Maps application

/e/OS Smartphone Operating System Features & Applications
41

I found some interesting points (for me):

"Collection and Use of Non-Personal Information
We also collect data in a form that does not, on its own, permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non-personal information for any purpose. The following are some examples of non-personal information that we collect and how we may use it:

• We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where a product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.

• We may collect information regarding customer activities on our website, and store and from our other products and services. This information is aggregated and used to help us provide more useful information to our customers and to understand which parts of our website, products, and services are of most interest. Aggregated data is considered non-personal information for the purposes of this Privacy Policy.

(aggregation):point_down:

If we do combine non-personal information with personal information the combined information will be treated as personal information for as long as it remains combined."

"Cookies and Other Technologies
Our website, online services, interactive applications, email messages, and advertisements may use “cookies” and other technologies such as pixel tags and web beacons. These technologies help us better understand user behavior, tell us which parts of our website people have visited, and facilitate and measure the effectiveness of advertisements and web searches. We treat information collected by cookies and other technologies as non-personal information. However, to the extent that Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or similar identifiers are considered personal information by local law, we also treat these identifiers as personal information. Similarly, to the extent that non-personal information is combined with personal information, we treat the combined information as personal information for the purposes of this Privacy Policy.

We and our partners may use cookies and other technologies in mobile advertising services to control the number of times you see a given ad, deliver ads that relate to your interests, and measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns. If you do not want to receive ads with this level of relevance on your mobile device, you can opt out by accessing the following link on your Apple device: http://oo.apple.com or Android device using: https://support.google.com/ads/answer/2662922?hl=en. If you opt out, you will continue to receive the same number of mobile ads, but they may be less relevant because they will not be based on your interests. You may still see ads related to the content on a web page or in an application or based on other non-personal information."

…
(who? :point_down:)
"Disclosure to Third Parties
At times we may make certain personal information available to strategic partners that work with us to provide products and services, or that help us market to customers. Personal information will only be shared by us to provide or improve our products, services and advertising; it will not be shared with third parties for their marketing purposes.

(who?:point_down: information processing: the whole world, doesn’t exclude any company…)

Service Providers
We share personal information with companies who provide services such as information processing, extending credit, fulfilling customer orders, delivering products to you, managing and enhancing customer data, providing customer service, assessing your interest in our products and services, and conducting customer research or satisfaction surveys. These companies are obligated to protect your information and may be located wherever we operate."

…

We are :point_down:
“International Users
All the information you provide may be transferred or accessed by entities around the world as described in this Privacy Policy.”

" Online Marketing Specialist

#### Ideal candidate:

##### We develop some of the best software in the world. We are therefore looking for an extraordinarily gifted Online Marketing Specialist who feels as passionately about mobile applications as we do.
Having obtained a Bachelor’s degree, you have a minimum of 3 years experience in online marketing and have Experience in Google Analytics, WordPress and MailChimp, with basic knowledge of HTML and CSS. You are proactive and able to work independently…(etc)"

42

Is OsmAnd really free for all downloads? (Although I don’t mind paying a small amount for a good product).
From the old days when I required offline navigation I installed Navigator from Mapfactor.
There are two things they should improve:
Trip time is too optimistic (a ferry with the waiting time to board is not a continuation of a 50 Km road, but they also rely on OSM).
Maps don’t show the details required for hiking (closed gates, horse tracks as footpaths, but if you plan a route it will do that correctly)

43

Hi, I’m trying to get used to MagicEarth as my daily GPS device, but encountered some problems:

  • Sometimes it doesn’t find addresses in far away neighbourhoods in small villages
  • Can’t set it to be my default Maps app in Android (I still don’t use /e/ as my daily device). I went to preferences and set Magic Earth as default app and also went to Gmaps and set it no to be the default maps app, and yet every google maps link (Telegram, browser, search-engine…) opens in Gmap app, not in Magic Earth. Does anyone know how to do it without unabling Gmaps? (unfortunately I need it to arrive to this small far away mountain neighbourhoods)
44

Hi, lately I have noticed that in the extra-urban roads often sped limits aren’t indicated.

Also last Friday, in Florence, I asked for a road, it was on the list so known by M.E. and instead took me to another, about 2 km away: so I used Waze and I got there.
In the evening in Milan same thing.

47

Hello I installed /e/ today on Samsung S9. Maps (Magic Earth) crashes everytime. I had Magic Earth before on Samsung Rom, it was working good. Version is 7.1.19.7. Do you have any idea how to fix this (for me and other /e/ users as well !! :wink: )

1 Like
48

I noticed that a new version is available on Google Play Store : 7.1.19.20.E3E23261.3973F9C4.

49

I installed the /e/ update (from yesterday, june 7). Maps/Magic Earth is still unusable, it crashes everytime. :cry:
poke @rhunault, if you have an idea.

50

Hi @Nathanael please can you let us know which version of the /e/ build are you using on your S9. If possible could you create an issue with logs on Github. That would help the developers find the cause behind the crash.

51

Hi @Manoj, thanks I will create an issue with logs and more infos.
EDIT : done https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/apps/apps/issues/16

52

Before discovering Yalp Store I was using OsmAnd as a car map(Europe), mountain hiking map (Europe) and backpack travelling map (SE Asia) and the level of details in OpenStreetMap is amazing. But the app is battery hog, sluggish, displayed info is crowded and some zoom levels hide important city labels. These days I use Mapy.cz which is much faster, manages displayed details amazingly well and allows offline use for free (map data outside of CZ and SK come from OSM). But the app is non-free. Only very rarely I need to consult OsmAnd - like when following unmarked mountain climber paths which are not displayed in Mapy.cz

1 Like
53

I really agree with @Julien a link from PC to mobile is really useful for a map application

1 Like
54

They also do a lot of unecrypted HTTP connections :-s

55

I’ve been using Waze for more than a month because GM often misses the path (it recognizes the address but also places it a few miles away).

56

Hi i was about to try /e/ on my pixel 1 but when i discovered that /e/ actually comes with non free proprietary software i decided not to install it…

I thought the main reason to use /e/ is the open source transparency and not sending data to companies.
I know that it is possible to uninstall maps and use Osmand but i think it is a general mistake to use and bundle “Magic Earth”.

I’ve checked their data policy and though this is exactly what i do NOT expect from /e/.
Its proprietary so who is able to check if the send data is actually anonymous ?
-> while shipping /e/ with magic earth we do blindly trust an unknown comany.

how will it be updated in case of security flaws (if its not on frdoid) ?
if the new version will be rolled out with new /e/ ota updates who can validate that their policy did not change ?

I know that osmand is not as convenient as f.e. google maps but it works and the map quality is awesome plus its constantly getting updates on f-droid.

57

There could be a good lead to developp a proper /e/maps app:
https://benmaps.fr/

Developped by a former Mapbox guy named Ben.
He’s active on twitter, there: https://twitter.com/_benjamintd?s=17

1 Like
58

You’ll need Librem5, all other devices require the so called “proprietary blobs”. Without non-free /e/ just wouldn’t work on most phones. Linux faces a similar issue: without non-free software it just doesn’t work, or only works partially on a lot of computers. You could also try ‘Replicant’ as mobile OS, and buy a WiFi dongle at Technoethical. Without proprietary software no WiFi on almost any phone or tablet. Even more ethical phones as FP2 don’t work without proprietary software.
That said, I do sympathize with the FSF, those people are right: it should be like that. But the reality is different.

3 Likes
59

hi Rams, i fully agree with this, i really like the OSMAND app too. The map quality is great and also integration with extensions. However, someone pointed out to me recently that for new users (and remember, /e/ aims to tailor to new, mainstream users - your mom and dad, sort of speak) it is difficult to learn to work with. The fact that you have to download maps before you can look something up will put many people off it. Do as i do and email/Github the people at OSMAND for the need for an online UI that allows people upon start up to immediately look things up!

2 Likes
60

The issue with OSMAND, unless it has changed in recent times is that it does not do traffic re-routing which Magic Earth does. As for privacy all apps using crowd sourced traffic will require trust that the information uploaded to the servers is treated in a suitably private way. If traffic is not required , then I agree there are better alternatives.

61

M.E. is OK, it has nice feature of high climded / decended. would be nice to have an eco route, especially for EV’s (as i have one) Map detail is good, routing seems alright/god traffic isn’t great.
I was previously a WAZE user, which was about the best.
OsmAnd is OK, but lacks features, traffic is non exsistent. So I ended up getting a completely seprate sat-nav. At least it’s not on my phone and have declind to share data. (Tomtom is good for city traffic, Garmin seems pretty much on par with Tomtomnow on traffic info, can have some percular route choices at times but still better than M.E and OsmAnd.

62

I’ve been using ME since I started with /e/ and find that it chooses very odd routes some of the time (I always use it offline). On one occasion, driving on a motorway, it wanted me to turn off at every junction and then rejoin! I think I’m going to go back to HERE we go, which is what I used before.