I can't be the only one who is loving all the info and app sharing in the fediverse to get big tech's grips off of us. I love all the great recommendations for FOSS and privacy products. .
OsmAnd works completely offline once you download the map data. Install it from f-droid to make sure it's free of trackers. You can also install it from play store, but some features are locked behind IAP on that version. The f-droid version has everything unlocked.
Hello, just to expand on one of your points - you said we should install it from f-droid to avoid trackers - does this mean that apps installed from Google Play Store has trackers baked into them when we download? Is this with/without developer consent?(As in, you can only list your app here if you let us add trackers)
In order to get your app listed on f-droid, the app cannot use Google play services and has to be able to run on de-googled phone. Also, the play store version of OsmAnd seem to have in app purchase enabled (perhaps for donation), which means it might use Google play services in order to get the IAP functionality. Not saying that the version on the play store actually have tracking enabled (I haven't looked into it), but using Google play services might grant Google access to some of the app data/metrics.
Edit: after some cursory inspection, looks like the f-droid version has more features than the play store version. Some of the features on the play store version is locked behind paywall.
I use Apple Maps. In theory, it’s not tracking me. I guess I have no way to prove that, but at least they’re on the record saying they anonymize the data from it and don’t correlate routes to people.
Edit: here is some more info, took a second to find the link.
I use organic maps. Though I don't know how good the routing is. I tended to get traditional Garmin's and not hook them up to the Internet, and that seemed pretty safe, as they don't broadcast anything.