Privacy Policy

1. Core Privacy Philosophy

MapofCities operates on a local-first, account-free architecture. You are never required to register, create a username, or provide personal contact details simply to browse city poster maps, compare cartographic styles, or design custom posters in our Studio editor.

2. Information Processed Locally on Your Device

When you use the MapofCities Studio editor, all composition adjustments—including selected city coordinates, zoom levels, colorway themes, custom markers, A-to-B route paths, and framing mat dimensions—are processed entirely on client-side WebGL hardware and saved to:

• Browser LocalStorage: Cached layout preferences so your workspace persists across browser sessions.
• URL Query Parameters: Shareable state strings enabling you to bookmark or send your custom map configuration to friends.

We do not transmit, store, or archive your custom poster designs or private locations on our remote web servers.

3. Third-Party Map Data & Vector Tile Servers

To render high-performance interactive maps, MapofCities utilizes MapLibre GL JS. Cartographic street vectors and tiles are provided by OpenFreeMap, derived from OpenStreetMap contributor data.

When map tiles are loaded into your browser viewport, HTTP requests are dispatched directly to tile server CDNs. These requests naturally transmit standard network telemetry (such as your IP address and User-Agent header) necessary to deliver tile assets. OpenFreeMap operates a privacy-focused public infrastructure with no user registration, no tracking databases, and no tracking cookies.

4. Analytics & Performance Measurement

To monitor server health, page rendering speeds, and popular global destinations, we implement aggregated, privacy-conscious performance tools:

• Google Analytics (gtag.js): Measures anonymized metrics including page views, referrer domains, and device screen dimensions to optimize responsive layouts.
• Microsoft Clarity: Analyzes aggregated heatmaps and navigation flows to identify broken UI controls and layout bugs.

These tools do not collect passwords, payment information, or identifiable personal records. You can prevent analytics tracking by utilizing browser privacy extensions or enabling the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal.

5. Advertising & Third-Party Cookies

We may partner with third-party advertising networks, such as Google AdSense, to help support server hosting and map tile bandwidth. These third parties may use cookies and web beacons to serve advertisements based on prior visits to this website or other websites across the Internet.

You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings or through the Network Advertising Initiative at optout.networkadvertising.org.

6. Data Retention & User Rights (GDPR & CCPA/CPRA)

Under global data protection laws (including the European General Data Protection Regulation and California Consumer Privacy Act), you retain fundamental rights regarding your digital footprint:

• Right to Know & Access: You may verify what categories of information are processed.
• Right to Deletion: You can completely erase your Studio maps and cached presets at any time by clearing your browser's local storage and cookies.
• Non-Discrimination: We do not restrict access, throttle downloads, or charge different prices based on your privacy choices.
• Do Not Sell My Personal Information: We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data.

7. Children's Online Privacy Protection

MapofCities is an open educational and artistic cartography utility. We do not knowingly solicit or collect personal information from children under the age of 13 (or under 16 in the European Union).

8. Security Safeguards

All traffic between your browser and our servers is secured using modern Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.3 / HTTPS encryption). We enforce strict HTTP headers to protect against clickjacking, cross-site scripting, and unauthorized injection.

9. Contact & Inquiries

For any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, data privacy practices, or data subject requests, please contact our administrative team: