Our global initiative 

PayFoneMap was born out of a simple idea — to preserve a part of communication history that was quietly fading away. Launched in September 2023, our mission began with one goal: to map out the remaining payphones across Canada before they disappeared completely. 

What started as a small passion project quickly grew into something much more meaningful. For many of us, payphones represent more than just old technology — they’re symbols of connection, community, and moments in time. They were there when cell phones weren’t, when we needed to make that call home, or when we just needed to hear a familiar voice. We noticed that no one was really keeping track of these last surviving phones — and we wanted to change that. PayFoneMap became our way to document and celebrate them, turning scattered memories into a living map. From bustling downtown streets to quiet rural towns, every marker tells a story — not just of a machine, but of the people who once used it.

By July 24, 2025, after almost two years of building and growing our community, we announced something we’d been dreaming of for a while: our plans to expand beyond Canada. The support and enthusiasm from contributors across the country made it clear that this project had become something larger — a shared effort to capture a piece of global history. Just a few weeks later, on August 14, 2025, we officially launched our first international map. It marked a new chapter for PayFoneMap — one that connected stories and locations from around the world. Seeing those first pins appear outside Canada was a powerful reminder of how universal the payphone once was, and how deeply it touched people’s lives everywhere. 

Today, PayFoneMap continues to grow thanks to the dedication of a passionate community — people who understand that these phones, though often overlooked, carry real meaning. Our project remains completely independent and community-driven, with no corporate sponsors or advertising. It’s built purely out of a love for history, exploration, and connection.

For us, this isn’t just about documenting payphones — it’s about preserving the human stories attached to them. Each photo, each update, and each discovery keeps alive a piece of the past that deserves to be remembered.

PayFoneMap is, at its heart, a map of memories. And we’re honoured to be the ones helping to keep those connections alive, one payphone at a time.