Organic Maps

TRAVEL & MOBILITY

LAST UPDATED 27 AUG 2026

OF 100

PARANOIA SCORE

WHAT THE POLICIES SAY

Organic Maps is a free, open-source (Apache 2.0) offline maps and turn-by-turn navigation app built on OpenStreetMap data, published by Organic Maps OÜ, an Estonian company (reg. code 16225385) whose two-member governing board is the pair of Maps.me-era founders who started the project in 2021. Warts: the project briefly shipped an opt-out Kayak.com hotel referral link in January 2025 before removing it in May 2025; the F-Droid listing flags the compiled map files as non-free assets; and in 2025 a governance dispute over decisions by the company's shareholders stalled development for months and led former contributors to fork the code as CoMaps. No breach, regulatory action or independent security audit was found in this research.

TIMELINE

NO ENTRIES ON FILE YET.

TOOLS WE RECOMMEND

PLUS

RECEIPTS

13 ON FILE

COLLECTION

The App Store listing for Organic Maps (seller: Organic Maps OU) carries the developer-declared privacy label 'Data Not Collected', meaning the developer indicated the app collects no data; Apple notes this information has not been verified by Apple.

apps.apple.com ↗

COLLECTION

Privacy Guides lists Organic Maps as a recommended tool on its Maps and Navigation page, whose stated criteria are apps that do not collect personally identifying information according to their privacy policy; the page also notes the app lacks satellite imagery, street view and real-time traffic.

privacyguides.org ↗

[2021-04-24] · COLLECTION

Organic Maps' privacy policy (effective 2021-04-24) states that the app does not track users and collects no location, statistical or personal data from the device whatsoever, with no tracking, ads or spyware.

organicmaps.app ↗

OWNERSHIP TRANSPARENCY

The repository publishes the full application source code under the Apache License, Version 2.0, allowing independent inspection, audit and forking of the running code.

raw.githubusercontent.com ↗

OWNERSHIP TRANSPARENCY

The README states the app was created and is maintained by the MapsWithMe (MAPS.ME) founders, that the majority of expenses have been funded by the founders since inception, and that donations fall significantly short of sustaining the app — a single-sponsor funding concentration.

raw.githubusercontent.com ↗

OWNERSHIP TRANSPARENCY

The F-Droid listing confirms the Apache License 2.0 code license and reproducible-build metadata, but flags an anti-feature: the compiled binary map data files (.mwm) shipped with the app are under a non-FOSS license.

f-droid.org ↗

OWNERSHIP TRANSPARENCY

The Organic Maps website identifies the publisher as Organic Maps OÜ, an Estonian private limited company with registration code 16225385, a VAT number and a Tallinn address printed in the site footer, and states the software is licensed under Apache License 2.0 with named institutional sponsors (NLnet/NGI0 Entrust Fund, Google Summer of Code, Mythic Beasts, 44+ Technologies, FUTO).

organicmaps.app ↗

OWNERSHIP TRANSPARENCY

CoMaps, a 2025 fork by former Organic Maps contributors, states in its project history that governance issues and community concerns not addressed by the Organic Maps company shareholders stalled Organic Maps development for months in 2025 — the origin of the fork and a documented concentration-of-control concern.

comaps.app ↗

OWNERSHIP TRANSPARENCY

The project's published governance document names a two-person Governing Board — Alexander Borsuk and Viktar Havaka — as the final authority over the project, including brand, roadmap and appointment of new board members.

raw.githubusercontent.com ↗

[2025-01-26] · SHARING

The January 2025 release notes disclose that the Android app added Kayak.com hotel links — a third-party referral integration — with a first-use opt-out that was off by default only in the F-Droid build, implying it was on by default in the Google Play build.

organicmaps.app ↗

[2025-05-20] · SHARING

The May 2025 release notes state that the Kayak referral link for viewing details or booking hotels has been removed from the app, ending the project's only documented third-party affiliate integration.

organicmaps.app ↗

[2025-12-31] · TRACK RECORD

Organic Maps' own 2025 year-in-review acknowledges 'many challenges' before getting back on track with 13 releases and roughly 6M lifetime installs; no breach, regulatory action, third-party security audit, transparency report or bug-bounty program involving Organic Maps was found in this research, so this pillar rests on a clean record without affirmative artifacts.

organicmaps.app ↗

[2026-08-16] · TRACKING TECH

TrackerControl for iOS's analysis of the App Store build 2026.07.23 found 0 tracker code signatures and a single permission, LocationWhenInUse, with no jurisdictional concerns from third-party tracking.

ios.trackercontrol.org ↗

DATA SOURCES

Privacy Guides (www.privacyguides.org)

CC BY-SA · PRIVACYGUIDES.ORG ↗

Claims are summarized from these sources and may be edited from the original. Text adapted from a CC BY-SA source is shared under CC BY-SA.

LAST REVIEWED 2026-08-27 · METHODOLOGY v1.7