MapBun Privacy policy
Last updated:
MapBun (mapbun.com) is run by Camillo (“we”). This page explains what we collect when you use the site, why, how long we keep it and the choices you have. In short: you can make maps without an account, we do not sell your data, and analytics cookies are used only if you accept them.
Using MapBun without an account
You can colour and download maps, explore the 3D planet, take quizzes and print worksheets without signing up. Unsaved work is kept as a draft in your own browser (local storage) and never reaches our server.
CSV and Excel files you open are read inside your browser and are not uploaded. If you load a Google Sheet by its link, our server fetches the sheet for you to read it and does not keep a copy.
Your account
When you sign up we store your email address, username and password (only as a secure hash), plus your optional profile bio, the date you joined and when you last logged in. We also store what you create: saved maps with their titles, descriptions, tags, thumbnails and earlier versions, palettes, saved legends, likes and comments.
Maps you make public, published palettes and comments are visible to everyone together with your username. Private maps are visible only to you, apart from our administrators when they handle a report or a technical problem.
Security, abuse and emails
To stop password guessing and abuse, we record login attempts (with the IP address and email used) and Google Sheet requests (with the IP address) for up to one day. If you report a map, we store the report with your IP address until it has been handled. Our hosting keeps short-lived technical logs (IP address, browser and pages requested) for security and troubleshooting.
We only email you for password resets. Reset links expire after one hour.
Cookies and local storage
We use as few cookies as we can. Necessary cookies are always on because the site cannot work safely without them; analytics cookies are set only after you accept them.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Kept for |
|---|---|---|---|
| mapbun_sid | Necessary | Keeps you logged in and protects forms against forgery. | Until you close the browser or log out |
| mapbun_consent | Necessary | Remembers whether you accepted analytics cookies. | 6 months |
| _ga, _ga_* | Analytics (only with consent) | Google Analytics: tells visits apart so we can count visitors and see which features they use. | 2 years |
Local storage in your browser (not sent to us) holds your map drafts, your best quiz scores, whether you have seen the editor tutorial, legends you saved without an account and a map you are moving between the flat editor and the 3D planet. Clearing your browser data removes them.
Google Analytics
If you accept analytics cookies, we use Google Analytics 4 (Google Ireland Limited / Google LLC) to understand how MapBun is used: the pages you visit, the features you use (for example downloading a map, saving it or finishing a quiz), how you arrived, your device and browser type, and your approximate location (country and city, worked out from your IP address).
Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses. We have turned off Google signals and ad personalisation, we never send your name, email or the contents of your maps, and we strip secret links (such as password resets) from page addresses. Analytics data is deleted after 14 months.
Google may process this data in the United States; such transfers are covered by the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses. You can withdraw consent at any time with “Cookie settings” at the bottom of every page, which also deletes the analytics cookies. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we treat it as a “no” to analytics. Google explains its own use of data at policies.google.com.
Who else handles data
We do not sell or rent personal data, and we do not share it for advertising. We use a few service providers who process data on our behalf: our hosting provider (servers and database), Cloudflare (which delivers the site and protects it from attacks, and so sees IP addresses and requests), our email provider (password-reset emails) and, only with your consent, Google Analytics. We may disclose data if the law requires it.
Legal bases
Under the GDPR and UK GDPR we process account data to provide the service you signed up for (contract), security and abuse records for our legitimate interest in keeping MapBun safe, and analytics only with your consent.
How long we keep data
Account data is kept until you delete your account. Deleting it on your account page permanently removes your profile, saved maps and their versions, likes, comments and saved legends; palettes you published stay on the site without your name. Login and request records are kept for one day, reports until they are handled, and analytics data for 14 months.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you can ask to see, correct, export or delete your personal data, object to or restrict how we use it, and withdraw consent at any time. You can download any map as a file from the editor and delete your account yourself. You can also complain to your data protection authority. Residents of California and other US states: we do not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.
Children
MapBun is used in classrooms. Pupils can use the editor, quizzes and worksheets without an account. Accounts are for people aged 13 or over, or the minimum age for consent where they live (up to 16 in some European countries). If you think a child has given us personal data without permission, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes
If we change this policy we will update it here and change the date at the top. Significant changes to analytics will ask for your consent again.
Contact
For privacy questions or requests, email [email protected]. We answer within 30 days.