Hello together,
has anyone used HERE Maps/knows any further details about their privacy guidelines? I just found this article (its in german) and found out, that there are quite a lot stakeholder behind the app (mostly BMW/Mercedes/Audi, Wiki).
I’d love to find an Maps App that offers navigation by public transport for german citys as Munich which I can use without worrying too much about my data.
Greetings from Germany!
How about a public transportation navigation App which offers maps 
?
https://f-droid.org/de/packages/de.schildbach.oeffi/
Öffi queries the official data of many public transport providers. You can select Munich, too. If you want to see a map along with the route planning UI, just rotate your phone to landscape mode 
.
(Öffi is also available in the /e/OS Apps installer/ App Lounge.)
HERE Maps was developed by Nokia and sold some time ago to an (increasing) group of car producers. My guess: to develop their own mapping and future autonomous driving solutions but to be independent from the Googles and Teslas.
MY guess is as well: At least for now they have no particular interest in user data, they are rather interested having many of us using/testing/improving the service for when they really need it.
From the users side this is a deal as well but a better one than paying with personal user data.
So, I’d say: go for it.
I am using it as well - altering with /e/'s built-in maps service that I consider a bit bulky. Otherwise, there are very few good navigation services out there.
Another good one is a repackaged GMaps - where you do not pay with personal data but you need to be online all the time: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/us.spotco.maps/
For pubölic transport there is - as @AnotherElk suggested - “Öffis”. Or: “Transportr” (https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.grobox.liberario/) is good as well.
Greets from Germany too…
Thanks for your answers! I knwo Öffi and Transportr. These are both nice apps, but I like the idea of having an “allrounder”, like just typing where I wanna go and see as many options as possible (car/bike/public transport/…). HERE is not perfect, as it for example doesn’t support bike routes (probably the reason is obvious), but for me its a good compromise.
I had the same guess as you, @ralxx, so I think I’ll give it a try.
From the car centric navigation apps. GMaps is still the best one.
But still it is far from being a useful biking tool. I was using for quite some time “Bike Citizens”, their routing was based as well on preferential routes from other bikers. That’s why it was easy to avoid major roads (even though they had bike lanes) and to find real alternatives - at least in my urban context. Unfortunately, the makers updated their app last year. Then, it was almost not possible anymore to use it for free (per se not such a problem), but subscriptions couldn’t be purchased outside GooglePlay, the app felt to me like it was turned into a user data capturing tool and their routing suggestions felt less relevant to me. Maybe it as reimproved since then, but I am avoided it since then.
So, for biking (navigation, not vacation travel), I do not really have an idea.
It’s worth to remember that it’s always possible to fall back to just having a look at a map to plan a route.
In the OpenStreetMap realm for instance there’s CyclOSM, easily viewable e.g. here … https://www.cyclosm.org.
There are other specialised map services, too.
I have no experience with it, but I came accross an app in the Fdroid store called Organic Maps that tue description says is for biking and hiking. Screenshots show navigation both in urban and trail kind of places.
I haven’t tried it yet but was thinking about it.
I have Organic Maps installed, though I don’t use it regularly. I have just done a few experiments (getting directions to places I know, in a fairly rural part of UK).
The hiking directions look to be making good use of footpaths, canal towpaths etc.
Cycle directions look OK (though I don’t cycle much). For example it suggests using a local shared-use path (former railway, now used by walkers, cyclists, horses, no motor vehicles) rather than sticking to roads.
Seems like it would be worth a try
For biking, which I do quite often, I like MagicEarth for urban areas (daily driver) and OsmAnd for more specific routes. Here you have a lot of possibilitys to configure your route.
OrganicMap sounds nice, I’ll give it a try, thanks!