I left Google Maps behind for a free alternative that doesn’t track me

ZDNet: “Every month, Google sends me a report on my online activity, and I must say that I’m not a fan. In fact, the idea that Google is tracking me via Maps disturbs me. That’s not the only issue I have with the default Maps app. It seems that every time I have to rely on the app, my Pixel 9 Pro’s battery drains faster than when using any other app. Those two issues alone are enough to make me question why I use such an app.  That’s why, when I heard about CoMaps, I immediately wanted to learn more about it. CoMaps is a fork of Organic Maps, which means it has quite a bit of history (Organic Maps was based on MapsWithMe, which turned into Maps.me). MapsWithMe was an early attempt at bringing the open-source concept to the maps space and used OpenStreetMap data. MapsWithMe was aquired in 2014 by the Maps.ru group and was part of the My.com brand. CoMaps is an open-source map app that’s available for both Android and iOS. CoMaps features:

• Offline search and route planning (with or without a network connection)
• Less battery drain than Google Maps
• No identifying people, no tracking, and no data collection
• Free and no ads
• Voice-guided directions
• Access to offline Wikipedia articles and subway maps
• The ability to mark and save locations
• Support for exporting and importing data (to KML, KMZ, and GPX formats)
• A built-in map editor (which helps improve the OpenStreeMap data)..”