Welcome to openstreetmap.org
Once you start contributing you'll notice that a surprising amount of stuff relies on OSM as a map provider
this post was submitted on 26 May 2026
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Buy European
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For osm I can recommend https://streetcomplete.app/ which gamifys adding entries
i tried it, but it mostly asks about Roadsurfaces and such minor details. its cool but i would say its to fine detail and i see now where options to add buisnesses...
It's a bit hidden: press the layer button, then "Places". You should see a red button with a cross at the bottom of your screen, you can use it to add a business. Same thing to add benches, trash bins, bike locks, etc: use the "Objects" layer.
You can also use the layer button to fill details about street lighting, parking spaces, etc.
You can also filter what quests are show, if it seems a bit overwhelming or you don't want to contribute to road surfaces, roof shapes, etc.
Burger menu > Settings > Quest selection and display order
This was a good thing to know, it changed a lot! Thanks.
Maybe they should be more clesr about this in the app!
Oh, wow. Thanks!
I only ever did the surveys and did all other edits using osmand (or just saved some point/tracks to a gpx and edited from my PC). That's so much easier at a first glance!
You can configure what questions get asked. The default can be quite tedious, depending on where you live
No app for ios. Ehh ;)
That's because iOS is generally not open-source-friendly.
So if I modify something there, is it updating open street maps org?
Yes
However, apart from facts (ie name, opening times, etc) there's little to add in the way of comments, photos, etc. For that see the other posts
I dont see an option to edit there anything. I wanted to add photos but I cant.
Agreed.
Open Streetmap only deals with the details - if you want to add photos, etc, then you'll need other applications / websites
As @hendrik@palaver.p3x.de mentioned: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Panoramax
Mapillary is similar, but it was bought up by facebook, so I don't think you're looking for that one.
Ok, I gave them a try. I uploaded some photos but it stucks at processing
Very impressive
Thank you ๐
But that doesnโt include reviews and rating in my understanding, which is what OP is asking for.
I dream of an integration between the Fediverse and OSM, where Mastodon or similar accounts can be used to leave comments on nodes in OSM. Of course it would present a lot of technical challenges, but I feel like it should be possible to get it right.
I have seen Mangrove before, but even with all the goodwill I have for finding an alternative platform for reviews it just does not make sense to me at all. The closest restaurant I could find on the platform is 800 km away from me. Without OSM integration it just seems futile, and without ActivityPub I just don't see myself contributing content.
I am probably wrong to be critical. It's seems to be an interesting project attempting to provide an open source solution for the biggest missing feature I identify in the open web at the moment. But right now I find it impossible to use.
pitch it to osm(and) devs or better yet, start implementing it
If I had the skills and time to develop a whole new federated platform this is absolutely be what I would work towards. Sadly I have neither.
OsmAnd is a navigation app, it wouldn't be the right place to start.
My best idea for the easiest possible integration would be to allow for OSM IDs to serve as attachments to posts in the Fediverse (such as mastodon). The lowest effort would be to simply attach ID codes as hashtags. An example of a mastodon post could be:
Impressive, but a little tacky. Worth a visit. 9/10 #OSM #43768260
Here a bot would search for posts with the hashtag #OSM, and include posts with valid numerical OSM IDs as a separate hash tag. Scoring could be included in the text, and be flexible (2/5, 7/10, 87/100), with clients reading the reviews optionally converting them into any form of indicator.
The challenges of this approach (that I have thought of) would be:
- Adding the tags would need to be automatized somehow. Mastodon's share functionality could be used to integrate the functionality directly into apps and maps, but this would not work across the Fediverse. OSM IDs are not generally easy to find, so users posting in the format manually is unrealistic. Ideally apps like CoMaps would allow for Fediverse sign-in directly in the app.
- Content visibility is a challenge unless some centralized service is tagged. Adding a centralized service would add further problems. A solution would be to make the service dependant on tags.pub for guaranteed hashtag visibility.
- Moderation is another challenge, especially if there is no centralized authority. Mastodon is doing work towards shared blocklists on the Fediverse which might help in this respect. Reviews from users blocked by major blocklists would be rendered invisible.
- Reviews viewed from the Fediverse wouldn't automatically link back to the OSM location, leaving Fediverse users with lacking context. Using a form of attachment rather than hashtags could solve this issue, but it would require more development.
The benefits would be that the federated infrastructure doesn't really need to be developed much - we would just need people to agree on the standard and find ways to display reviews.
An app to post reviews making use of specialized content fields would probably be nice, but I fear anything that requires additional accounts or apps would deter people. Being able to sign in to existing Fediverse accounts inside of map apps and posting reviews directly seems like a better solution.
I'm sure there are many people with more knowledge than me on the matter though, and some of them are probably working on this already. As I said, I'm just daydreaming. :)
MapComplete has done the work to connect OSM and Mangrove. I don't know how Mangrove works though, so I don't know how much it would take to make it get along with the Fediverse
Yup. I asked about reviews etc
Reviews and pictures can be added in Mapy (https://mapy.com/), an OSM based map provider from Czech Republic. Quite useful as an alternative for google maps imho. Has pics, reviews, favourite lists, etc.
For updating / checking shops, companies, etc, the Every Door app is useful too.
Also Go Map!! for map improvements in general.
(All of them OpenStreetMap)
You can share street view photos on Panoramax or contribute to OSM via MapComplete where you cab directly share pictures of POI or menus from restaurants.
FOSS Android maps app where your contributions in the app also contribute to OpenStreetMap. https://f-droid.org/en/packages/app.comaps.fdroid/
Question however: Where is a good alternative to leave reviews for places?
You can leave reviews on MapComplete, it posts on MangoReviews or Cartes which uses the blusky protocol.
i use osmand when im doing bike rides and hikes. If i see that some paths are missing, I record my track, upload to openstreetmaps and use that data to draw new paths on the laptop. Stuff like Strava, komoot uses osm data. Using StreetComplete or SCEE is also fun
I've been searching for a good google maps alternative for a while now and I think I've found it in mapy.com, the same one you mention! So far I'm liking it and making small contributions here and there with photos of the local storefronts of the shops that I visit
edit: Does anyone know if I add a business to mapy.com, does it automatically get added to OSM?
Adding a business to Mapy, doesnโt add it to OSM. The other way around it usually does (usually with a lag of a few days to weeks)
No, in general they do not. It is better if you contribute directly to osm.
Well if you put it in OSM it will appear on mapy. The other way around i don't think it will work.
Mapy is very cool, but it's still proprietary.
I guess its not. OSM doesnt have them