Maps

This is one category I have not been able to completely DeGoogle yet. After all, Google has been mapping the world for 15 20 years. They’ve gotten exceptionally good at it. And while there are alternatives, their efficacy largely depends on your location. That’s a moot point though when you travel as much as I do. I still try to use other services when I can though and only fallback on Google’s if they fail.

Over the years, Google Maps evolved to offer many services atop its infrastructure. It’s not just a map like those foldable paper ones from prehistoric times. It also includes real-time traffic information to provide navigation. It also helps with biking, transit and walking directions. Google’s Business Profile adds photos and useful information to points of interest. It also uses everyone’s location data to tell you how busy a place is.

Speaking of location information, location history is another cool (albeit creepy) feature. Remember that great pizza place you went to last year? Of course not, but Google does. As always, the only problem with all of these incredibly useful features is Google. Though if we’re being honest, only Google can provide this much utility in one package. Precisely due to the sheer amount of spying they do on everyone.

Cloud

GMaps WV

We’re starting off with GMaps WV. It’s a web wrapper for Google Maps that you can use without exposing personal information. Privacy-friendly Android alternative DivestOS actually put this one together. GMaps WV leverages Google’s infrastructure to discover coordinates and points of interest. From there you’re free to plug them into a more privacy-friendly app for navigation.

HERE WeGo

Nokia’s maps service HERE WeGo offers robust offline navigation. Turns out, it’s also great for privacy. You can use it without needing to login, so your searches and location are not tied to your account. They’re also allegedly deleted once your session is over.

Here WeGo focuses on directions and rich results for businesses. While it likely won’t be as accurate as Google’s offering, I’ve had no issues using it online or offline. Your mileage may vary though depending on your location.

Magic Earth

If you’re not pressed about using open-source, Magic Earth is likely your best option. It uses no ads or trackers, is completely free, and doesn’t skimp out on any features you might find of interest. Including Sygic‘s 3D maps.

Like Google, it crowdsources traffic and accident information. Unlike Google, it works offline. Their 3D maps give you a whole new perspective on driving. Their satellite imagery is quite detailed with ludicrous zoom (up to 3 inches is their claim). There’s an “AI-powered” dashcam mode and deep Apple watch integration. The latter allows for notifications and even turn-by-turn navigation on your wrist. Oh yeah, this one does skew a bit Apple. It supports CarPlay but not Android Auto.

Transit and walking directions are also supported, with costs, transfers, and turn-by-turn directions. The list of cities they support is extensive. Chances are they support your local public transportation system.

Sygic Maps

If you drive for a living, Sygic might be a good option. It’s free(), available on all kinds of devices and works offline.

Sygic seems to focus on truck drivers and delivery companies. It pulls recommendations from TripAdvisor and offers travel guides and parking spot suggestions. Like Here WeGo, Sygic also claims to respect your privacy by deleting your data as soon as you remove the app.

The catch? No GPS navigation, online or offline, unless you pay. Their lifetime license will set you back $22.49 for worldwide maps and traffic. Regional versions are $11.49 per continent. That grants you 3D maps powered by “augmented reality”. They are rather unique and good-looking. One view even makes landmarks on the map pop out, like Apple’s Flyover mode. A $4.99 add-on offers a Heads-up Display, while another adds Dashcam functionality.

OpenStreetMap

Inspired by Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap is one of the few ad-free options here. Like Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap doesn’t accept anonymous contributions to their maps. They rely on a worldwide team of volunteers to improve the platform.

At the risk of stating the obvious, it’s the least reliable in my recent locations. StreetComplete aims to improve that by gamifying the process of mapping your surroundings. Completeness aside, it offers driving, cycling and walking directions. It’s also pretty private. They never ask for any personal data or even GPS. Your IP addresses and all other information are deleted after 180 days.

Qwant Maps

OsmAnd

OsmAnd is the most polished open-source alternative to Google Maps. Like many others, it also uses OpenStreetMap, but you wouldn’t know it because it seems so much better. It combines quality maps and offline turn-by-turn navigation with real-time traffic awareness. They’ve also included multiple stops, place categories, and even customizable voice guidance.

It’s not only for drivers either. OsmAnd’s features also support biking, walking, and hiking modes.

The basics are free. A subscription scores you fancy features like unlimited downloads and nautical 3D maps. They make that easier to swallow too with lifetime licenses. OsmAnd is without a doubt the best open-source option on this list.

Organic Maps

Think of Organic Maps as a minimalist version of OsmAnd. It also uses OpenStreetMap, supports navigation, biking, walking, and even transit. It’s pretty robust when it comes to getting where you want to go. They even show incline information for walking navigation, which is an underrated feature.

Oh, and it works completely offline, making it great for your battery life, data plan, and of course, privacy. No ads, no account registration of any kind, and of course no tracking. It’s everything you want and nothing you don’t.

Mozilla Location Services

Transit

Offi

Unlike most options on this list, Offi/Oeffi focuses on public transportation. As expected, their coverage isn’t as widespread as Google’s, but it is more targeted. They currently support specific transit systems from around the world. Mostly in Europe but also some in the states, Australia, and other countries. For some unsupported countries they have subway maps to help you plan out your trips.

My main complaint with this app is that it appears as three different apps in your app launcher. One for each “section” of the app. You can of course switch between them within the app so the choice to pollute my app list is strange to say the list. Setting aside my personal OCD trigger (that they’ve dedicated an entire FAQ page to), it works well enough if you’re in a supported location. Sometimes even better than Google Maps.

Offi also advertises deep integration with Android services like calendar, contacts, and maps. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to test those.

Transportr

Tansportr is like Offi without the confusing triple-app debacle. It has a very clean and minimal Material Design look with smooth animations. They’re also a lot more transparent than Offi when it comes to the transit networks they support. They announce that their support depends on Navitia. They even explain how to get your local transit network supported. Granted this requires your transit network doing some leg work to publish their data.

Self-hosted

Hauk

I love Hauk. It’s simple, light-weight, and super easy to setup. All you have to do is copy their files to your webroot directory and point your web server at it. They even offer an installer script to ease that process even further. From there you customize the config and match the credentials in the Android app. Now whenever you’d like you can click share and have the device share its location to your server. Anyone with the randomly-generated link can watch you move in any browser. You can also customize that link per-device so you don’t have to keep sharing a new one every time.

The only problem with Hauk is that its a victim of its own simplistic philosophy. Location sharing is very temporary and location data is never stored anywhere. This is great for privacy, and for meeting up with a friend. But it severely handicaps its utility for location history. Having to open a browser to see locations is also not ideal. Both of these requests have been repeatedly made to the developers. I’ll keep an eye on this project and update this section as soon as the situation improves. Hauk has a lot of potential as a privacy-first social location sharing app.

Own Tracks

Unlike Hauk, Own Tracks stores your location history permanently. The problem here is that it’s rather difficult to setup. I gave up after 3 days of trying to get it working. It’s nowhere near as plug-and-play as Hauk is, but it’s also more advanced in functionality. As an example, you can use in combination with Hauk (or even Traccar). It also supports geofencing (to alert you if the target has left a designated area) and POIs. The latter in particular makes it a far more complete maps solution.

The biggest critique of Own Tracks is their usage of Google, and their unwillingness to stop. Their defeatist argument is that Google has your information anyway, so who cares. That’s pretty disappointing to see. That almost made me want to remove the project from this list. This lazy attitude is confusing and contradictory to their otherwise commendable stance on privacy and data ownershi.

Traccar

Traccar is a corporate GPS tracking solution. It’s designed to track many devices and monitor driver behavior. They even offer instructions on how to setup your own tracking business. Traccar supports a wide range of GPS trackers, mainly for cars, but also Android and iOS devices.

If you’d rather not go through the hassle of hosting it yourself, they offer a subscription-based cloud service. Tracking 5 devices will set you back $8/month while 20 devices will cost double that. They have dedicated plans available for tracking 50+ devices as well.