Implement geo: URLs for sharing

[t-8ch]

It would be nice to be able to directly copy a Geo URL from the share sidebar.

Geo URLs have several advantages:

• Directly handled by a special application as configured by the receiver
• Usable without connection to osm.org (No internet connection, or osm.org is down)
• Privacy conserving

The Geo URL could also be made clickable to the initial user (the sharing one), as they could follow the link and have their favourite application open.
This is for example useful if their favourite routing application has a crappy search function, for which they then could use osm.org

[tomhughes]

So, playing devil's advocate, how many applications exactly exist which will try to handle these? I mean is it just a theoretical standard, or does it actually have any real traction?

Moving on to the question of privacy, can you explain what you mean, and how these "conserve privacy" in a way which other options don't? They encode a location just the same as an osm.org URL does for example...

[t-8ch]

For applications:

• My android phone asks me which one of my navigation applications I want to use
• Konqueror launches marble
• Firefox recognises the URL but has no application registered and prompts me for an application

For privacy:

• I think it is in general better not to connect to any online services if possible
• If someone was monitoring the incoming connections to osm.org (osm.org hacked, university network compromised, NSA) they can see who communicates with whom by fingerprinting the used coordinates.

This may be very theoretical but better safe than sorry.

[simonpoole]

Vespucci supports geo: URLs and it would actually be useful for the main site to support them too. This mainly because the way JOSM remote control is implemented on the site makes it impossible to use it on an Android device.

[eighthave]

I agree that this would be quite useful. geo: is the future for sharing location, but indeed, its not implemented everywhere yet. From what I've seen, it is spreading fast. Here's some relevant info on geo: that I have found

• the geo: RFC: https://tools.ietf.org/rfc/rfc5870
• the vCard standard http://geouri.org/2010/06/10/geo-and-vcards/
• Android frameworks: https://developer.android.com/guide/components/intents-common.html#Maps
• Android map apps: Google Maps, OsmAnd, Waze, Google Earth and probably others

Perhaps this feature could be beta tested by making OSM give the geo: URI on apps/platforms that are known to support it (e.g. all Android, specific browsers, etc).

[eighthave]

I just installed as many Android map apps as I could find, and it looks like they all respond to geo::

[HolgerJeromin]

So basically we have the android world. Every geo application register them self at the system for geo: and mobile browser calls the correct system call for that.
I don't know if a similar thing is supported on iOS, but even without that the easy jump from the webpage to an app would be a benefit for many users.

[mtmail]

On iOS you can use URLs like maps://?ll=, which open in the default maps app. It's more or less undocumented and I can't find official documentation. The official reference lists the long URLs only (which also open the maps app) http://maps.apple.com/?ll=,

[HolgerJeromin]

Ok, every map application seems to use an own urlscheme on iOS:
The Google maps uses comgooglemaps:// and comgooglemaps-x-callback.
Apple maps supports but does not document maps:// and catches http://maps.apple.com

The same is valid for Windows Phone on nokia phones. I just checked this. Clicking a geo: url triggers a search in the app store which gives google maps or so. But the installed offline navigation app "here" is not called.
So some desktop environments and all android would be able to use a geo url.

[eighthave]

@tomhughes to answer your question about preversing privacy, most map apps share location using an HTTP link, so that leaks the info to anyone who can see the network traffic (anyone on the same wifi, wifi AP owner, ISP, government observer, telecom, etc). Using a link also requires that the user access the network to find the information in the link (especially if it is a non-OSM shortlink). A geo: link does not require network connectivity to work.

[eighthave]

Also, since I'm in the process of auditing lots of map apps for Android, I'll mention a couple more I've found that work with geo: URIs:

• BaiduMap
• Nokia HERE
• Glympse
• Offline Maps

So it seems basically all Android map apps support geo:.

[erictheise]

The geo uri in #994 activates OsmAnd on my loaner Android tablet and, somewhat to my surprise, activates Galileo on my iPhone.

[simonpoole]

@erictheise osmand on android: thats because it is either the sole app on the device that has registered itsself for for view intents with a intent-filter that includes geo: (unlikely) or it has been set as the "standard application" for such intents. In other words check the settings, which should include a way of resetting default applications.

[erictheise]

@simonpoole, sorry if I gave the wrong impression. OsmAnd is the only app I installed on this borrowed tablet–it was highlighted in @eighthave's screenshot above–so the behavior is as expected. Less expected, since this discussion has been so Android-focused, was that Galileo would launch on the iPhone. Good news all around.