You Should Contribute to OpenStreetMap
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Yes, you.
OpenStreetMap powers pretty much every map you see online that isn't directly provided by Papa Google. It's an amazing community resource that is provided for free to the public.
You should contribute.
Google seems to own most of the internet in 2026, don't you want to give Google the middle finger and directly support a community-driven competitor? When you edit OpenStreetMap, you're improving not just OpenStreetMap but all the apps and organisations that use its data, such as Wikipedia, Apple Maps and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders. It's a rising tide lifts all ships kind of situation. Map data shouldn't belong to some giant megacorp assholes, it should belong to everybody!
I like to go running and sometimes I use OpenStreetMap for planning routes (because it's actually got better trail coverage in a lot of places.) There was a stretch of track near a local reserve that I couldn't seem to route a path through and it was annoying me. I hopped onto the iD Editor on the OpenStreetMap website, had a poke around and noticed that there was a section of track that had been misclassified as a gate, not a walking track. I had a look at the other tracks around the place, figured out which tags I needed to change and within 5 minutes, I'd contributed the fix! The next day, I pulled an updated dataset and I could route my run straight through!
How do I even do that though??
StreetComplete StreetComplete is an Android (and soon to be iOS, at time of writing it's in review with Apple) app that allows you to easily contribute local knowledge about your area. Just the other day, I was out walking with the kids trick or treating and when we stopped at a house I'd whip out my phone and plug in the surrounding house numbers. When I got home, I had a look at the website and there they were!
iD Editor Another easy way to contribute is to use the big green edit button on the OpenStreetMap website. The iD editor is a bit more complicated and a lot more powerful and allows you to contribute things such as roads and buildings to the map.
Upload GPS Traces Uploading GPS traces (such as .gpx files) is a good way of contributing local knowledge to the map. Even if you feel intimidated by diving in and setting up road surfaces and junctions, sharing a trace of a walking trail that doesn't appear on the map. But other mappers can pick up your contributions and use them as sources for adding data to the map.
The Legal Bit
OpenStreetMap is very particular about it's licensing. You cannot under any circumstances plug in data copied directly from a copyrighted source such as Google Maps. An easy way to get started is to stick to contributing data that you survey yourself. Go for a walk, take some photos or some notes or use StreetComplete on your phone.
Just Go Map Something Already
You don't need to be an expert. I'm no expert! You don't need to know every obscure road classification or the difference between a highway=path and a highway=track. Start with what you know. The footpath is missing from the map? Add it. Your local park doesn't show the new toilet block? Fix it. The map belongs to all of us. You might as well help build it.