onX Maps
 | |
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Missoula, Montana |
Number of employees | 400 |
| Website | onxmaps |
onX is a private American technology company that develops digital mapping applications for outdoor recreation. It was founded in Missoula, Montana in 2009 as a hardware company, developing chips that extended Garmin GPS devices with land ownership data for the purpose of hunting.[1] In 2013 it pivoted to the development of mobile applications,[citation needed] and in 2024 announced a $87 million dollar series-b from Summit Partners.[1]
Products
[edit]onX develops four products: onX Hunt, onX Offroad, onX Backcountry, and onX Fish.
onX Hunt
[edit]onX Hunt was onX's first application. While it has received praise for expanding access to outdoor recreation and raising awareness of landlocked public lands,[2] it has also received numerous criticisms regarding user privacy and the erasure of 'secret spots.'[1]
In 2023, the owners of Elk Mountain Ranch filed a lawsuit against four Wyoming corner crossers, alleging that their activities devalued the ranch by $7.75 million dollars.[3] As part of the lawsuit, the owners subpoenaed onX and discovered a point named 'Waypoint 6' on the property, and attempted to use the point as evidence of tresspassing. A spokesperson for onX stated that “One could drop a waypoint for any reason at all and one has not necessarily been to the places where he or she has dropped a waypoint.”[4]
When asked if it would consider selling the data users provide to the service, onX explained that it believes the users creating the points retain ownership of them.[1]
onX Backcountry
[edit]onX Backcountry is a mapping application for backcountry ski touring, hiking, climbing, and mountain biking.[5]
In 2021, onX acquired the rock climbing database Mountain Project for its expansion into climbing. onX promised to continue operating the site without a paywall,[6] however later shut down its API and filed a DMCA takedown against competitor Open Beta, despite claiming in its terms that users own the data.[7][8]
onX Fish
[edit]To develop onX Fish, onX purchased TroutRoutes.[9]
Access Initiatives
[edit]onX has funded a number of environmental stewardship projects.
- $5,000 microgrants for trail maintenance in collaboration with Toyota[10]
- "secure[ing] or improve[ing] public access to 154,000 acres, and support[ing] the maintenance and building of 255 miles of trails"[11]
- A program to enroll 10,000 acres of South Dakota land for walk-in access for $25 per acre.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Peterson, Christine (2024-02-09). "The onX Effect: Digital Mapping Apps Have Changed the Way We Hunt. Now What Will They Do With All Our Data?". Outdoor Life. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- ^ Howe, Ben Ryder (2022-11-26). "It's Public Land. But the Public Can't Reach It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
- ^ Wyofile (2023-04-20). "Elk Mountain Ranch owner: 'We should have control' of corner-crossing". Oil City News. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- ^ Jr, Angus M. Thuermer (2023-05-04). "Corner crossers reject GPS 'Waypoint 6' as trespass proof". WyoFile. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- ^ Ritter, Lily (2021-03-29). "How an App Built for Hunting Became a Backcountry Skiing Navigation App". SKI. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- ^ "Mountain Project Acquired by onX - Rock and Ice". Rock and Ice. Archived from the original on 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- ^ gripped (2021-03-31). "Mountain Project Replies to Open Beta Copyright Issues". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- ^ Stoltz, Mitch (2021-03-25). "Free as in Climbing: Rock Climber's Open Data Project Threatened by Bogus Copyright Claims". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- ^ Kennedy, Tony (2024-08-23). "A pioneer in outdoor navigation turns to Minnesota for fishing smarts". www.startribune.com. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
- ^ "onX Off-Road Partners With Toyota to Conserve Public Land Trails". RideApart.com. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
- ^ "onX's 'Adventure Forever Grants' Aim to Keep Public Lands Public". RideApart.com. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
- ^ elessard (2023-10-29). "Protecting Pheasant Habitat in South Dakota Is a Team Effort". Outside Online. Retrieved 2025-06-02.