Organic Maps: Free offline maps app for Android and iOS
The month of December and the year 2024 are almost over, and since I really love exercising and playing sports outdoors, especially in the mountains., today I have decided to bring you in this publication one more mobile app, free and open. Both for Android and iOS, and useful for such a great human activity, and even other similar or different ones. Since, although there are computer solutions such as Google Maps, Apple Maps, Maps.me, OpenStreetMap, and GPS Navigation; the truth is that, the one we recommend today and whose name is «Organic Maps», is usually a favorite of many travelers, tourists, hikers and cyclists. Also, by many lovers of the Linuxverse or privacy, anonymity and computer security.
And in case you don't know much about the OpenStreetMap application It is important to note that it is a project (Technology: App/WebApp) of the Linuxverse (Free Software, Open Source and GNU/Linux) that Provides map data for thousands of websites, mobile applications and hardware devices. It is also created and maintained by a large community of mappers who contribute and maintain data on roads, trails, cafes, train stations and much more all over the world. This makes it an ideal map database for Organic Maps and many other similar projects that require geographic and geolocation information.
Ceno: A Mobile Web Browser Powered by 2P2 for Android
But, before starting this interesting post about this useful mobile app called «Organic Maps», we recommend you explore a previous post about another mobile app, preferred and recommended by many lovers of the Linuxverse, privacy, anonymity and computer security, after finishing reading this:
Ceno is a Firefox-based mobile web browser for Android, which is officially available on the Google Play Store. And it is useful for browsing safely and efficiently, thanks to the fact that it stores and shares web content anywhere for everyone.
Organic Maps: Ideal mobile app for hiking, cycling and useful as an offline GPS
What is Organic Maps?
According to its own developers in the Official website From this free and open development, the mobile app «Organic Maps» is described and promoted as follows:
Organic Maps is a free offline mapping app for Android and iOS for travelers, tourists, hikers and cyclists based on the open source map data from OpenStreetMap. It is a free, privacy-focused fork of the Maps.me app (formerly known as MapsWithMe), maintained by the same people who created MapsWithMe in 2011. Organic Maps is one of the few apps today that allows you to use all of the features without an active internet connection. Install Organic Maps, download maps, throw away your SIM card (by the way, your carrier is constantly tracking you) and take on a weekly commute on a single charge without a single byte sent to the network.
And also in his GitHub repository, they add the following:
Organic Maps is a pure, organic mobile app made with love. Therefore, it respects the privacy of its users, facilitates efficient battery saving of the used device, and will never incur unexpected data usage charges. Moreover, it is free of trackers and other bad things such as ads (advertising), trackers, data collectors. And it will never secretly connect to any server, nor implement annoying registrations, mandatory tutorials, email spam, notifications, junk components, or other annoying and improper mechanisms.
Features
And currently, among the most outstanding features Of this free and open source mobile app, the following are worth mentioning:
- Provides detailed offline maps with places that don't exist on other maps, thanks to OpenStreetMap.
- Enables turn-by-turn navigation with voice guidance on foot, by bike and in the car, and support for Android Auto.
- Adds on maps: Contour lines, elevation profiles, peaks and slopes.
- Markers are exported and imported in KML/KMZ formats, import GPX.
- The maps used for countries and regions do not take up too much space.
- Allows for quick offline and on-map search.
- Includes cycling routes, hiking trails and paths.
- Includes a dark mode to protect your eyes.
Cryptocam: A camera that takes photos or records videos and then encrypts them. Chronos: A digital clock with custom alarms and backgrounds that has granular controls everywhere. OpenContacts: An app that stores used contacts in its own database separate from the one used by the Android contacts app. KOReader: A document reader developed primarily for Android-based readers. FairEmail: An open source email sending and receiving app.
Summary
In short, I hope you like and find useful this small recommended mobile app called «Organic Maps», and not only because it is free and open, but also because respectful of the privacy, anonymity and computer security of its users, but for being really useful when we want to locate ourselves or locate, offline, any location or place. And if you know of any other free and open mobile app that you use for this or another purpose/activity, we invite you to mention it and describe it via comments, so that on another occasion we can consider it for a future publication in 2025.
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