Playground Atlas Privacy Policy

Effective date: 2026-10-10

Publisher: Nicholas Alan Vandervelden

Information and permissions

Playground Atlas can be used without an account and does not keep location history or use analytics. Near Me asks for foreground location only after you choose it. The app uses that location to recenter the map; it does not send your raw device coordinate as a separate GPS field.

Detailed map tiles and separate USDA NAIP aerial-context previews are served directly from USGS The National Map using coordinates for the visible tile or public-park area. Requests also expose ordinary network information such as your IP address, browser or operating-system details, and request time. If you center the map with Near Me, map requests can reveal an approximate area around you. Aerial-context previews are shown only where the imagery source is verified for the contiguous United States; capture years vary.

The raw OpenStreetMap layer is enabled by default and can be switched off in Map Layers. When enabled, the app sends visible map bounds rounded to six decimal places and the selected source-feature category to the read-only Playground Atlas API in Microsoft Azure's West US 2 region. Dense views are split into bounded requests of up to 500 geometries each; broad national views can request up to 2,000 grouped count cells. When you open an individual raw source record, the app also sends that record's public source ID and feature ID to retrieve details. Those public identifiers can indicate which source record you opened. The app does not send saved parks, private notes, typed search text, or a separate raw GPS coordinate to the API. Azure's hosting path can see ordinary network metadata such as the connecting IP address and user-agent. The app and Nginx do not log these requests, but Azure platform processing and retention of standard operational metadata are governed by Microsoft's policies; the publisher has not established a fixed retention period.

The App Store privacy details declare Coarse Location and Other Data for app functionality, linked to the user and not used for tracking. No ads or cross-app tracking are used.

Local saved places and notes

Your saved playgrounds, comparison lists, and private notes remain in local device storage. They are not synchronized to external servers. You can export your saved places using native iOS sharing or delete them in the app. Local data is removed when you delete the app.

Services and external links

USGS says its system logs record IP address, browser or operating-system information, access time, and requested pages or information for internal site management. Its published privacy notice does not specify a log-retention period: USGS Privacy Policies. The USGS map service receives map-area coordinates for detailed tiles and USDA NAIP aerial-context previews. USGS identifies conterminous-U.S. NAIP orthoimagery as public-domain imagery; the official service describes the source and its coverage. OpenStreetMap source observations are provided under ODbL-1.0 with attribution in the app. They are separate from the curated set of 426 San Diego destinations and are not verified amenity, access, safety, or accessibility claims. Other park-source and directions links open outside the app in Safari or Maps. Service requests use HTTPS without cookies or credentials.

Map tiles and imagery

The map background is drawn on your device from vector map tiles served by OpenFreeMap (openfreemap.org, host tiles.openfreemap.org), which delivers OpenStreetMap-based map data, fonts and icons through the Cloudflare content network. To draw the map the app requests the tiles for the area on screen, so OpenFreeMap and Cloudflare can see the tile coordinates and zoom level requested, your device's IP address, your device and app user agent, and the time of the request. The app sends no cookies, account details, saved parks, notes, typed searches or raw GPS coordinates to them. If you use Near Me, the tiles requested while the map is centred on you can reveal an approximate area. The optional Aerial layer requests imagery tiles for the visible area from the U.S. Geological Survey (basemap.nationalmap.gov and imagery.nationalmap.gov) in the same way. A built-in San Diego map is drawn without any request when you are offline. We do not control how long these services keep their logs; their own privacy policies apply. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, © OpenMapTiles, OpenFreeMap, Natural Earth.

Park photos, descriptions and reference links

Some nationwide park records show a photograph hosted by Wikimedia Commons (upload.wikimedia.org) and a short description drawn from Wikipedia. When you open a park, the app asks Wikimedia's servers for that park's photo, so Wikimedia can see your device's IP address, your device and app user agent, and which photo was requested, which implies the park you opened. The app sends no separate location, account, saved-park, note or search information to Wikimedia, and Wikimedia's own privacy policy governs what it keeps. Photo credits and licenses are shown beside each photo.

Park pages can link out to Wikipedia, Wikidata, OpenStreetMap and Apple Maps (for directions), and to a park's own website where one is listed. Those links open in your browser or in Apple Maps and are subject to the privacy policies of those services. The app does not open them unless you tap a link.

Apple Maps satellite and Look Around views

In the iOS app, a park's card and some list rows can show a satellite image and, where Apple provides it, a street-level Look Around preview. These images are drawn on your device by Apple's MapKit framework. To draw them, Apple receives the map area around the park you are viewing (and the usual connection details such as your IP address), under Apple's privacy policy. The app sends Apple no account, saved-park, note, search or separate location information. Images are requested only for the park you open and for list rows on screen, are kept briefly in a small on-device cache that iOS can clear, and are marked with Apple Maps attribution and a Legal link.

Retention and choices

Saved places, comparisons, and private notes stay on your device until you delete them or remove the app. The Playground Atlas API does not store request URLs or client IPs in application access logs; Nginx access logging is disabled. The publisher has not established a fixed retention period for Azure platform metadata or USGS logs.

Contact

Privacy questions or requests: nickvan23@gmail.com.

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