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Cartogram turns a chosen city, neighborhood, landmark, or current location into an Android wallpaper. You can generate a fixed map image for predictable, low-maintenance use, or enable its premium live-wallpaper mode to update the map as you move. The app is free to install, but styles, color controls, saved designs, and live tracking depend on the current premium entitlements shown in your Google Play region.
What Cartogram does
Cartogram is a map-wallpaper generator from Round Tower Software Limited, not a navigation replacement for Google Maps. The developer’s listing says it uses Google Maps data, but the wallpaper is primarily a rendered background: it does not provide turn-by-turn directions, route planning, tappable landmarks, live traffic controls, or the full interactive Google Maps interface. See the Google Play listing and developer page.
Static wallpaper
Choose a place, frame the map, preview it, and apply the result as a fixed home-screen or lock-screen wallpaper. The listing says a created wallpaper can be used offline. That means the saved result can remain available without a connection; downloading new map areas or tracking your movement still requires the relevant network or location services.
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Live wallpaper
Premium live mode can follow your position using real-time location tracking. It suits commuters and travelers who want the map to represent their surroundings, but it requires location access and can be affected by Android background limits, launcher behavior, and battery-management settings.
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Who should use Cartogram?
- Travelers who want a destination on their home screen.
- People commemorating a hometown, home, wedding venue, or favorite trip.
- Minimalist, Material You, Pixel, Samsung, OLED, and custom-launcher users.
- Anyone who prefers meaningful maps to photographic wallpaper libraries.
It is a poor fit if you need navigation, a large catalog of photographs, professional cartography controls, no location permissions, or guaranteed independent home- and lock-screen designs on every phone.
Free versus premium features
Cartogram is free to download and includes a usable free tier. The current listing describes monthly, annual, and lifetime premium options, but the indexed page does not show numerical prices. Check the purchase screen in your country before buying; taxes, promotions, currency, and billing periods can change.
| Capability | Free tier | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Choose a worldwide location | Yes | Yes |
| Standard and satellite styles | Yes | Yes |
| Saved configurations | Up to three | Unlimited |
| Preview and offline use after creation | Yes, according to listing | Yes |
| More than 30 map styles | Limited or not included; verify in app | Yes |
| Live GPS wallpaper | No | Yes |
| Custom color schemes | Limited or not included; verify in app | Yes |
| Day/night switching | Limited or not included; verify in app | Yes |
| Ads | None according to listing | None according to listing |
Premium descriptions also mention location-dot customization, label toggles, zoom and crop controls, AMOLED, terrain, retro and gaming themes, priority support, and a 3D aerial screensaver/Daydream mode with orbit animations, terrain, and buildings. Because the listing groups features in overlapping sections, confirm each control’s current entitlement inside the app.
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How to create a static map wallpaper
- Install Cartogram from Google Play.
- Open it and grant only the permissions needed for your chosen mode. A fixed destination does not require continuous location tracking.
- Search for a city, address, landmark, or other place. Choose current location only if you want location-based behavior.
- Select a map style, such as standard or satellite, then adjust zoom and crop until the important area fits your screen.
- Configure available options: labels, location-dot appearance, color scheme, and day/night treatment. Controls vary by style and version.
- Use the preview. If a color or label change appears ineffective, preview after changing one setting at a time.
- Save the design if you want to reuse it. Free accounts can save up to three configurations according to the listing.
- Choose the static-wallpaper option and apply it to the home screen, lock screen, or both, subject to your device’s wallpaper picker.
The normal result is a fixed generated image. If the in-app button fails, Android’s system picker is a reliable fallback.
How to enable live location wallpaper
- Create or open a design and select the live-wallpaper option. The listing identifies this as a premium feature.
- Allow the level of location access required by your Android version. Continuous background access is relevant only when you want tracking while the app is not open.
- Apply the live wallpaper through Cartogram or Android’s live-wallpaper picker.
- Check the preview on the intended screen. Some launchers treat lock-screen live wallpapers differently from home-screen wallpapers.
- If updates stop, review Cartogram’s location permission and battery settings, then reapply the wallpaper.
Android may delay updates when background activity is restricted, GPS signals are weak, or the phone’s battery saver is active. No independent source supplied a refresh interval or battery percentage, so expect behavior to vary by device and settings.
Home-screen and lock-screen setup
The Play listing advertises one-tap application and compatibility with Pixel, Samsung Galaxy, OnePlus, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, tablets, foldables, and custom launchers. That is a developer compatibility claim, not a guarantee of identical behavior. Some phones show separate Home screen, Lock screen, and Home and lock screens choices; others accept only one target at a time. Do not assume every device can use different Cartogram designs independently on both screens.
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If Cartogram’s apply control does nothing:
- Open Settings and search for Wallpaper.
- Open the wallpaper or live-wallpaper picker.
- Select Cartogram.
- Choose the target screen and confirm.
You may need to apply the home screen first and the lock screen second. Third-party launchers and OEM software can expose different controls.
Privacy, map data, and battery trade-offs
Static use
Static mode avoids continuous location updates after the wallpaper is created and is generally the more predictable choice. Deny or revoke location permission when finished if you selected a fixed place.
Live use
Live mode has greater privacy and battery implications because it involves location access. The Play data-safety panel says the developer may share personal information, app activity, and other data types with third parties, may collect app information and performance data, encrypts data in transit, and supports deletion requests. These disclosures are developer-provided and can change; review the current listing and the developer’s privacy information before enabling tracking. This does not establish that Cartogram sells your location, nor does it justify calling the app privacy-first.
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Common problems and fixes
The map does not update
- Go to Settings → Apps → Cartogram → Permissions → Location and allow the access required by live mode.
- Open Cartogram’s battery-usage settings and remove restrictive optimization only if you accept potentially higher battery use.
- Reopen the app and reapply the live wallpaper.
- Test outdoors or where GPS reception is clear.
The wallpaper will not apply
- Retry from Cartogram, then use Android’s system wallpaper picker.
- Check whether the launcher supports live wallpapers.
- Apply to the home screen first, then the lock screen.
- Restart the launcher or phone if the preview is blank.
- Recreate the design if a saved configuration appears corrupted.
Individual Play reviews mention crashes, delayed updates, reset requirements, and difficulty assigning separate home and lock screens. Those are anecdotal reports, not independently verified universal defects.
Billing or premium controls fail
Version 10.0.0’s June 21, 2026 update notes say the app can still reach the map when Google Play billing is temporarily unavailable. Update Google Play Services and the Play Store, confirm you are signed in, and try again later. Availability can vary by country. For persistent problems, the listing gives [email protected] as support contact.
Colors or labels seem unchanged
Preview after each individual change, save a new configuration, and confirm that the selected style exposes the control. A user review specifically described road and label color controls as confusing; update to the current Play version before reporting a bug.
Is Cartogram still maintained?
The Play listing retrieved for this article was updated June 21, 2026 and labels the current release version 10.0.0. Its notes describe a rebuilt maps engine, smoother performance, stricter network security, tightened permissions, and a fix for launch failures when Google Play billing was unavailable. The listing reports more than 100,000 downloads and approximately 4.5 thousand reviews at that time; those figures can change.
Cartogram alternatives
| Option | Best for | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Muzei Live Wallpaper | Rotating artwork | Art-gallery rotation rather than location-generated maps. |
| Kustom Live Wallpaper Maker | Advanced themers | Much more powerful for custom scenes and widgets, but substantially harder to configure. |
| Backdrops | Curated design wallpaper | Original artwork catalog instead of a map editor. |
| Zedge | Maximum variety | Large wallpaper and ringtone catalog rather than focused map creation. |
| Google Wallpapers | Simple built-in choices | Low-friction curated wallpapers without Cartogram’s location workflow. |
Verdict: is Cartogram worth installing?
Install Cartogram if a specific place matters to you and you want a minimalist map rather than generic imagery. Start with a static design: it avoids continuous location access, is easier to troubleshoot, and lets you judge the editor before paying. Premium is most defensible when you specifically need live GPS movement, a larger style library, unlimited saved designs, custom colors, or day/night switching. Skip it if you need navigation, advanced map interaction, guaranteed screen-by-screen control, or a completely free experience.
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