MapSolver — Privacy Policy

Effective date: 4 Aug 2026

1. Overview

MapSolver is a geography guessing game developed by Edward John Welch (“we”, “us”, or “our”). This Privacy Policy explains what information is and is not collected when you use the app, and how any such information is handled.

We have designed this app with privacy in mind. We do not collect or store personal information about you. This policy explains the limited technical data that is transmitted to third-party services when you use the app, and how it is handled.

2. Information We Do Not Collect

We do not collect any of the following:

Personal identity information (name, email address, phone number, date of birth)
Account credentials — the app has no user accounts or login
Location data — your device’s GPS or location services are never accessed
Advertising identifiers (IDFA or similar)
Camera, microphone, contacts, or photo library data

3. Data Stored Locally on Your Device

The app stores a small amount of data in your device’s local storage (Apple UserDefaults) to remember your preferences and progress between sessions. This data never leaves your device and is not accessible to us. It includes:

Game settings — chosen country, state, region, difficulty, game mode, language, and map style
High scores — keyed by region, game mode, and difficulty
In-progress game state — current round, score, and towns already used in a session

You can remove all locally stored data by uninstalling the app from your device.

4. In-App Purchase and Apple

MapSolver offers optional in-app purchases to tip the developer. All payment processing is handled entirely by Apple via StoreKit. We do not receive or store your payment details, Apple ID, or any other personal data related to your purchase. Apple’s handling of this data is governed by their own Privacy Policy, available at https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/.

No personal information is transmitted to us as part of any purchase.

5. Map Tiles and OpenFreeMap

The app displays interactive maps using MapLibre with map tiles served by OpenFreeMap (tiles.openfreemap.org). When the map loads, your device makes standard HTTP requests to OpenFreeMap’s servers to download tile images, fonts, and sprites. As with all internet requests, your IP address is transmitted to those servers as part of this process.

We have no visibility into or control over what OpenFreeMap logs or retains. Please refer to OpenFreeMap’s privacy information at https://openfreemap.org for details.

Importantly: the app does not send OpenFreeMap (or any other party) information about which towns you are guessing, your scores, or any other gameplay data.

6. Crash Reporting — Firebase Crashlytics

The app uses Firebase Crashlytics, a crash reporting service provided by Google, to help us identify and fix technical issues. If the app crashes, Crashlytics automatically sends a crash report to Google’s servers.

The information collected in a crash report includes:

Device model and iOS version
App version number
The state of the app at the time of the crash (stack traces and thread information)
A randomly generated installation UUID that identifies the app install, not you personally
Your device’s IP address, transmitted as part of the standard network request

Crashlytics does not collect your name, email address, location, or advertising identifiers (IDFA).

To calculate crash-free user and session metrics, Crashlytics works in conjunction with Google Analytics for Firebase (see section 7 below), which provides session data.

Crash report data is processed by Google in accordance with their Privacy Policy and Google’s Firebase Data Processing Terms. We use this data solely to diagnose and fix bugs and do not share it with any other third parties.

7. Usage Analytics — Google Analytics for Firebase

The app includes the Google Analytics for Firebase SDK, which automatically collects certain usage and behaviour data and sends it to Google’s servers. We have not added any custom event tracking — the data collected is limited to what Firebase gathers automatically.

This automatic data collection includes:

App opens and session starts/ends
Screen views (which screens within the app are visited)
In-app purchase events
Device information — model, operating system version, language, and country
App version number
An app-instance identifier — a randomly generated ID that identifies this installation of the app on your device. This is reset if you uninstall and reinstall the app.
An Identifier for Vendor (IDfV) — a device-level identifier shared across all apps from the same developer on your device. This is not an advertising identifier and cannot be used to track you across other developers’ apps.

We do not collect IDFA (the advertising identifier), and we have not linked our Firebase project to any advertising or remarketing services. Analytics data is used solely to understand how the app is used and to improve it.

Google Analytics for Firebase data is processed by Google in accordance with their Privacy Policy.

8. International Data Transfers

Both Firebase Crashlytics and Google Analytics for Firebase transmit data to Google’s servers, which may be located in a country other than your own country of residence. By using the app, you acknowledge that your data (limited to the technical diagnostic and usage information described in sections 6 and 7) may be transferred to and processed in countries whose data protection laws may differ from those in your own country of residence.

Google LLC relies on recognised legal safeguards for these international transfers, including the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (together with its UK and Swiss extensions, where applicable) and Standard Contractual Clauses, and processes data in accordance with the data protection laws applicable to you.

9. Children’s Privacy

MapSolver is suitable for all ages. The technical data collected automatically by Firebase Crashlytics and Google Analytics for Firebase (described in sections 6 and 7) is collected from all users regardless of age. We do not collect any additional personal information from children under the age of 13 (or the equivalent minimum age under applicable local law) or indeed from any user of any age.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected by a new effective date at the top of this document. Significant changes will also be noted in the App Store release notes. Continued use of the app after any update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Edward John Welch
Email: travelnerdgames@icloud.com