Changelog

What's new in mapfwd. Each release groups user-visible changes; under the hood fixes and refactors aren't listed here — see the GitHub commit log for the full history.

v1.1 — Reach

Bigger reach in three large markets that don't run Google Maps as the default, plus a smarter way to share a pin into mapfwd.

New

• Plus Codes input. Paste an Open Location Code like 8FVC9G8F+6X into any mapfwd URL — mapfwd.com/8FVC9G8F+6X or mapfwd.com/a/8FVC9G8F+6X — and it resolves to the right location. Full 11-character codes only.
• Regional native-map auto-pick. When mapfwd detects you're in one of these regions, the auto-forward links open the local map app instead of Google Maps:
  • Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine → Yandex Maps
  • China → AMap (Gaode) on Android, Petal Maps on HarmonyOS, Apple Maps on iOS (Apple Maps in CN already uses Gaode data)
  • South Korea → Naver Map
  • India → Mappls
  • Czech Republic, Slovakia → Mapy.cz on Android
• PWA share target. Install mapfwd as a Progressive Web App on Android, and mapfwd shows up in the system share sheet. Share a pin from Google Maps → mapfwd → it forwards to the right native app for your region.
• Region override via ?region=XX on /a/... URLs, useful for power users behind a VPN and for bots running from VPS IPs.

Fixed

• URL pass-through on the /[...coords] route now reconstructs the original URL server-side, so pasting mapfwd.com/https://maps.google.com/... works reliably across all browsers.

v1.0 — Launch

The initial public release of mapfwd.com.

New

• Smart auto-forward. /a/<coords> detects your device and redirects to the right native map: Apple Maps on iOS/macOS, Google Maps on Android, geo: URI on HarmonyOS / non-GMS Android, Bing Maps on Windows.
• Geohash-based shareable links. Coordinates are encoded as 10-character geohashes for compact URLs. Directions use relative encoding so /a/u0762zbg61-5fdb2kf is shorter than two full hashes.
• URL pass-through. Paste any map URL after mapfwd.com/ (Google Maps, Apple Maps, Bing, OpenStreetMap, Waze, HERE, MapQuest…) and mapfwd extracts the coordinates and forwards you on. Short links (maps.app.goo.gl, bit.ly) are followed server-side.
• Bots. First-party bots for Telegram, Discord, Slack, IRC, Reddit, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Viber. Drop a map link in chat and get a clean mapfwd URL back, with native share-sheet hooks where the platform supports it.
• Production hardening. Sitemap, legal pages (privacy, terms), security headers, and SSRF protection on the URL-resolver endpoint.