Growing popularity of new hazard reporting tool in OS Maps

An image of an ordnance survey map highlighting the obstacles, on a phone. — Animals, unpassable fallen tree and passable fallen tree ahead on path (Ordnance Survey)

Seven months since Ordnance Survey introduced Community Alerts to Britain’s most popular navigation app, it reported a healthy take-up of the new feature.

A new tool used by the public to highlight obstacles encountered in the outdoors such as blocked paths, overgrown vegetation and livestock in fields has got off to a good start.

The Community Alerts tool in OS Maps app has had over 20,000 reports made of issues people have encountered while out and about in the countryside and remote areas across Britain.

First introduced in June 2025, the feature has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people using the OS Maps app, informing them of obstacles such as fallen trees ahead. And as more walkers, hikers and cyclists become familiar with it, the numbers continue to climb.

An image of the report feature on the OS Maps phone app. — List of obstacles that can be reported in Community Alerts (Ordnance Survey)

How does Community Alerts work?

Community Alerts is a real-time, footpath condition reporting tool that is a first of its kind for outdoor activities.

The feature relies on the OS Maps community to self-police it. Users report obstacles they encounter to the app, whether that’s flooding, cows in a field, public paths which have been deliberately obstructed by a landowner or any other issue.

They report whether the obstacle is passable or non-passable and upload it directly to the app, where it will show up on screen for other walkers who are viewing a route to see. A yellow icon indicates the obstacle is passable, while it turns red if the obstacle is impassable.

When users follow a route in the app, obstacles and hazards are visible on the map so they can see if the path is blocked.

Later if somebody else visits the same location, and the obstacle is no longer there, they can report the problem has disappeared, and the alert can then be removed.

OS Maps Managing Director, Nick Giles, said: “This has been a huge step forward for OS Maps and the millions of people in Britain who use it. Previously the only way to report issues people encountered in the outdoors was to post photos of issues they find on a route and then write a review underneath – which is only useful if someone goes on to read the reviews. Now, OS Maps users can toggle these Community Alerts on and off. When selected, they pop up as yellow icons on the map if passable and red icons if impassable, to highlight ahead. All different kinds of obstacles can be reported – whether it’s no visible footpaths, trees over a path, floods, overgrowing vegetation or anything else – it is all on there. Once reported, the alert will be visible on the map while you are following a route to help you plan.”

Results so far

An image of a ordnance survey map on a phone showing a fallen tree, — Impassable fallen tree and passable fallen tree ahead (Ordnance Survey)

The most common obstacles reported so far include:

Blocked path – 22%
No visible footpath – 18%
Overgrown vegetation – 15%
Fallen tree – 15%
Other issues – 11%
Muddy conditions – 9%
Animals – 6%
Flooding – 4%

An ordnance survey map on a phone. — Obstacles can be shown alongside route elevation data (Ordnance Survey)

While OS was keen to stress the feature in the app had no official links to any outdoor organisations or authorities, if there are persistent or potentially serious hazards, users are advised to contact the relevant local authority or landowners about it. This could be particularly useful data for authorities that look after more remote locations where problems would take much longer to discover.

Self-policing community

The system is self-policing and reliant on the OS Maps community and outdoor enthusiasts to make it work.

The potential the tool has for keeping people safer and away from danger is enormous, particularly around accident blackspots where slips and trips are commonplace.

Nick added: “This is a major evolution and demonstrates how technology is enhancing the outdoor experience in Britain. As ever, we aim to make the outdoors accessible and safe for everyone, and tools like Community Alerts do just that. Just open the app and the icons will forewarn you of issues that may impact your walk, run or ride, either if you’re viewing an existing route in OS Maps, or just generally looking at a map on the screen.”

Download OS Maps app from the Apple & Google Play app stores, or find out more information on the OS shop.