I added some data on local shops in OrganicMaps and StreetComplete. My changes are visible in OSM online but my (just downloaded) maps in CoMaps don’t show them. I found this issue for OrganicMaps that says maps data is updated only when the whole app is updated and I assume CoMaps works the same.
Are there any structural reasons why this is the case? Or is there a possibility/plans to have maps data refresh more frequently?
I think having delayed updates to maps is worse though.
For one it can create duplicates, as multiple people try adding rhe same shop. I didn’t know that was the reason but I did find some shops I had added that had been also mapped by someone else a few meters away.
It also looks like a limitation to adding things that may change more frequently, like ongoing works temporary blocking a road or a speed trap.
Short-lived / Temporary data, like road-work, is not mapped in OSM, so that’s not a concern.
I tried researching this a bit and you are right that it’s not a Comaps-specific issue but more with the general OSM ecosystem.
It seems to be a chicken-and-egg situation in the sense that there are ways to tag temporary closures but they are not recommended for short-lived data because many apps use data offline and have long update cycles.
I’m referring to this bit in the page on key:construction
There is some work being done at Google Summer of Code 2025 to add road closures and more real-time events that might impact navigation. I’m looking forward to see if it pans out.
I don’t think that GSOC project has anything to do with OSM other than that they reference downstream OSM data consumers as potential users and wrote a blogpost on their OSM Diary about it.
It also doesn’t matter, because there simply aren’t enough people actively contributing to OSM to keep temporary short-term road closures up to date, even if a database for such data existed.
Yeah, seems like a bad idea. Hopefully CoMaps can introduce live updates like OsmAnd.