Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Gift a Map (giftamap.com) is made by Hypermaps. For privacy questions or requests, write to hey@hypermaps.world.

2. Information we collect

Your account

If you sign in with Google, we receive and store your Google account identifier, email address, first and last name, and profile picture. We never see your Google password.

The maps you make

A map holds what you put in it: the name of the person it is for, the city, the places you chose, your tips, drawings, stickers, the look, your note and the name you sign it with. Before you sign in, it is kept only in your browser. When you sign in, it moves into your account so you can finish it on any device.

Sending and opening a gift

Wrapping a map creates a private link. The first person to open it with a Google account becomes its recipient: we record their account, when they opened it, the places they mark as been there and any thank-you they send. The sender sees whether the gift has been opened and any thank-you.

Payments

Making and sending a map is free. If you choose a paid extra, you pay on a checkout run by Revolut. Your card details go straight to Revolut; we never see or store your full card number. From Revolut we receive and keep the order reference, amount, currency, payment status and time, linked to the gift it paid for. Revolut also processes your payment details, and data it needs to prevent fraud, under its own privacy notice.

Searches

What you type into place and city search is sent to our servers to find matching places. If you ask for suggestions, the description you write is sent to Anthropic, whose AI finds places that fit it; we do not let Anthropic train on it. We keep a short record of how often each account or connection searches so that we can apply fair-use limits.

Cookies and browser storage

Signing in sets an encrypted cookie that keeps you signed in, plus short-lived cookies that protect the sign-in itself. Maps made before signing in are saved in your browser’s storage. We set no advertising or analytics cookies. Revolut’s checkout may set its own cookies to process and protect your payment.

Technical information

Our hosting provider processes standard request data such as IP address, browser or device details, requested pages and timestamps to deliver, protect and troubleshoot the service.

Maps and fonts

Showing a map sends technical request data, such as your IP address, to the map tile providers OpenFreeMap and Stadia Maps. Fonts load from Google Fonts. Map data comes from OpenStreetMap.

3. How we use information

• to create your account and keep you signed in;
• to save your maps and deliver each gift to the person it is for;
• to take payment for extras, confirm it and unlock what you paid for;
• to handle refunds and disputes, and keep the records that tax and accounting law require;
• to prevent fraud and abuse, and to secure and troubleshoot the service;
• to respond to your requests; and
• to comply with law.

We rely on our contract with you to make, send and charge for gifts, on legal obligations for payment records, and on our legitimate interests in keeping the service safe and working.

4. When information is shared

The person you send a gift to sees the map, your tips, your note and the name you signed it with. We use service providers to run Gift a Map: Cloudflare for hosting and our database, Google for signing in and for fonts, Revolut for payments, Anthropic for suggestions, OpenFreeMap and Stadia Maps for map tiles, and OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim for finding cities. They process information for us, or when your browser requests their services.

We may also disclose information when legally required, to protect rights and safety, or as part of a business transaction. We do not sell personal information or use it for advertising.

5. Retention and security

We keep your account and your maps until you delete them or ask us to. Deleting your account deletes the maps you made, including ones you have sent. Payment records are kept for as long as tax and accounting law requires, which is usually six years, even after the account is gone. Search records are kept only as long as the fair-use limits need them. Provider logs follow each provider’s own retention settings.

We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards, but no online service can promise absolute security.

6. International processing

Our providers may process information in countries other than yours. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards for international transfers.

7. Your choices and rights

Depending on where you live, you may ask to access, correct, delete, restrict or export your personal information, or object to certain processing. You can ask us to delete your account at any time, and you can complain to your local data-protection authority.

8. Children and changes

Gift a Map is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. We may update this policy as the service changes; the effective date above shows the latest version.