About us

About Mapilio

Street-level imagery, community contributions and open-source tools for better maps.

Image records: 20,328,577
Countries & territories: 72In the stored country summary
Object classes: 462Active entries in the object catalog
Uploading accounts: 281
Registered accounts: 1,719

As of 28 September 2026. Production database and public APIs, read-only checks.

Image records exclude deleted records and records flagged as anomalous; they are not a count of individually verified public images. Uploading accounts exclude internal roles. Registered accounts include people who have not uploaded. The country summary has its own filters and an unverified refresh date; it is not a live coverage count. Object classes describe the catalog, not verified AI model support.

Our story

Who we are

Mapilio makes street-level imagery easier to access and use. We host an imagery database built from contributions by people and organizations, with tools for exploring photos and detecting traffic signs and other street features.

We support OpenStreetMap as an independent imagery provider. Our aim is to help the community improve shared maps, not to replace OpenStreetMap. Computer vision can assist this work, but its results still need review.

We are building a sustainable commercial project alongside open-source software. Our planned marketplace would let contributors voluntarily take on paid capture jobs, support OpenStreetMap and earn income. Mapilio would receive a share of that revenue to fund development and operations. Job-specific payment, consent and data-use terms would be agreed before participation.

Our mobile app and backend source code are public. Developers, mappers, testers and writers are welcome to contribute. Marketplace, F-Droid distribution, drone workflows, improved panorama support, refreshed interfaces and updated scoring are roadmap directions, not a promise that each is available today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Mapilio, and where does the imagery come from?

Mapilio is an independent street-level imagery platform. We host our own imagery database, built from photos shared by contributors and organizations. You can explore those images and use them as a reference for mapping. Mapilio is a hosted service, not a federated network of imagery servers.

How does Mapilio support OpenStreetMap?

Our goal is to make useful imagery easier to access and help people improve maps, including OpenStreetMap. Mapilio is independent of the OpenStreetMap Foundation. Our terms explicitly permit extracting information from Mapilio imagery for contribution to OpenStreetMap under its contributor terms. We want to complement OSM, not replace it with a proprietary version. Read about Mapilio and OSM.

Is Mapilio a nonprofit? What is the business model?

Mapilio is a commercially oriented project with open-source software, not a nonprofit initiative. Making imagery and mapping data easier to access is our main goal. We plan a marketplace where contributors can choose to capture requested imagery, share useful information with OpenStreetMap and earn income. Mapilio would receive a share of marketplace revenue to fund development and operations. Participation would be voluntary, with payment and data-use terms agreed before a contributor joins a job. This marketplace is planned; paid capture jobs and earnings are not being offered here yet.

Does AI turn the photos into maps?

We use computer vision to detect traffic signs and other street features in imagery and support map-data extraction. These results help mapping workflows; they are not automatically verified facts or automatic edits to OpenStreetMap. Contributors still need to review information and follow OSM contribution practices.

Which licenses apply to imagery, source code and extracted data?

These are separate things. Public imagery is described in our licensing information as CC BY-SA. Our terms include specific permission to derive information for OpenStreetMap. Source code uses the license in each repository. The image or source-code license should not be read as a blanket license for every AI-generated dataset: check the terms supplied with the particular dataset, or contact us if they are not stated.

How can I contribute to the project?

You can capture imagery, report a problem, improve documentation, help with translations or contribute code. Our mobile app and backend repositories are public. Start with the README and CONTRIBUTING guide in the repository you want to work on, then open a focused issue or pull request. We welcome developers who want to help shape what comes next.

What does the leaderboard measure?

The community leaderboard recognizes imagery contributions using contribution points. It also shows uploaded-image totals and contributed distance. These are Mapilio contribution measures, not counts of OpenStreetMap edits or a promise of payment. Updates to scoring and the web and mobile interfaces are on our roadmap.

Which cameras can I use?

You can contribute geotagged imagery from supported smartphones, action cameras and 360-degree cameras. Good GPS data and overlapping photos help mapping and processing. See our capture guide before you start.

When will my uploaded imagery appear?

Images go through processing before they appear on the map. Timing depends on the upload and processing queue. Check your upload status rather than relying on a fixed publication time.

How is privacy protected?

Mapilio uses automated face and license-plate blurring. Automated processing can miss details, so please report an image that needs attention using the image-report control or contact us. See our privacy policy for information about personal data.