Overlays footpaths from OpenStreetMap on the device's camera feed.
About this app
Hikar is an augmented reality app for Android (4.2+) which overlays footpaths from OpenStreetMap on the device's camera feed and shows virtual signposts.
Its aim is to help navigation for walkers/hikers (hence the name) and other outdoor users. For example, imagine you are entering a large field and it's not clear where the exit is. Hikar will overlay the course of the footpath on your phone's camera feed helping you to navigate across the field. Or, you're at a junction of paths and it's not clear which is the correct way. Hikar will show a virtual signpost, showing the direction and distance of nearby points of interest such as villages, hills, mountains or pubs. Or, you're having to make your way across a pathless moor. Again, Hikar will help you find the way.
Hikar covers the whole of Europe, plus Turkey. It could potentially work in any area which uses Roman, Greek or Cyrillic characters, but the Hikar server (also FLOSS software: see gitlab.com/nickw1/freemap-api) currently only contains data for the specified areas. Note that Hikar is a research project and therefore, while perfectly usable for navigation it is not a 'polished' app with a really nice UI and, like many AR apps, can use a lot of battery power.
Please note, that for a currently-unknown reason, Hikar will not run on the Amazon Fire HD 10 (and possibly other Amazon Fire devices).
Many thanks to my colleague Neil Brewis for providing the signpost assets.
Licensed under GPL-3.0-only, by Nick Whitelegg.
What's New in v0.3.2
Imported from the F-Droid repository index.
- Hikar 0.3.2 (version code 16)
- -----------------------------
- - added warning if device does not have the required sensors (accelerometer, magnetometer) - fixing issue #4.
Version history
Jul 22, 2021 · 4.8 MB · Android API 17–28 · code 16
Imported from the F-Droid repository index.
- Hikar 0.3.2 (version code 16)
- -----------------------------
- - added warning if device does not have the required sensors (accelerometer, magnetometer) - fixing issue #4.
SHA-256 4490e362cb7616505ec73608ee5638edd64d4ce601be217a4382c69f1ee7ff55
Jun 16, 2021 · 4.8 MB · Android API 17–28 · code 15
Imported from the F-Droid repository index.
- Hikar 0.3.1 (version code 15)
- -----------------------------
- Release date (on Google Play) 30/09/19. First version on f-droid.
- - expanded range of POIs on signposts: now viewpoints, hostels, campsites and alpine huts shown.
- - increased width of rendered route to POI to 5m.-
SHA-256 0d2e21c20ffed14a6df2a74e2bb09213100020d627a4a5b5e28227fd604430da
Will it run on your device?
73%
- Runs on a broad range of modern Android versions.
- ABI coverage is focused on newer 64-bit devices.
Installation Guide
Open Settings on your Android device
Go to Security → Unknown sources (or Install unknown apps)
Enable "Allow from this source" for your browser or file manager
Open the downloaded APK file from your Downloads folder
Tap "Install" and wait for installation to complete
Launch the app from your home screen
Make sure to re-enable Unknown Sources restrictions after installation for security.
How to install this safely
How to verify the file you downloaded
Before you install anything, confirm the file is the one described here. On a computer, run shasum -a 256 your-download.apk (macOS or Linux) or certutil -hashfile your-download.apk SHA256 (Windows), then compare the output character-for-character with the SHA-256 on this page. If a single character differs, the file is not the build we recorded — delete it.
What the signing certificate proves
Every Android app is signed with a private key that only its developer holds. The fingerprint on this page is a hash of the matching public certificate, and it proves continuity rather than identity: it tells you a build came from whoever signed the earlier ones. Android enforces this at install time — if a package claiming to be freemap.hikar is signed with a different key, the system will refuse to install it over your existing copy. A fingerprint that changes between releases is worth pausing on, because a repackaged app that has been modified by someone else cannot keep the original signature.
How to roll back to an earlier version
If the current release misbehaves, 0.3.1 is the last build before it. Android will not install an older version code over a newer one, so you must uninstall Hikar first — which clears its local data unless you have a backup. Reinstall the older APK only if its signing fingerprint matches the build you already trust, and check the API range: an older release may target an Android version your device has moved past.
Why we list sources instead of hosting everything
The official store channel is almost always the right choice: it updates automatically and carries the publisher's own distribution guarantees. A direct APK is useful when a device has no store access, when a rollout has not reached your region, or when you need a specific version — and only when the publisher has authorized that copy. APKBrowse does not list pirated, cracked, or unauthorized rebuilds of Hikar, and a listing is removed when the evidence for it stops holding up.
Get Hikar
Every source we list for freemap.hikar is legality-reviewed. Pirated or cracked builds are never offered.
Other sources
F-Droid listing
officialF-Droid builds this app from source and signs it. This is its official listing, with older builds and full release notes.
Source code
verified publisherThe upstream repository this build is compiled from.
We check legality and signature continuity, but device behaviour still varies. Install at your own discretion.
App Information
Security Verification
We record provenance; we do not run malware scans. Verify the hash yourself before installing.
SHA-256 Hash
4490e362cb7616505ec73608ee5638edd64d4ce601be217a4382c69f1ee7ff55
Signing certificate
de7377010ee4a158fa3ed5a5d58bd05573a54123d21c26c1c2b27ad9f20ce3b3
Permissions Required
Previous Versions
The signing certificate fingerprint for this release is on record, so a build that does not match it did not come from this publisher.
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