what3words

Founded by Chris Sheldrick, Jack Waley-Cohen, Mohan Ganesalingam and Michael Dent, What3words was launched in July 2013.{{Cite news |last=Rundle|first=Michael|date=2 July 2013 |title='What3Words' Wants To Replace Postcodes With Words – For The Entire Globe |work=HuffingtonPost |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/02/what3words_n_3532121.html}} Sheldrick and Ganesalingam conceived the idea when Sheldrick, working as an event organizer, struggled to get bands and equipment to the appropriate loading docks and entrances of large music venues.{{Cite web |last=Jacobs |first=Frank |date=2016-01-25 |title=Find Any of Earth's 75 Trillion Places With Just 3 Words |url=https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/will-lincoln-finally-get-a-gettysburg-address/ |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Big Think |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Lanks |first=Belinda |date=11 October 2016 |title=This App Gives Even the Most Remote Spots on the Planet an Address |url=https://magenta.as/this-app-gives-even-the-most-remote-spots-on-the-planet-an-address-4f09f4bca94e |website=Magenta.as}} Sheldrick tried using GPS coordinates, but decided that words were better than numbers after transposing two digits led a driver to the wrong location. He credits a mathematician friend for the idea of dividing the world into {{Convert | 3 | m | sigfig = 1 | adj = on}} squares, and the linguist Jack Waley-Cohen with using memorable words. The company was incorporated in March 2013{{Cite web |title=What3words Limited - Overview (free company information from Companies House) |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08430008 |publisher=Companies House}} and a patent application for the core technology filed in April 2013. In November 2013, What3words raised US$500,000 of seed funding.{{Cite news |last=Avellana |first=Nicel Jane |title=Startup what3words gets USD 500,000 in seed round |work=Venture Capital Post |url=http://www.vcpost.com/articles/17534/20131106/startup-what3words-gets-usd-500-000-seed-round.htm |date=6 November 2013}}

What3words originally sold "OneWord" addresses, which were stored in a database for a yearly fee,{{Cite news |last=Lomas |first=Natasha |date=8 July 2013 |title=Location-Pinpointing Startup what3words Sells 10,000+ OneWord Map-Pins In First Week |work=TechCrunch |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/07/08/what3words/}} but this offering was discontinued{{Cite web |title=Why can't I buy my own words or change some of the words? |url=https://support.what3words.com/en/articles/2212826-why-can-t-i-buy-my-own-words-or-change-some-of-the-words |publisher=what3words}} as the company switched to a business-to-business model. In 2015, the company was targeting logistics companies, post offices, and couriers.

In January 2018, Mercedes-Benz bought approximately 10% of the company and announced support for What3words in future versions of their infotainment and navigation system.{{Cite news |last=Korosec |first=Kirsten |date=11 January 2018 |title=Why Daimler Invested in a Startup That Has Labeled the World With Unique Three-Word Addresses |work=Fortune |url=http://fortune.com/2018/01/11/daimler-mercedes-what3words/}}

In March 2021, it was announced that ITV plc had invested £2 million in What3words as the first investment in its media-for-equity scheme.{{Cite news |first=Stephen |last=Lepitak |date=25 March 2021 |title=British Broadcaster ITV Invests $2.7 Million in Location Finding Platform What3words |work=Adweek |url=https://www.adweek.com/media/itv-invests-2-million-what3words-location-finding-platform/}}

what3words has raised more than £50m from investors since launching.{{Cite web |first=Sam |last=Shead |date=15 January 2020 |title=A navigation startup pivots and grows, but profitability is still down the road |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/what3words-grows-to-100-employees-but-is-still-working-toward-profitability-2020-1 |work=Business Insider}} In 2024, what3words had a turnover of £2.2m and made a loss of £10.6m.[https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08430008/filing-history/MzQ2MzA1NDE0OWFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0 What3words Limited: Annual Report and Financial Statements For the Year Ended 31 December 2024]

The what3words system and app is free for anyone to use. The company states that its revenue comes from charging businesses that benefit from its products.{{cite web | title=How does what3words make money? | website=what3words Help Center | url=https://support.what3words.com/en/articles/3579829-how-does-what3words-make-money | access-date=27 August 2023}}

What3words divides the world into a grid of 57 trillion {{Convert | 3 x 3 | m | sigfig = 1 | adj = on}} squares, each of which has a three-word address. The company says they do their best to remove homophones and spelling variations;{{cite web |title=How do you take into account words that sound the same or can be spelled in different ways? |url=https://support.what3words.com/en/articles/3579824-how-do-you-take-into-account-words-that-sound-the-same-or-can-be-spelled-in-different-ways |website=What3words support |access-date=9 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809135136/https://support.what3words.com/en/articles/3579824-how-do-you-take-into-account-words-that-sound-the-same-or-can-be-spelled-in-different-ways |archive-date=9 August 2020 |url-status=live}} however, at least 32 pairs of English near-homophones still remain.

Wordlists are available in 50 languages,{{cite web |title=Celebrating 50 Languages |url=https://50-languages.what3words.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706165120/https://50-languages.what3words.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2022-07-06 }} each of which uses a list of 25,000 words (except for English, which uses 40,000 to cover sea as well as land).{{cite magazine|title=What3words changed how we map the world. And it didn't stop there |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/what3words-languages-translation-china-launch |last=Turk|first=Vicki|date=18 August 2018|access-date=5 October 2022|magazine=Wired}} Translations are not direct, as direct translations to some languages could produce more than three words. Rather, territories are localised "considering linguistic sensitivities and nuances".{{Cite news|title=Postcodes from the edge: how an upstart app is changing the world's addresses|url=https://www.ft.com/content/a272ae2e-d428-442c-aa3f-61472a900809|last=Lo Dico|first=Joy|date=6 February 2021|access-date=15 June 2021|work=Financial Times}} Densely populated areas have strings of short words to aid more frequent usage; while less populated areas, such as the North Atlantic, use more complex words.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/903615c4-71ac-11e5-9b9e-690fdae72044|title=What3Words: new tech that will find any location|date=20 October 2015|access-date=15 June 2021|website=Financial Times|last=Margolis|first=Johnathan}}

In a 2019 blog, open standards advocate and technology expert Terence Eden questioned the cultural neutrality of using words rather than the numbers generated by map coordinates. "Numbers are (mostly) culturally neutral." he said, "Words are not. Is mile.crazy.shade a respectful name for a war memorial? How about tribes.hurt.stumpy for a temple?"

What3words state that similar addresses are spaced as far apart as possible to avoid confusion,{{cite web |website=What3words support |title=How are the words assigned?

|url=https://support.what3words.com/en/articles/3577589-how-are-the-words-assigned |access-date=9 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809150343/https://support.what3words.com/en/articles/3577589-how-are-the-words-assigned |archive-date=9 August 2020 |url-status=live}} and that similarly sounding codes have a 1 in 2.5 million chance of pointing to locations near each other.

However, security researcher Andrew Tierney calculates that 75% of What3words addresses contain plural words that also exist in singular form (or the reverse).{{Cite magazine |last1=Tierney|first1=Andrew|date=29 April 2021 |title=Why What3Words is not suitable for safety critical applications |url=https://www.mountain.rescue.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/MRMagJuly2021Web.pdf#page=16 |page=30 |magazine=Mountain Rescue |issn=1756-8749 |issue=Summer 2021}} ([https://cybergibbons.com/security-2/why-what3words-is-not-suitable-for-safety-critical-applications/ blog mirror]) Co-founder and CEO Sheldrick responded that "Whilst the overwhelming proportion of similar-sounding three-word combinations will be so far apart that an error is obvious, there will still be cases where similar sounding word combinations are nearby."{{Cite news|title=App used by emergency services under scrutiny|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56901363|last=Wakefield|first=Jane|date=29 April 2021|access-date=16 June 2021|work=BBC News}} Further analysis by Tierney shows that in the London area, around 1 in 24 addresses will be confusable with another London address.{{Cite news |last=Tierney |first=Andrew |date=20 September 2021 |title=What3Words The Algorithm |language=en-GB |url=https://cybergibbons.com/security-2/what3words-the-algorithm/#Impact |access-date=20 September 2021}}

In September 2022, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport used What3words to direct mourners to the end of the queue to view the Queen lying in state in London. Of the first five codes published, four led to the wrong place, including a suburb of London some 15 miles from the real end of the queue.{{Cite web |last=Stokel-Walker |first=Chris |date=14 September 2022 |title=UK Government Sends Mourners to North Carolina to Queue for the Queen |url=https://gizmodo.com/queen-elizabeth-ii-westminster-queue-line-what3words-uk-1849536290 |access-date=19 September 2022 |website=Gizmodo |language=en-us}} Officials later moved to an automated system to generate the identifiers, as they realised having people involved in the process resulted in typos.{{Cite news |last=Turner |first=Camilla |date=14 September 2022 |title=Mourners sent to back of the queue (in California) as tracking system suffers early blips |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/09/14/mourners-sent-back-queue-california-tracking-system-suffers/ |access-date=19 September 2022 |issn=0307-1235}}

A paper published in 2023{{cite journal

|last1=Arthur

|first1=Rudy

|date=25 October 2023

|title=A critical analysis of the What3Words geocoding algorithm

|journal=PLOS ONE

|language=en

|volume=18

|issue=10

|pages=e0292491

|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0292491

|doi-access=free

|issn=1932-6203

|pmid=37878572

|pmc=10599581

|arxiv=2308.16025

|bibcode=2023PLoSO..1892491A

}} investigated the patented algorithm without using What3words's own wordlist. It found that using linear congruence for address assignment does a poor job of randomising the wordlist. It also noted that the AutoSuggest feature did not return sufficient results to disambiguate an address. It concluded that "W3W should not be adopted as critical infrastructure without a thorough evaluation against a number of competing alternatives".

According to Rory Sutherland from the advertising agency Ogilvy in a 2014 op-ed piece for The Spectator, the system's advantages are memorability, accuracy, and non-ambiguity in speech.{{Cite web |first=Rory |last=Sutherland |date=25 October 2014 |title=The best navigation idea I've seen since the Tube map |url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/life/the-wiki-man/9348462/the-best-navigation-idea-ive-seen-since-the-tube-map/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150105204116/http://www.spectator.co.uk/life/the-wiki-man/9348462/the-best-navigation-idea-ive-seen-since-the-tube-map/ |archive-date=5 January 2015 |website=The Spectator}}

Mountain rescue services in the UK have warned against relying on the app:

• In December 2019, the Lake District Search & Mountain Rescue Association noted that "mishearing or misspelling words tended to cause problems" and warned hikers not to rely on it.{{cite news|last=Humphries|first=Will|date=26 December 2019|title=Don't rely on location app What3words, say rescuers|work=The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/technology/article/dont-rely-on-location-app-what3words-say-rescuers-2dbzr8h26|access-date=20 September 2022}}
• In June 2021, Mountain Rescue England and Wales raised concerns about the credibility of reported What3words coordinates, following incorrect information being given about 45 locations over 12 months. Spelling issues and local accents were reported as being part of the problem.{{cite news|last=Wakefield|first=Jane|date=1 June 2021|title=Rescuers question what3words' use in emergencies|work=BBC|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-57156797}}
• In December 2023, mountain rescue teams from Wiltshire and the Durham Dales warned that the app led them to locations 8 km and 10 km away from the correct spots.{{cite news|last=Dalton|first=Sarah|date=9 December 2023|title=Search and rescue warn about dangers of What3words app after incident|work=Swindon Advertiser|url=https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/23966207.search-rescue-warn-dangers-what3words-app-incident/|access-date=23 July 2024}}

Since 2019, What3words has seen adoption by police, fire and ambulance services, who can use it for free and participate in media campaigns provided by What3Words{{cite web |title=What3words July 2022 - social media plan |url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/887221/response/2120004/attach/html/5/FOI%2014676%20What3Words%20Data.pdf.html |website=WhatDoTheyKnow |date=16 August 2022 |publisher=Staffordshire Police |access-date=2023-06-03}} to promote the app.{{cite web |title=Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership asks public to use What3Words app when calling emergency services |url=https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/news/warwickshire/news/2022/november/warwickshire-road-safety-partnership-asks-public-to-use-what3words-app-when-calling-emergency-services/ |publisher=Warwickshire Police |access-date=25 April 2023}}{{cite web |title=Haldimand County Emergency Services joins national week of action to help 9-1-1 callers #KnowExactlyWhere in an emergency with what3words app |date=3 October 2022 |url=https://www.haldimandcounty.ca/haldimand-county-emergency-services-joins-national-week-of-action-to-help-9-1-1-callers-knowexactlywhere-in-an-emergency-with-what3words-app/ |publisher=Haldimand County |access-date=25 April 2023}}{{cite web |title=Download what3words |url=https://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/police-forces/nottinghamshire-police/areas/campaigns/campaigns/download-what3words/ |publisher=Nottinghamshire Police |access-date=2023-04-25}} By September 2021, more than 85 percent of British emergency services teams used What3words, including the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Brigade.{{cite news |last1=Moules |first1=Jonathan |title=Chris Sheldrick of What3words: lessons from scaling a start-up |url=https://www.ft.com/content/2b8f08c6-8c61-4630-996b-79b486b25cb3 |work=Financial Times |date=26 September 2021}} Support has also been added to the Australian Government's Triple Zero Emergency Plus App.{{Cite news|title=Triple Zero |work=Australian Government|publisher= Australian Government|url= https://www.triplezero.gov.au/triple-zero/smartphone-applications}}

• In September 2019, the Scottish Ambulance Service used the app to share the location of an injured hillwalker with the coastguard.{{Cite news |date=28 September 2019 |title='Life-saving' app used in Western Isles hillwalker rescue |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-49856740}}
• In February 2020, Ambulance Tasmania sent a link to locate an injured bushwalker.{{Cite news |last=Power |first=Julie |date=18 May 2020 |title=Three random words saved Cornelia on a cold wet day of bushwalking |work=Sydney Morning Herald |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/three-random-words-saved-cornelia-on-a-cold-wet-day-of-bushwalking-20200515-p54sxa.html}}
• In October 2020, the Singapore Police Force asked two lost 14-year-old boys to download and use the app.{{Cite news |last=Yap |first=Gracia |date=1 November 2020 |title= Boys, 14, got lost in MacRitchie forest trying to find a shrine |work=The Straits Times |url=https://tnp.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/boys-14-got-lost-macritchie-forest-trying-find-shrine}}
• In July 2022, Baldwin County, Alabama dispatchers used the app to pinpoint a capsized kayaker, with responders saying that they "were within 50 yards and couldn't see him because of the conditions in the water".{{Cite web |last=Pippin |first=Cory |date=20 July 2022 |title=Kayaker floating in Mobile Bay rescued thanks to Baldwin Co. 9-1-1 GPS technology |url=https://mynbc15.com/news/local/kayaker-floating-in-mobile-bay-rescued-thanks-to-baldwin-co-9-1-1-gps-technology |access-date=29 September 2022 |website=WPMI |language=en}}
• In August 2022, Tröstau Fire Brigade used the app to communicate a location to the Wunsiedel mountain rescue service.{{Cite web |title=Bei Tröstau: Helfer üben gemeinsam - Frankenpost |url=https://www.frankenpost.de/inhalt.bei-troestau-helfer-ueben-gemeinsam.8be4b260-9d45-49b3-8659-bdac823ce927.html |access-date=29 September 2022 |website=www.frankenpost.de |language=de}}
• In September 2022, Halton emergency services in Canada located an injured climber using the app.{{Cite web |last=Cilliers |first=Roland |url=https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/10687650-milton-rock-climbing-incident-leaves-woman-with-serious-injuries/ |title=Milton rock climbing incident leaves woman with serious injuries |date=5 August 2022 |access-date=29 September 2022 |website=www.insidehalton.com}}

In August 2022, East of England Ambulance Service took "nearly 10 minutes" to identify a cycle path after being given a What3words address. When approached by Cambridge News, the Ambulance Service continued to recommend the app, and did not respond to a query about why they were unable to quickly pinpoint the precise location using the system.{{cite news|last=Atta|first=Fareid|date=13 August 2022|title=Concern Cambridge's ambulance service 'struggles to find cycle path casualties'|work=Cambridge News|url=https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/cambridge-local-says-ambulance-trouble-24713552|access-date=23 July 2024}}

The What3words system has been criticised for being controlled by a private business, and the software for being patented and not freely usable.{{Cite news |last=Wakefield |first=Jane |date=21 September 2019 |title=What3words: 'Life-saving app' divides opinion |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-49754820}}

The company has pursued a policy of issuing copyright claims against individuals and organisations that have hosted or published files of the What3words algorithm or reverse-engineered code that replicates the service's functionality, such as the free and open source implementation WhatFreeWords; the whatfreewords.org website was taken down following a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) take-down notice issued by What3words.{{Cite letter|author=Writer authorised to act on behalf of what3words Ltd|date=5 July 2016 |subject=Urgent DMCA takedown notice|url=https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2016/2016-07-05-what3words.md |recipient=GitHub staff}} This policy has extended to removing comments on social media which refer to unauthorised versions. In late April 2021, a security researcher who had offered on Twitter to share WhatFreeWords software was contacted by What3Words's law firm, requiring him to delete the tweets and the software, and implying that legal action might follow non-compliance.{{Cite news |last=Whittaker |first=Zack |date=30 April 2021 |title=What3Words sends legal threat to a security researcher for sharing an open-source alternative |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/30/what3words-legal-threat-whatfreewords/}}

The site has been parodied by others who have created services including What3Emojis{{Cite web |title=what3emojis |url=https://what3emojis.com/ |website=what3emojis.com}} using emojis, What3Birds{{Cite web |title=Location Encoding Systems |url=https://checkmypostcode.uk/page/location-codes/ |website=checkmypostcode.uk |quote=What3Birds...is a parody of the commercial What3Words system, which isn't suitable for this website as it doesn't have a published, open source algorithm. It does, though, work - every postcode on this website has a unique, three bird code. The list of birds was taken (in simplified form) from the British Ornithologists' Union's official list of birds recorded in Britain.}} using British birds, What3fucks{{Cite web |title=what3fucks |url=http://www.what3fucks.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205132154/http://www.what3fucks.com/ |archive-date=5 December 2019}} using swear words, Four King Maps{{Cite web|title=Four King Maps|url=https://www.fourkingmaps.co.uk/}}{{Cite news|last=Corfield|first=Gareth|date=14 August 2021|title=Tired: What3Words. Wired: A clone location-tracking service based on FOUR words – and they are all extremely rude|url=https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/14/sweary_four_word_map/|work=The Register|location=London|access-date=24 December 2021}} also using swear words (covering only the British Isles), and What3Numbers{{Cite web |title=what3numbers |url=https://hfu.github.io/what3numbers/ |website=Github.io}} using OpenStreetMap tile identifiers.

In 2020, a new alternative algorithm, the WhatFreeWords,{{Cite web |title=WhatFreeWords |url=https://github.com/pballett/whatfreewords |website=Javascript GIT repository}} was launched, which uses non-patent Feistel network software, based on a pseudorandom function.

• Grand Prix for Innovation at the 2015 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity{{Cite web |last=Diaz |first=Ann-Christine |date=26 June 2015 |title=What3Words Innovation Grand Prix Cannes – Special: Cannes Lions – Advertising Age |url=http://adage.com/article/special-report-cannes-lions/what3words-innovation-grand-prix-cannes/299245/ |website=adage.com}}
• The Tech Awards 2015 Sobrato Organization Economic Development Award{{Cite news |last=Avalos |first=George |date=12 November 2015 |title=San Jose: Tech awards honor an array of laureates |work=Mercury News |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_29110330/tech-awards-honor-an-array-laureates}}

• {{annotated link|Geocode}}
• {{annotated link|Geohash}}
• {{annotated link|Mapcode}}
• {{annotated link|Maidenhead Locator System}}
• {{annotated link|Open Location Code}}
• {{annotated link|Advanced Mobile Location}}
• {{annotated link|Geographic coordinate system}}
• {{annotated link|Projected coordinate system}}
• {{annotated link|Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Geocoding-systems}}

Category:Geocodes

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