Is there a good Android app for using offline OpenStreetMap maps? My primary goal is to have maps that work when I have no connectivity. I’d like to download the entire US (or perhaps another country if I am traveling) and be able to navigate hiking trails where no cell service exists.
OSMAnd is very good, with a lot of features, but lately I have been using Organic Maps. It has fewer features but is SO MUCH FASTER when rendering maps.
I still mainly use Osmand but it’s pathfinding is completely bonkers sometimes (like when you need to go down a street (on foot) it instead takes a right into another street, then a left and left again, so you would walking in a square when you could just go straight ahead). It’s super obvious most of the times but I don’t know if I would trust it when I go somewhere by car (which I never do so I don’t care __).
One thing I like about Osmand for driving is that it tells you which lane(s) you should to be in for the next turn/junction/roundabout. It’s especially useful for large junctions and/or in busy traffic. I’ve had it do the “detour route” that you talk about, but it’s never been anything major like a complete square that’s lead to wasting time.
OSMAnd and Organic Maps
I’m partial to the former and I’ve noticed, specifically while hiking, that it is better than GMaps for navigating and finding paths.
Both of these apps are meant to be used offline.
I wish there was a way to automatically contribute traffic data to get the same level of car navigation that google maps offers. I find myself going back to Gmaps for that because are a lot of road closures on my way to work right now and the fastest route changes daily.
OsmAnd was specifically designed for offline use, downloads the maps and runs the routing all offline. Can do both online as well but by default after download it’s all offline
mapy.cz is built by a company which loves tracking and advertisements. OsmAnd doesn’t limit you if you use the OsmAnd+ version, which is paid on the Play $tore but free on F-Droid. There are also Organic Maps, which are completely free.
The droid page says that OsmAnd tracks and reports your activity. Magic Earth downloaded from playstore or Organic Maps are better privacy respecting choices.
The tracking by osmand app doesn’t seem to be anything malicious or revealing. Developers, contributors, and users discuss the meaning of the tracking here, which is also referenced in the F-Droid page. After reading some back and forth, the level of privacy or lack of you get from the tracking seems subjective. I personally don’t agree with it but its not as nosy as gmaps.
How are magic earth and organic maps any better in respect to privacy or tracking/reporting?
Hey, your links are incorrect. It should be https://mapy.cz (single P) instead of having two P’s - which link to a lingerie website… Can you edit your post?
OsmAnd, best downloaded from Fdroid. It has profiles for driving and hiking so you can use it for both with different settings.
