The maps are pretty good (at least in my area)
For the unfamiliar that’s another cool thing about using OSM data. If some of your favorite places are missing from the map you can just add it!
There’s several ways to do it but if you have a laptop the easiest way is to use the editor on openstreetmap.org. They have a quick and easy interactive tutorial to show you the ropes and then you are free to add what you feel is important!
If you are trying to minimize google maps use Organic Maps is the way to go imo. Fast loading, simple slick interface with minimal fuss. It’s a beautiful thing!
OSMand is not nearly as slick and polished and is kind of clunky by comparison. That is because it isn’t trying to be like Google maps at all. It runs fine straight from the app store but the real beauty of it is the tinkering it allows. You can make multiple map presets fine tuned the way you like it. It’s the midpoint between Organic Maps and ATAK
Large corporations like google have grown and thrived in Silicon Valley, supported by the politicians of California. So by extension they are partially responsible for enabling these companies to be the giants they are.
According to this article Google has funded 40 elected officials and spent $10.7 million in lobbying California’s legislature and Governor this year alone.
If a president (even a shitty one) was considering putting a damper on companies like google, I would not be against that. We’ll see if anything actually happens.
I’m not ditching Proton over one fucking tweet
People think that govt developed = bad. It’s a consideration for sure but if anything govt developed is so hopelessly and inherently compromised then many of the measures discussed here are useless for privacy already because they almost all run through internet, a govt created system. Even TOR. But yet here we are anyway because they are still useful systems.
Governments pour tons of time money and effort into secure communication, and not for profit, and we can still take advantage of that advancement with some caution.
https://youtu.be/NAh9oLs67Cw?feature=shared
And this is just the surface. This work of art has so much depth and meaning
I forget what privacy podcast I was listening to but they said that privacy is important because you might not be under scrutiny now but could be.
After the Boston marathon bombing reddit was scouring footage and believed a particular person was responsible (“we did it reddit!”). They were wrong. People found his address, work etc and he was stalked and harrassed for days though he did nothing wrong.
You can bet he would have liked to disappear for a while, and a little extra everyday privacy in advance would have made that a lot easier.
Yeah I’m not really trying to hide from the govt, but I would vote on limiting their power if given the chance. Anyway, what I don’t want is every corporation I deal with (car, bank, phone, apps, isp, etc) to track me so excessively.
If the govt did get curious it would take zero leg work, just ask those companies that are very willing to hand over my data to damn near anyone, or hold onto it long enough to have it stolen.
So with that in mind limiting corporate surveillance and limiting ease of govt surveillance is essentially the same thing, but the govt has the ability to put in the work and get you if they really wanted to.
Idk how the new user experience is now but back when I first downloaded it I wanted a hybrid of sat imagery when cell signal allowed, with an overlay of offline OSM data. This was for two reasons, hiking and to see if the mapping in that hike area needed any major land use edits.
Anyway I had to fiddle with the menus and settings for a while to get the overlays where I wanted it to be. Don’t get me wrong I was able to figure it out but for users who want to install and go it can be understandably frustrating
“WhatsApp doesn’t collect your data!”
(because everything else they own does)