Comaps, a fork project of Organic Maps, has been presented to develop an autonomous navigation mobile application using OpenStreetMap map data. This fork project was established by community participants due to dissatisfaction with the project’s dependence on the interests of shareholders of the commercial company Organic Maps Oü, the closed control of the management process, and the lack of transparency in donation distribution.
The newly created fork, Comaps, will prioritize openness, transparency, and collaborative work. A managing council elected from community representatives will oversee the project’s direction. The project has registered the domain Comaps.App, although the website is not yet operational.
Comaps project is structured to focus solely on non-profit activities and remain accountable to the community. The primary goal of the fork is to serve the community’s interests rather than seeking profits. All resources, code base, and intellectual property will be community-owned and distributed under an open license.
In terms of functionality, the Comaps application follows specific principles, including orientation towards offline mode, respect for user privacy by not collecting or sending data, efficient battery consumption, and development by and for the community.
Organic Maps, the parent project of Comaps, develops free offline navigation mobile applications using cartographic data from OpenStreetMap. The project code is shared under the Apache 2.0 license, focusing on user-friendliness and privacy. Organic Maps originated as a fork of Maps.me and emphasizes confidentiality and ease of use.
