I’ve been using CoMaps recently too, and I really like how well it works offline. The interface feels pretty straightforward, and having the maps available without an internet connection is a big plus for me.

I honestly find the dark mode on Organic maps unusable, it’s the main reason I switched over to CoMaps

I’m color blind, and the navigation UI on Organic Maps was very difficult to use, and almost unusable at times (with any of the color correction modes on Android enabled). I still used it because it was the best open source maps app I was aware of. I tried CoMaps when it came out just because I was curious what changes they would make. I didn’t expect it to be significantly different, but their navigation UI is a massive improvement for me as a color blind person, and I’m sure also for other types of vision impairment. There are concrete reasons why CoMaps should be recommended.

Pragmatic: > There’s already Organic Maps, which works very well – there’s no need for a clone. The reason I think CoMaps is valuable as a fork is that it is 100% open source. Five years from now if Organic Maps is legally obligated to turn off speed cameras, or makes some other change that you don’t like, such as tracking users, there is nothing that you would be able to do about it. The source code for generating the maps is closed source, and the app is useless if you don’t have any map data. A lot of new Organic Maps features rely on proprietary updates that they have made to the generator, so it isn’t like you would be able to just substitute in map data made from CoMaps. CoMaps on the other hand is 100% open source so if they make a decision that you don’t like, you can just fork it.

Pragmatic: > There’s already Organic Maps, which works very well – there’s no need for a clone. You should make your own fork just for speed cameras and name it PragmaticMaps. That’s kind of the point of FOSS. If you don’t like what they’re doing, you can fork it. Organic maps clearly had issues. CoMaps improves upon it. Now you can use Organic maps with its problems or you can get the benefits of CoMaps and add speed cameras yourself with a fork.

CoMaps is run by a bunch of hypocrites who claim to offer a democratic service, when in fact they have no intention of reversing their stupid decision to remove the speed camera warnings. There’s already Organic Maps, which works very well – there’s no need for a clone.

jonah: > Yeah, I just brought up the recency of the fork in our team chat too. That’s probably the best case against it, but it isn’t exactly the same situation as a browser or operating system which are handling untrusted code regularly. So why is CoMaps still not on Privacy Guides? The project is over a year old, it is the default navigation app on CalyxOS and iodeOS, and about to join the Software Freedom Conservancy. I think that recommending CoMaps is long overdue.

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