How To Quickly Share Precise Location Offline In Emergency Without Coordinates

So without a data connection to the internet, your device will still be able to locate itself using GPS unable to give you the context of that location unless you have maps or other location data on your device that can be used offline.

How to Quickly Share Precise Location Offline in Emergency without Coordinates

When in an emergency you may not have time to locate a contact, type out a text message explaining the situation or even the battery power to send photos of your location. This is where Sending SOS Messages will come into play. By quickly pressing the power key button 3 times, you are able to send a quick alert to your emergency contacts. Not only that, but you are also able to attach a 5 second audio recording and pictures from both the front and rear cameras. Once the SOS message is sent, your emergency contacts will be able to locate your exact location and view your photos and audio files via MMS messages.

I mostly agree with the OP's gripes, but at the same time acknowledge that some form of projection from decimal degree coordinates to an equivalent tokenized form, whether it be 3 words or something else, can be useful. For instance, in some places in Dubai (my family have recently moved there) there are simply no street addresses. Directions are very much like "down the hill, to the right, near the clump of trees, 50m onwards and near the green bin outside the iron gates opposite the ditch". Clearly this sort of arrangement could benefit from some sort of simplified/tokenized geocoding of a location for addressing purposes - but yes, again I don't think W3W is particularly useful or clever for that matter. Conceptually at a high level it's intentions seem good, but the way it's implemented is not particularly useful - to my mind anyway. Promoting it as something useful to emergency services... uhm... no. Location of fire hydrants or trees or something, or just a rough address of a property - yes perhaps. But it should not be so guarded and shrouded in proprietary secrecy - as the OP says, if it's of any use, open source it. Stop this possessive behavior and attitude of "I've reinvented the world and it's mine mine mine"...

We're back to use cases, yet again. In some use cases you'd have access offline -- but there are lots of use cases, including those W3W themselves tout (like being given a W3W location in lieu of an address, or emergency services asking for your W3W location) where there's no reason to assume the consumer would have an app pre-installed. In that case, yes, you need a live network connection to either dereference the W3W location into a lat/lon (in the former case) or look up your current W3W location (in the latter case). This is because the actual product that W3W sells is basically a database -- you can download it, or you can make lookups over the network, but because it's a closed product, it's never going to be included (especially offline) in the mapping software you're already using.

Replying to myself:Of course, someone could invent a wonderful app which would determine your location and send the coordinates to a telephone number or email address that you type into a field. Or it could send it to the SMS aware number of a standard emergency organisation in your country, state, town, or whatever, automatically determining what emergency number to use: 112, 000, 911, etc.

Route emergency calls to the appropriate response centers based on the caller's location. Provide spatial location at x-, y- and z-level in multi-story buildings to send emergency teams to the precise location. Have the option to deploy on-premises for enhanced security.

Another app dedicated to keeping you safe, TripWhistle maps your location and allows you to easily text or send your GPS coordinates or location. It also provides emergency numbers for firefighters, medical personnel and police in nearly 200 countries. After all, 911 is only for U.S.-based emergencies: Each country has its own specific emergency number.

You may not think much about GPS coordinates unless you work in a field like aviation or emergency services. But longitude and latitude combination gives you an exact location, more precise than a street name or house number.

The best part is the app supports sending SOS signals and real-time coordinates when an emergency arises. With the help of hybrid and satellite maps, you can easily track your location. Also, return to your saved location using RADAR, Augmented Reality, and Map Directions.

Besides, the app allows you to record your GPS track and convert the coordinates according to your preferences. You can use a native Google map with stunning 3D, night mode, or set a waypoint location for getting ETA and add a photo or audio note for further reference. Also, you could share your location on Social Media with your friends.

The Best Compass app is a free compass app for iPhone that offers a 7-day weather forecast and air quality information. It detects all geographic directions and locates your precise location using magnetic declination, angle measurement, and GPS coordinates.

Cloud-based storage and file-sharing services that can be accessed using a mobile device are also useful for information management, since they allow users to store, update, and share documents or photographs with others without exchanging a flash drive or CD.2,5,6 Most cloud-based storage systems provide users with a few gigabytes of memory for free; additional space often requires payment of an annual subscription.2 Cloud-based information storage provides the additional advantage of permitting information to be accessed instantaneously from multiple devices, which allows people who are collaborating together to share materials quickly.2,5,6

Emergency calling in the United States. If you enable location sharing for emergency calling, your location will be periodically collected to enable Microsoft to share your location with emergency calling service providers if you dial 911. Your location information is only shared if you enable location sharing for emergency calling and you initiate a 911 call.

As the name suggests, this free location tracker app is designed for emergency uses. You can use the Listen In feature to hear your kid's surroundings if they do not receive your call. Moreover, with security controls, you can also get notifications of events like when they reach the school, return home, or go to other locations. You can also add custom locations for more customized alerts. With this free app to track phones without them knowing, you can also generate alerts in case you are not able to locate the kid. In case you enter a crowded place, it can work as an extra layer of security.

We recommend that you grant OsmAnd permission to receive information about the precise location of your device. We do not collect, use or share your private information, so access to the precise geolocation is needed for correct offline work of search, navigation, and other OsmAnd functions.

For some apps \u2013 Google Maps, for instance \u2013 you need to have your device on the handlebar to take full advantage. For others, such as Strava, you can just hit start, put your phone in your jersey pocket or in a bike phone mount\u00a0and go.\nWhat\u2019s more, with Bluetooth accessories such as heart-rate monitors, speed sensors and power meters becoming more common, you can get your smartphone\u2019s Bluetooth connection and processor to do the work that used to require a separate computer and, not so long ago, wires.\nSome of the apps featured here are free, some are not, and some are free up front with an option to buy or subscribe for more bells and whistles. The best indoor training apps cost just over \u00a312 a month and the best smart trainers\u00a0will get the most out of your subscription.\nFair warning: any GPS cycling app will tax your phone\u2019s battery, so these are generally better suited to shorter rides unless you\u2019re able to charge on the go. The best bike computers will last much longer.\nAnd remember, these are our recommendations, so make sure to add your own in the comments.\nThe best cycling apps in 2023\nTo make the list more digestible, we\u2019ve grouped our favourite cycling apps into ride recording, navigation and route planning, fitness, mountain biking and miscellaneous categories.\nUse the links below to jump to the section you need:\nBest cycling apps for tracking your rides\nBest cycling apps for routes and navigation\nBest cycling apps for fitness\nBest cycling apps for indoor training\nBest apps for mountain biking\nBest miscellaneous apps for cyclists\nBest cycling apps for tracking your rides\nThe best cycling apps for tracking will record your ride and show your speed, distance, route and other metrics, such as elevation.\nThese are probably the most popular cycling apps out there, with Strava leading the field (and offering a host of other features, including segments, leaderboards and route planning).\nStrava\n\n Strava\u2019s ace in the hole is its social component. Many riders use a GPS computer for recording and uploading rides to Strava \u2013 and then use the app for checking out what their friends are up to. Strava\nWhile you can use Strava like a cycle computer on your phone, most riders use a separate GPS computer to record and upload their rides and then use the app to see what their friends are up to.\nAll rides uploaded to Strava deliver automatic rankings of your times over popular stretches of road and trail \u2013 known as \u2018segments\u2019 in Strava-speak \u2013 along with a GPS map of where you rode.\nThe real-time feature, which tells you how fast you are tracking on a selected segment, such as the local hard climb, works on smartphones but also newer Garmin Edge and Wahoo computers, too.\nStrava\u2019s special sauce, which separates it from its competitors, is the slick social component. Much like Facebook, you can follow friends and see where and how hard they\u2019re riding, leave comments and give kudos on their rides, as well as post photos of your own rides.\nStrava pivoted heavily towards a subscriber model in 2020, putting formerly free features such as segment leaderboards and route planning behind a paywall.\nCycling-related \u2018Points of Interest\u2018, such as cafes and bike shops, show up in Strava\u2019s base map in its app and browser.\nPrice: Free (premium version also available \u2014 \u00a36.99 monthly \/ \u00a347.99 annually)\nDownload: Strava for iOS\u00a0or\u00a0Strava for Android\nBikeRadar is on Strava: Join the BikeRadar\u00a0Strava club\nMapMyRide\n\n\n MapMyRide does exactly what it says. Map My Ride\n\nMapMyRide is similar to CycleMeter, but benefits from the parent company\u2019s online history with route-mapping software.\nThe app is well-equipped for tracking not only rides but nutrition, weight and more, and can also get you to your destination.\nThe premium version includes training plans, more advanced routing options and live tracking that can be shared with family and friends. The premium version also ditches the advertisements you\u2019re stuck with on the free app.\nPrice: Free (premium version also available \u2014 $5.99 monthly \/ $29.99 yearly)\nDownload: MapMyRide for iOS\u00a0or MapMyRide for Android\nBest cycling apps for route planning and navigation\nCycling apps for route planning and navigation will help you discover more roads and places to ride.\nThe best cycling apps aimed at route planning will allow you to plan your own rides as well as discover routes from other riders.\nSome apps will do the heavy lifting and plan a route for you if you enter a destination, which is ideal for on-the-go adventures or cycling around town.\nBikemap\n\n Bikemap is a route-planning and navigation app. Bikemap\nBikemap is an iPhone and Android app that offers route planning, navigation, real-time updates and plenty more.\nIn our experience, it\u2019s a good alternative to Strava or Komoot for route planning and offers more for free, though both Strava and Komoot also have their own unique features.\nThe app\u2019s real-time updates allow you to alert other Bikemap users to problems encountered during a ride. It\u2019s not something we\u2019ve found much use for, but might be more appealing to cyclists riding regularly in an urban environment.\nOther features include an archive of more than seven million user-generated routes, route collections and in-app ride stats.\nMost of Bikemap\u2019s features are free to use, but there\u2019s also a Bikemap Premium service, which opens up additional mapping options, including cycling-friendly map layers and 3D views of your planned routes, as well as offline navigation.\nPrice: Free (Premium version also available \u2013 \u00a39 \/ \u20ac9 \/ $12 \/ AU$14.99 \/ monthly \u00a335 \/ \u20ac39 \/ $49 \/ AU$59.99\/ annually \/ \u00a389 \/ \u20ac99 \/ $99 \/ AU$179.99 one-off payment for lifetime access)\nDownload: Bikemap for iOS or Bikemap for Android\nGoogle Maps\n\n While you wouldn\u2019t want to use it for a long ride, Google Maps\u2019 combination of Google Search and touchscreen, bike-specific navigation is generally pretty good. Google\nApple has done some amazing things in the world of tech, but it can\u2019t beat Google at mapping.\nJust like you use your phone on the fly to find places, read a few reviews and then go to the one you select, you can use Google Maps to do this too \u2013 and get there on bike paths and bike-friendly routes.\nLike any app, it\u2019s not foolproof, but in its category it\u2019s among the best there is. The audio turn-by-turn instructions are nice when riding, too; for riders who choose to ride with headphones, you can have your phone in your pocket and easily get where you need to be.\nPrice: Free\nDownload: Google Maps for iOS\u00a0or Google Maps for Android\nKomoot\n\n The Komoot app offers lots of information about your route.\nWhile Google Maps is arguably the gold standard for dealing with navigation in general, it can sometimes come up a bit short for bike directions.\nKomoot uses the open-source OpenStreetMap database and allows you to plan road, mountain bike and gravel rides as well as commutes. The big difference over Google Maps is in the routing, where Komoot tries to choose the most efficient route, taking into account how bike-friendly a road or path is, as well as your fitness.\nUsing a start and end point, Komoot will tell you the difficulty, fitness required, what road surfaces you\u2019ll come across and an elevation profile to boot.\nOnce you\u2019ve started your route, it will give you speed, distance travelled, distance remaining and allows for easy on-the-fly route changes. You can also check out other route recommendations in your local area.\nKomoot also features curated highlights, as suggested by local riders and Komoot ambassadors. These can be a great way to discover unknown gems in your local area.\nA premium subscription unlocks additional features, such as a multi-day planner and live tracking.\nWant to know more? We\u2019ve got a complete guide to Komoot.\nPrice: First map region free, subsequent map regions \u00a33.99 \/ \u20ac3.99 \/ $3.99 (Premium \u2014 \u00a359.99 \/ \u20ac59.99 \/ $59.99 annually)\nDownload: Komoot for iOS or Komoot for Android\nRide with GPS\n\n Ride with GPS allows you to plan and navigate rides directly from your smartphone. Ride with GPS\nRide with GPS can plan routes in great detail, navigate and record your ride.\nIt\u2019s got a user-friendly interface that allows you to start recording with a single tap, and can even be used to navigate offline, which makes it extremely useful out in the sticks or on long rides, where preserving battery power is important.\nThe route data provided is particularly helpful, with detailed elevation profiles that you can zoom in and out of, and see exactly where on the route the biggest climbs will be.\nWant to share your rides in real time? The app lets you do just that, and it will even read comments aloud as you pedal. Not a bad thing to have when you need that last motivational push.\nThe free version allows you to create routes and record your rides, as well as set yourself goals. There\u2019s a Basic subscription that gives you access to mobile app features such as turn-by-turn navigation, live logging and offline mapping. You can also publish ride reports.\nThe Premium version gives you all of this, plus advanced route editing, custom cue sheets, stationary bike support and private segments.\nPrice: Free \/ Basic \u00a36 \/\u20ac6 \/ $6 monthly \/ \u00a350 \/ \u20ac50 \/ $50 yearly \/ Premium \u00a310 \/ \u20ac10 \/ $10 monthly \/ \u00a380 \/ \u20ac80 \/ $80 yearly\nDownload: Ride with GPS for iOS or Ride with GPS for Android\nOS Maps\n\n A whole pile of maps are condensed into this clever app. Jack Luke \/ Our Media\nTo some, paper OS Maps are a joy to use and things of beauty. But anyone who\u2019s grappled with a South Pembrokeshire OS Explorer as it flaps in an Atlantic onshore wind will appreciate this app\u2019s practicality. It\u2019s a cartological database of the whole UK on your mobile device.\nYou can plot and record rides on the app, but the plethora of more cycling-focused alternatives make it a better research tool for us two-wheeled explorers.\nThe map overlays are handy for cyclists. The Greenspace option highlights grassy areas for off-road routes, while the National Cycle Network one displays quiet lanes and family-friendly routes.\nFor free, you can access the standard maps, aerial and night maps online. A subscription includes premium features, such as all 25,000 (Explorer) and 50,000 (Landranger) maps on- and offline.\nThe Landranger is brilliant for planning long rides and multi-day epics. It shows towns and campsites for stop-offs. The more detailed Explorer is useful for poring over the terrain of gravel or mountain bike adventures, for example to differentiate byways and bridleways from footpaths where cycling isn\u2019t permitted. You could research in the app then plot the route on Komoot, which is easier to sync to your GPS computer.\nIf you remember how to read them from school, the Explorer\u2019s contour lines and slope direction arrows show hills to avoid or include. Cleverly, you can set the app to flip between each view as you zoom in and out.\nPrice:\u00a0Free or \u00a32.99 monthly\/\u00a323.99 annually for premium subscription\nDownload:\u00a0OS Maps for iOS or OS Maps for Android\nBest cycling apps for fitness\nThe best cycling apps for fitness will help you track your performance over time.\nThey work particularly well with other sensors such as heart rate monitors and power meters to provide a whole load of data that will give you a greater insight into your riding. Some, such as TrainingPeaks, offer training plans dedicated to different abilities and goals.\nWahoo Fitness\n\n Wahoo Fitness is designed to work with the brand\u2019s devices as well as other apps. Wahoo Fitness\nPerhaps the biggest draw of the Wahoo Fitness app is that it plays nicely with others.\nIt pairs easily with Bluetooth sensors, such as heart-rate monitors, speed sensors and progressive power meters, including Stages (with a Wahoo Key plugin you can pair with ANT+ sensors, too).\nIn a world where many companies guard your data in their ecosystems, Wahoo Fitness uploads to all the good sites \u2013 Strava, MapMyFitness, TrainingPeaks, MyFitnessPal \u2013 and, if you like, can push your data in your choice of five file formats via email or Dropbox.\nIf you\u2019re a data hound, you\u2019ll love the number-heavy present