Qwant Maps: open source Google Maps alternative launches
Qwant, the French search engine that respects users privacy, has launched a beta version of Qwant Maps, a, you guessed it, privacy respecting mapping service.
Qwant Maps is an open source project that anyone may contribute to. The data is hosted on GitHub and developers may run their own version by following the instructions on the project website.
The beta version of the mapping service supports desktop and mobile access, and it works similarly to how other mapping services such as Google Maps, Bing Maps, or OpenStreetMap work.
Qwant Maps displays a search field at the top to find points of interests quickly; just type in an address or the name of a place to jump to it right away. Descriptions are provided for places that you activate on the map; these are taken from Wikipedia and maybe also other sources.
The services module displays a handful of options. Click on one of the presets, e.g. hotel, pharmacy, or supermarket, to display a list of available locations on the active map.
Places can be added to the favorites without signing in; in fact, I could not find an option to sign in to Qwant Maps anywhere on the site.
Directions are supported as well. Just click on directions to get started and add start and end points. You may pick them from the favorites or using the keyboard to input them manually.
Additional options, e.g. to avoid certain types of streets, or to add additional stops, are not provided as well.
Driving, walking, and cycling directions are provided at the time. The service lacks transit and flight information that Google Maps supports; there is also no option to get navigational instructions while on the move.
Users may manipulate the URL of Qwant Maps directly to jump to certain locations or use certain functionality:
- Search for a location: https://www.qwant.com/maps/#map=<zoom level>/<latitude>/<longitude>
- Search for a specific place: https://www.qwant.com/maps/place/<id>
- Routing requests: https://www.qwant.com/maps/routes/?origin=latlon:48.8459543:2.3714015@LExpress_de_Lyon&destination=latlon:48.8702200:2.2786330&arrival_datetime=20160613T135400&mode[]=walking#map=18.00/48.8459543/2.3714015
Qwant Maps' main appeal is privacy at the time as it sets the service apart from Google Maps, Bing Maps, and many other mapping services.
Our commitments for the protection of your privacy and your personal data are available here and apply to the QWANT MAPS service. When you request to enable geolocation on QWANT MAPS, your browser or application will return to Qwant a location that Qwant does not maintain.
It is used temporarily to specify your query and thus center the map displayed, and indicate the geographical point corresponding to the position returned. However, we encourage you to disable geolocation whenever it is no longer needed.
Closing Words
Qwant Maps is a beta service and it shows when it comes to functionality. While you get the core features out of the service right now, you will notice here and there that some features are missing. The focus on privacy could convince some users to switch to it or use it as well.
Now You: which mapping service do you use?
Doesn’t Windows 8 know that www. or http:// are passe ?
Well it is a bit difficulty to distinguish between name.com domains and files for instance.
I know a service made by google that is similar to Google bookmarks.
http://www.google.com/saved
@Ashwin–Thankful you delighted my comment; who knows how many “gamers” would have disagreed!
@Martin
The comments section under this very article (3 comments) is identical to the comments section found under the following article:
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/15/netflix-is-testing-game-streaming-on-tvs-and-computers/
Not sure what the issue is, but have seen this issue under some other articles recently but did not report it back then.
Omg a badge!!!
Some tangible reward lmao.
It sucks that redditors are going to love the fuck out of it too.
With the cloud, there is no such thing as unlimited storage or privacy. Stop relying on these tech scums. Purchase your own hardware and develop your own solutions.
This is a certified reddit cringe moment. Hilarious how the article’s author tries to dress it up like it’s anything more than a png for doing the reddit corporation’s moderation work for free (or for bribes from companies and political groups)
Almost al unlmited services have a real limit.
And this comment is written on the dropbox article from August 25, 2023.
First comment > @ilev said on August 4, 2012 at 7:53 pm
For the God’s sake, fix the comments soon please! :[
Yes. Please. Fix the comments.
With Google Chrome, it’s only been 1,500 for some time now.
Anyone who wants to force me in such a way into buying something that I can get elsewhere for free will certainly never see a single dime from my side. I don’t even know how stupid their marketing department is to impose these limits on users instead of offering a valuable product to the paying faction. But they don’t. Even if you pay, you get something that is also available for free elsewhere.
The algorithm has also become less and less savvy in terms of e.g. English/German translations. It used to be that the bot could sort of sense what you were trying to say and put it into different colloquialisms, which was even fun because it was like, “I know what you’re trying to say here, how about…” Now it’s in parts too stupid to translate the simplest sentences correctly, and the suggestions it makes are at times as moronic as those made by Google Translations.
If this is a deep-learning AI that learns from users’ translations and the phrases they choose most often – which, by the way, is a valuable, moneys worthwhile contribution of every free user to this project: They invest their time and texts, thereby providing the necessary data for the AI to do the thing as nicely as they brag about it in the first place – alas, the more unprofessional users discovered the translator, the worse the language of this deep-learning bot has become, the greater the aggregate of linguistically illiterate users has become, and the worse the language of this deep-learning bot has become, as it now learns the drivel of every Tom, Dick and Harry out there, which is why I now get their Mickey Mouse language as suggestions: the inane language of people who can barely spell the alphabet, it seems.
And as a thank you for our time and effort in helping them and their AI learn, they’ve lowered the limit from what was once 5,000 to now 1,500…? A big “fuck off” from here for that! Not a brass farthing from me for this attitude and behaviour, not in a hundred years.
When will you put an end to the mess in the comments?
Ghacks comments have been broken for too long. What article did you see this comment on? Reply below. If we get to 20 different articles we should all stop using the site in protest.
I posted this on [https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/28/reddit-enforces-user-activity-tracking-on-site-to-push-advertising-revenue/] so please reply if you see it on a different article.
Comment redirected me to [https://www.ghacks.net/2012/08/04/add-search-the-internet-to-the-windows-start-menu/] which seems to be the ‘real’ article it is attached to
Comment redirected me to [https://www.ghacks.net/2012/08/04/add-search-the-internet-to-the-windows-start-menu/] which seems to be the ‘real’ article it is attached to
Article Title: Reddit enforces user activity tracking on site to push advertising revenue
Article URL: https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/28/reddit-enforces-user-activity-tracking-on-site-to-push-advertising-revenue/
No surprises here. This is just the beginning really. I cannot see a valid reason as to why anyone would continue to use the platform anymore when there are enough alternatives fill that void.
I’m not sure if there is a point in commenting given that comments seem to appear under random posts now, but I’ll try… this comment is for https://www.ghacks.net/2023/09/28/reddit-enforces-user-activity-tracking-on-site-to-push-advertising-revenue/
My temporary “solution”, if you can call it that, is to use a VPN (Mullvad in my case) to sign up for and access Reddit via a European connection. I’m doing that with pretty much everything now, at least until the rest of the world catches up with GDPR. I don’t think GDPR is a magical privacy solution but it’s at least a first step.