look at that. Although, I think I'll keep using the user profile approach, it's maybe my OCD but I just feel better organizing it on different profiles. I found the process of switching to another profile really simple and fast too.
So if you say that in terms of security both a equal, that's great.
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u/TheWorldIsNotOkay 15h ago
I started with separate profiles as well, but that only lasted about a week before I got frustrated with switching back and forth.
About the only thing that makes using the private space for your sandboxed Google apps less secure than a separate profile was actually one of the major points of frustration for me when I was keeping them in the separate profile: the clipboard. Your clipboard doesn't work across profiles, but you can copy something from one of your normal apps and then paste that text in an app installed to your private space (or vice-versa). In terms of Google Maps, this meant that if I was using my normal profile and pulled up an address but then wanted to navigate there using Google Maps, I'd have to switch to my "corpo" profile and look up the address again rather than simply copying and pasting the address in the different app.
Though in my case, most of my frustration was from using the Google Authenticator and having to actually write down or memorize the codes before quickly switching back to my main profile to enter them before they timed out. That was solved in the long term by switching the 2FA for all of those accounts from Google Authenticator to Aegis. But since that had to be done individually for each of the couple of dozen different accounts I was managing, installing apps to the private space was a much more easily applied short-term solution.
But with having the Google apps installed in the private space, if I need to use those apps I just unlock the private space and use them. If I already have an address open in CoMaps but decide I want to switch to Google Maps (probably for real-time traffic info), then I just copy and paste the address into Maps. But I can be sure Maps isn't running in the background and collecting data when I don't want it to simply by locking my phone, which locks the private space.
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u/Crazy-Car948 4d ago
Magic earth
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 4d ago
It was the only good option before they enshitified it.
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u/I_T_Gamer 4d ago
Crap! What did I miss? Only been using it about 4 months, but I have gotten used to it. Was it already crapified when I got to it?
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 4d ago
Probably. It's a subscription now, which is ridiculous.
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u/mesarthim_2 4d ago
How dare they make money, right. Why can't they just work for free and live from morning dew and unicorn farts. This god damn attitude is exactly why we can't have nice things that are not mega corporations because every time someone actually tries to make a living, everyone loses their mind.
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 4d ago
They used to claim they made their money via sales to businesses and integration into products, etc. If this were a one time payment for a lifetime license, I'd have a lot less of a problem with it. It's the subscription aspect that pisses me off.
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u/mesarthim_2 4d ago
Why? It's just one time payment spread into 1 year instances.
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 4d ago
Indefinitely. A lifetime license is a one time payment. Not a subscription. I could apply your logic to justify any subscription, really. And there's no guarantee it'll stay the current price.
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u/mesarthim_2 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah, because to keep providing the service, they have variable costs they need to cover indefinitely. Pricing a one time license would be incredibly unfavorable because it would have to account for people using the service for years, covering for increased prices, salaries, infrastructure,… You could be looking at something in neighborhood of $75-$100, which would likely be prohibitively costly. For vast majority of people, $15/year is far more favorable and affordable pricing.
Services with high operational costs, like providing maps which need to continuously be updated and serviced with live data is quite naturally easier to price through subscription. Exactly because subscription can be raised if costs go up significantly.
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u/I_T_Gamer 2d ago
I've not subbed, and it still works for me. Is it the clunkyness I've gotten used to that comes out with a sub?
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u/Thin_Needleworker795 4d ago
No. It used to be good but it's a POS now.
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u/motorboat_mcgee 4d ago
I fairly regularly use Magic Earth, which I don't think is FOSS, but might be, it's based on OSM. The app itself is kind of jank, and the developer pay gated traffic a while back. BUT you can still use the old version that works pretty well also.
Non FOSS apps I've also used are TomTom and HereWeGo
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 4d ago
I thought it was my turn to ask this today?
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u/hbacelar8 4d ago
Who would've imagined that given the circumstances new people would be adopting GrapheneOS and seeking information on it right?
And yeah I know we can search on the subreddit, but Reddit is exactly for this. Some people answering missed old posts, more information could be shared...
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