CoMaps

Did you already find any Christmas trees in CoMaps? During the Christmas season, the app displays public Christmas trees that are mapped in #OpenStreetMap (in maps from version 2025.11.19 onwards).

Need some help to find them? Check out https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/en/map/christmas-trees_1329183 to see where you can find some!

The ones around you are not mapped yet? We plan on having another release before Christmas. If you map them now, they will be included in the last pre-Christmas release!

I can see that my CoMaps does not route through houses' yards. And, if the route either begins or ends at a yard, it does allow crossing there.
So, it is respecting some OSM tag. What tags are those that cause the routing to avoid residential yards?

For example, a route from 60.219, 25.065 to the metro station at 60.224, 25.076 is routed straight through the yard of a school with 7-year-old pupils, which is really not okay during school hours. The school's yard is marked as an area of type School Grounds, but of course many schools where it is no problem at all to walk through their areas can have the same feature... So, what are the tags that cause the routing algorithm of CoMaps/Organic Maps/Maps.me to avoid houses' yards? What tags can I add to the school yards in OSM in order to prevent routing through them?

Is It Really FOSS? is a website that reviews software that claims to be free & open source. This effort has unfortunately become necessary as projects increasingly start to "do the talk of open source", without actually "doing the walk" – effectively misrepresenting themselves as FOSS when they aren't.

Which is why we're extra happy that our offline map & navigation app has now been added to the website, listing us as a green "Yes, it's open source" ✅

Thanks to all of you, we have over 1,000 stars 🌠 on @Codeberg@social.anoxinon.de, a mostly volunteer-driven code forge that shares our commitment to community & Free/Libre/Open Source Software. Their efforts make the way we develop CoMaps possible.

Did you know: Codeberg is run by a non-profit association that sustains itself via memberships & donations. If that sounds as cool to you as it does to us: Consider donating or becoming a member! https://join.codeberg.org/

We've made a hotfix release — 2025.11.25-4 — for Android: https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/releases/tag/v2025.11.25-4

It's a follow-up to our 2025.11.19-2 release to fix a bug with voice directions pronouncing weird symbols in the beginning, when the "Announce Street Names" feature is enabled.

It also includes updated OpenStreetMap data as of November 23

It's already out on Codeberg will be available soon on Google Play and F-Droid.

Our release 2025.11.19 is now out own Codeberg, Google Play and iOS (and soon on f-droid).

It comes with fresh map data, a new routing option to avoid paved roads, new POI types. Read more here: https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/releases/tag/v2025.11.19-2

As the title states. I really want to like and use open source maps, but it seems that whatever database they are pulling from is pretty bad and incomplete overall. You also have to put the exact name, as it is in the system, otherwise it will not come up.

Just to use a really simple and well known example, after downloading the appropriate maps for this search, if I search for "the liberty bell", the first four results are either roads or businesses near me, then the liberty bell museum in Allentown (which btw is permanently closed), and then the liberty bell center, then the liberty bell center again for some reason, and then finally the actual liberty bell itself. There are also suggestions down the list that no longer exist, such as the liberty bell pavilion. So this is clearly outdated data that is being used.

The suggested searches are also nonsense, only taking the last word into account, i.e suggesting "belles ave", "bellgrove rd", etc, rather than "liberty bell center", which would be the most logical suggestion for that search.

Why is this so bad, and what needs to happen to make it better?

People can use CoMaps for leaving notes on #OpenStreetMap. Those notes can suggest edits that are outside CoMaps' editing capabilities.

You can help CoMaps & OpenStreetMap by looking over those notes and fixing them. Learn more about how to do so on our website: https://www.comaps.app/news/2025-10-17/improving-osm-notes/

Rising through veils of mist and crowned with drifting smoke, this active volcano commands sweeping views of terraced valleys, tropical forests, and distant temples; its steep, ash-brushed slopes and ever-changing skies make it a breathtaking fusion of geological power and serene beauty.

Indonesia

Highlights

• Routing option to avoid steps
• Improved first map download experience
• Improved fields available in editor following type objects
• Android: Improved visibility and UI of instructions in navigation
• Map: Bus station specific icons

Full List https://codeberg.org/comaps/comaps/releases/tag/v2025.10.16-1

To calculate the "best" routes and more accurate arrival time estimates, #CoMaps assigns so-called penalties to pedestrian crossings or traffic calming features such as speed bumps.

For this to work, the data needs to be available and correct in #OpenStreetMap. On our blog, CoMaps contributor Jean-Baptiste shares some tips on how you can help with improving this data by finding tagging errors, all without having to do surveying in the field!

Hi, the app keeps crashing when I want to edit a collection/list, i. e. the list name. Reproducible. Version 2025.10.09-3-FDroid

Planning for #SOTM2026 is is well underway – Paris, France has been chosen as the host city. And CoMaps makes an appearance in the promotional video!

CoMaps perfectly embodies the vibrant energy that drives OpenStreetMap forward: collaboration, innovation, and a shared love for exploring the world one map tile at a time.

Take a look at the video: https://peertube.openstreetmap.fr/w/kme7gzVKaqaK4tztBSkkWb

CoMaps empowers you to reclaim the driver's seat of your software. Check out a great idea by reclaimcontrol.tech

Stop the Scroll - RECLAIM CONTROL

“We love technology. But today's tools are not delivering a faster, more efficient and reliable automated future; instead they trap us in products that can feel impossible to exit or change.”

“The first day of every month, let's #stopthescroll. Log off from corporate platforms for the day. Spend the time investing in healthier habits and more ethical, responsible, humane systems. Together we can leave toxic tech and reclaim our right to a better digital future.”

DISCONNECT TO RE-CONNECT

https://www.reclaimcontrol.tech/stopthescroll.html

September 29th marks the anniversary of the open‑source app repository we all love.

Why it matters: F‑Droid’s mission aligns well with CoMaps—both champion Free/Libre Open‑Source Software (FLOSS) and community‑driven innovation.

https://f-droid.org/en/2025/09/04/twif.html Post from 2010: https://f-droid.org/en//2010/09/29/f-droid-is-here.html

Let’s keep building a freer tech ecosystem together!

Did you know you can now add an address to OpenStreetMap directly from the CoMaps editor?

Contributing info is easier than ever: Community impact – Every address improves navigation and discovery for millions of people worldwide.

Get started today:

1. Tap ‘Add Place to OpenStreetMap’ and select the point where the address belongs
2. Select the ‘Address’ Category
3. Enter the address and tap 'Save' to submit to OSM

Your small edit can make a big difference!

Antelope Canyon – A Natural Masterpiece

Carved over millennia, this Arizona slot canyon twists through towering sandstone walls etched with wave‑like patterns. Sunlight pours in, casting golden shafts that paint the reds, oranges, and golds of the rock—turning the canyon into a living work of art.

If you go into "Location Services" by searching for it in your settings, and turn on "Network location" and "Geocoder", and also turn on location service on CoMaps, it may help with CoMap accessing your current location.

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We’re a global family of volunteers—engineers, designers, community builders and dreamers—all united by one vision: A world in which the top choice for navigation software respects users' freedom and privacy, and is developed through open collaboration.

From sunrise in Asia to sunset in South America, the contributors collaborate across time zones, languages, and cultures. No salaries, no borders—just pure passion for open data and community‑driven cartography.

Why we love CoMaps:

• Sleek, privacy‑focused navigation experience that works worldwide, without tracking or ads.
• We learn from each other, sharing skills and stories along the way.
• Our work lives online, so anyone can join the adventure at any time.

Excited by CoMaps? Get involved, donate, or just spread the word.

https://codeberg.org/comaps

Together we turn plans into journeys.

Free/Libre & Open Source Software (FLOSS) empowers anyone to view, modify, and share the source code— no vendor lock‑in. It fuels collaboration, transparency, and innovation, letting communities build better, more secure tools together.

switching.software has ethical, easy-to-use and privacy-conscious alternatives to well-known software.

Check them out https://switching.software/

Drop your top pick in the comments and let’s celebrate the power of community‑driven tech!

CoMaps is a community and lives across many platforms— as a community we help people by answering questions about CoMaps, sharing links to requests and status, and engage with people who post comments.

Want to help run the social‑media channels? We’d love to have you on board!

To get started with community operations, let us know in the comments.

Has anyone else noticed CoMaps’ handling of touch events (on iOS, at least) being a bit janky? Sometimes it zooms when I want to scroll, or zooms out when I want to zoom in. Is this a known issue that a fix is planned for?

Great ideas thrive in collaboration - when the community joins forces, powerful map experience happen

OpenStreetMap – the global crowdsourced map of the world, the foundation of CoMaps

OrganicMaps and MAPS.ME – predecessors of the CoMaps project – the code, algorithms and design foundation

Wikipedia – rich descriptions for Points-of-Interests

NASA's SRTM and Sonny's Lidar DTMs - open altitude data for contour lines and elevation profiles

JOSM, Every Door, Street Complete and other Free & Open Source community tools that power map data editing and help keep it fresh and accurate

... and more open datasets and great open-source libraries used in the CoMaps project!

“Why I Use CoMaps to Find Hiking Areas Near Me ”

“The diversity of OpenStreetMap tools and how they help create a commons”

Dive into real‑world stories and discover creative ways the community is using CoMaps and mapping together: https://www.comaps.app/category/blog/

Have your own CoMaps‑related blog post and want it featured on the News page, or thinking of writing a fresh piece? We’d love to showcase your voice!

To get started, create an Issue and let’s get your story in front of the community: https://codeberg.org/comaps/website/issues

IzzyOnDroid – an Android store for Free & Open Source Software. The apps are free (as in „free beer“ and as in „free speech“) and Open Source.

Builds for IzzyOnDroid are directly from developers and signed by developers. This enables very fast publishing of new releases (whereas F-Droid re-builds all apps from the source).

There are several ways to install and update CoMaps via IzzyOnDroid, see here:

https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/app.comaps