Alternative to Google Maps location sharing / Apple FindMy
Is there a European alternative to Apple FindMy or GoogleMaps location tracking that allows you to share your location with each other?
I would be very grateful for any tips.
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I use osmand and send simple plaintext coordinates: 45.89873° N, 15.94801° E
If you mean continuous location sharing, there's a tracker plugin for osmand which (sadly) uses Telegram. Haven't tried it, but if it's encrypted (as Telegram chat isn't by default), could be good.
Why’s it a bad thing that it uses telegram? How else could they have implemented it? They obviously can’t use their own servers
For me, it's a bad thing because I won't install it on my phone. Same with anything Zuckerberg's.
Why is it bad?
It has ads, so that disqualifies it for me, don't even have to search for other flaws.
How do you expect them to fund the development?
I don't expect it. I just won't use or install anything that has ads, ever. You're the one asking me, I just started by saying the plugin sadly uses Telegram.
Paralino is based in Germany. It's an end-to-end encrypted geolocation sharing app that is quite new. They said they will open source their code further in their roadmap. It's available on both iOS and Android!
Paralino looks great 👍
It's quite new so maybe not as feature-packed but it might worth to bet on them cuz their app does looks great I agree!
Matrix allows for time-based location sharing. The Element clients have it implemented.
Also Nextcloud with the Phonetrack application installed. I use the uLogger app on Android for 24x7 location recording and it uses less than 2% of the battery over a day.
Can I set the sharing to permanent?
In Element, no.
In Nextcloud, yes.
Has anybody tried https://mygrid.app/ ?
https://github.com/Rezivure/Grid-Mobile
Aprs.fi
A bit if a joke. Aprs is a common protocol amateur radio operators use to share their location.
The site mentioned is a popular site that displays said data.
what led you to recommend that? it appears to be closed-source abandonware (last updated in 2021) and has very negative reviews on google play.
I too was trying to find alternatives to these services but I could not.
I saw a github "thread" ones for organic maps, but it did not get traction... They could make it a paid service as that are trusted by the community to handle that data.
There was a new application, I do not remember the name of it... But it was using google play services which I did not add to my OS.
I found the app through howtomen's YouTube channel, let me know if you need it, I will search for it.
Edit: If you have the skills, you could setup/self-host owntracks, which I could not do, securely.
Probably Paralino
Correct.