Waypoint Navigator
What is Waypoint Navigator?
Waypoint Navigator turns the GPS and compass sensors already in your phone, tablet, or laptop into a dedicated navigation instrument. Instead of the turn-by-turn driving directions you get from typical map apps, it gives you a direct line to a point you choose — the kind of "go-to-coordinate" navigation that hikers, sailors, pilots, surveyors, and geocachers rely on.
You enter or save a destination by its latitude and longitude (or by distance and bearing from where you are standing), and the app continuously shows you the bearing to that point, your current heading, how far you have to go, your ground speed, and how far you have drifted off the straight course line. Everything runs locally in the browser using the standard Geolocation and device orientation APIs, so there is nothing to install and nothing to sign up for.
Key features
Course Deviation Indicator
An aviation-style CDI shows exactly how far left or right of your intended track you are, with an adjustable scale from a few meters to several kilometers.
Waypoints & routes
Save unlimited waypoints and chain them into ordered routes. Step forward and back through a route and watch your progress bar fill as you reach each leg.
Live map
A full Leaflet map with your position, heading, saved waypoints, and the active course line, so you always have the big picture alongside the instrument view.
Any units you like
Distances in meters, feet, yards, kilometers, miles, or nautical miles. Speed in km/h, mph, or knots. Pick what suits your activity.
Import & export
Bring your existing waypoints in from GPX or CSV files, and export your data back out at any time. Your routes are portable, not locked in.
Private by design
There are no accounts and no servers storing your tracks. Everything is saved in your own browser using local storage and never transmitted to us.
Who uses it?
Direct-to-waypoint navigation is useful any time the path is not a road:
- Hikers and backpackers heading to a trail junction, water source, or campsite marked only by coordinates.
- Boaters and kayakers who need a bearing across open water to a buoy, anchorage, or launch point.
- Pilots and glider crews who think in terms of headings, bearings, and a CDI rather than street names.
- Geocachers closing in on the final coordinates of a cache.
- Surveyors, drone operators, and field workers returning to a precise logged location.
If you have ever wished your phone could just show you an arrow that says "the place you want is that way, and it's 1.2 km out," that is exactly what Waypoint Navigator does.
How it works
- Open the app in your browser and allow location access when prompted.
- Add a waypoint by entering coordinates, pasting them from a shared map link, or setting a distance and bearing from your current spot.
- Select it as your destination and switch to the Navigation tab.
- Follow the compass and CDI — keep the needle centered and walk, sail, or fly the bearing until the distance reaches zero.
For a full walkthrough, see the step-by-step guide.
Prefer a native app?
Waypoint Navigator is also available as an Android app on the Google Play Store, with the same privacy-first approach — your data stays on your device. Get it on Google Play.