How to use
MapMess is a simple idea: a living map of moments tied to real places. Instead of keeping photos only in a timeline or a camera roll, MapMess lets you place them where they happened, return to them by location, and share selected places with other people.
The map opens first because the map is the main experience. Public photos are visible to everyone. After login, you can also see your own private photos and photos that have been shared with you. The layer control lets you show or hide My Photos, Shared Photos, and Public Photos.
Use the controls on the right side of the map to center on your current location, play a slideshow of the photos currently on screen, open the camera, upload a photo from your library, or open your photo gallery. A single photo marker opens a thumbnail popup; clicking the thumbnail opens the full-size photo above the map. A cluster marker centers the grouped photos in the viewport.
Slideshow opens a full-screen chronological playback of the photos that were visible on the map when you clicked the button. You can play or pause, go forward or back, change the sort order and slide duration, switch the background between moving map, black, and cream, or jump back to the current photo on the map with the Location button.
Telegram photo upload bot
You can also upload photos through the MapMess Photo Upload bot in Telegram. Sign in to MapMess, click your account icon in the top-right corner of the map, and choose Connect Telegram. MapMess opens the bot and connects your Telegram identity to your MapMess account.
After Telegram is connected, photos uploaded in the bot appear in the same MapMess map and gallery as your web uploads. For best results, send photos to the bot as a file/document, not as a regular Telegram photo. If the original file contains GPS metadata, the bot can place it on the map automatically. If no location data is found, the bot will ask you to send the location before publishing.
Map buttons
- Camera opens the camera page for taking a new photo.
- Upload Photo adds a photo from your library. The photo needs GPS location data.
- Gallery Counter opens the gallery. The top number shows all photos available on the map. The bottom number shows photos currently visible on your screen. Clicking it opens the gallery with the photos from your screen, and you can switch to all available photos inside the gallery.
- Slideshow plays the photos currently visible on the map in chronological order. The slideshow includes play, pause, previous, next, background, speed, sort, and Location controls.
Legend
- Your photo.
- Your latest photo.
- Your public photo.
- Your latest public photo.
- Shared or public photo from another layer.
- Photo opened from the gallery or a direct photo link.
- Several nearby photos grouped together.
For your own photos, MapMess supports private and public visibility, share links, coordinate copying, gallery browsing, photo-location editing, and deletion. Long-press one of your photo markers to move its location, then submit, cancel, or delete it.