Effective date: 25 October 2026 · Version 2
The short version
- You can use MyMapcodes without an account and without telling us who you are. Mapcodes are worked out in your own browser.
- We only use your location when you ask a tool to, and your browser asks your permission first.
- We never sell your personal information and we don’t show advertising.
- We count how the site is used: with our own anonymous statistics (no cookies) and with Google Analytics.
- If you send us something (a problem report, a message, a mapcode by email), we use it only for that purpose and delete it on a fixed schedule.
- You can ask what we hold about you, and ask us to correct or delete it. Contact details are in section 13.
1. Who we are
MyMapcodes.com (“MyMapcodes”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is a website for finding, sharing and navigating to places using mapcodes. It is run by Leon Schnell, a sole proprietor trading as MyMapcodes.com, based in South Africa.
For the personal information described in this policy, we are the “responsible party” under South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and the “controller” under the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Our Information Officer is Leon Schnell, registered with the Information Regulator under registration number 2026-070181.
- Email: leon@mymapcodes.com
- Contact form: https://www.mymapcodes.com/contact/
- Address: 296 Pendoring Road, Blackheath, Johannesburg, 2195, South Africa
2. What this policy covers
This policy covers www.mymapcodes.com and all its pages and tools (including shared mapcode links such as /go/ and the Off-road Navigator), the free Excel converter file we offer, and emails we send. Links to other services, such as Google Maps, Waze, WhatsApp or our payment provider, take you to services with their own privacy policies.
3. What we collect, why, and for how long
We collect as little as possible. Most of what the site does happens in your own browser. The table below lists everything we collect, by feature.
Typing or converting a mapcode, choosing your region
- What we collect: Nothing is sent to us. Your region and settings are saved in your own browser (section 4). Anonymous counts only (see “Usage statistics”).
- Why: To make the tools work and remember your settings.
- How long we keep it: On your device until you clear it.
Your location (“A mapcode for right here”, region set-up, directions from “Where I am”, Off-road Navigator)
- What we collect: Your device’s location, only after your browser asks and you allow it. It is used in your browser. Positions are sent to Google when a map, address or route is shown (see “Maps and addresses”). We don’t store your exact location, except in a problem report if you tick that box, or a test recording you choose to send.
- Why: To give you a mapcode for where you are, or guide you to a place.
- How long we keep it: Not stored by us. The Off-road Navigator keeps your recent trail in your browser for up to 12 hours.
Maps, addresses and place search (Google Maps Platform)
- What we collect: The places you search for, the map area shown, and the positions being converted are sent to Google, together with your internet (IP) address and browser details, as happens whenever a map loads.
- Why: To show maps, addresses, place suggestions and directions.
- How long we keep it: Google’s own policy applies.
Sharing a mapcode (WhatsApp, SMS, your phone’s share menu, copy)
- What we collect: Handled by the app you choose. A shared link contains the mapcode, so anyone with the link can see that place.
- Why: To share a place you chose.
- How long we keep it: We don’t receive it, apart from an anonymous count.
Share by email
- What we collect: The email address you type and the mapcode. The email is sent once through our email service. A one-way scrambled code of the address and of your internet address is kept briefly to stop abuse. Protected by Google reCAPTCHA.
- Why: To send the email you asked for, and prevent spam.
- How long we keep it: The address itself isn’t stored. Scrambled codes: 1 day.
Report a problem
- What we collect: What you tick and type, your email address if you give it, the page, device and browser details, technical readings (such as location accuracy), and your exact location only if you tick the box.
- Why: To fix problems and reply to you.
- How long we keep it: 12 months, then deleted automatically.
Off-road “Record a 1-minute test”
- What we collect: One minute of positions (exact), compass and motion sensor readings, device details and your note. Only sent if you tap Send.
- Why: To test and improve the navigation arrow.
- How long we keep it: 30 days, then deleted automatically.
Contact form
- What we collect: Your name, email address, the topic you choose and your message. Protected by Google reCAPTCHA, a hidden spam trap and sending limits.
- Why: To reply to you.
- How long we keep it: Emailed to our inbox by our own website code; the website itself does not keep it. Kept as long as needed for the conversation, normally no more than 2 years.
Blog comments
- What we collect: Your name, email, website (optional), comment, internet address and browser details. Comments are checked for spam by Akismet; WordPress may show your Gravatar picture (using a scrambled form of your email).
- Why: To publish your comment and keep spam out.
- How long we keep it: For as long as the comment is published. Ask us to remove it at any time.
Paying for a custom mapcode
- What we collect: You pay on our payment provider’s secure page (iKhokha). We never see or store your card details. We receive the payment details iKhokha shares with us, such as your name, contact details, the amount, date and reference.
- Why: To provide what you paid for, and keep tax records.
- How long we keep it: 5 years after the payment (South African tax law).
Usage statistics (MyMapcodes Insights, our own)
- What we collect: Which pages and tools are used, a short detail (for example “shared by WhatsApp”), the region of a mapcode and its position rounded to about 10 km, the kind of device, system and browser, time on site, and your country. Your country is worked out from your internet address, which is then thrown away. A random visit number is kept only while your browser tab is open. No cookies, names, typed text, exact positions or mapcodes. A one-way scrambled code of your internet address, made with a secret that changes daily, is kept to stop one machine flooding the counts.
- Why: To understand how the site is used and improve it.
- How long we keep it: Detailed records: 90 days. After that only anonymous daily totals.
Google Analytics
- What we collect: Pages visited, how you arrived, device, browser, approximate location, and actions on the page, using cookies (section 4). Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses.
- Why: To measure and improve the site.
- How long we keep it: 14 months.
Security and spam protection
- What we collect: Internet address, browser details, pages requested (including the mapcode in a shared link) and login attempts, recorded by our hosting provider’s server logs and our security plugin (Wordfence). Google reCAPTCHA checks pages with forms for robots, using information about your device and how you use the page.
- Why: To keep the site and its visitors safe and to block abuse.
- How long we keep it: Short periods, rotated automatically, unless needed to deal with an attack.
Backups
- What we collect: A complete copy of the website, including the information above while it exists.
- Why: To restore the site if something goes wrong.
- How long we keep it: Made weekly; the 4 most recent are kept, so each one is deleted after about a month. Anything deleted from the website disappears from the backups within about a month.
Giving us information is voluntary. If you don’t share your location, you can still type a mapcode or search for a place. If you don’t give an email address in a problem report, we simply can’t reply.
We do not use your information for automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you, and we don’t build profiles of you.
4. Cookies and information saved on your device
Cookies and “local storage” are small pieces of information a website saves in your browser. MyMapcodes’ own tools use local storage only to remember your settings, and it never leaves your device.
| Name | Set by | Purpose | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| mmhome-prefs-v1 | MyMapcodes (local storage) | Your region, whether set-up is done, low-data mode. | Until you clear it |
| mmhome-linkRegion | MyMapcodes (local storage) | The region of the last shared link you opened, to suggest your region. | Until you clear it |
| userCountryNamePref, userCountryCodePref | MyMapcodes (local storage) | Your region, for older pages. | Until you clear it |
| mmnav-trail:…, mmnav-lowdata | MyMapcodes (local storage) | Off-road Navigator: your recent trail to a destination, and low-data mode. | Trail: 12 hours. Setting: until cleared |
| mmi-visit | MyMapcodes (session storage) | Random visit number for our anonymous usage statistics. | Until you close the tab |
| _ga, _ga_[ID] | Google Analytics (cookies) | Tells visits apart for site statistics. | Up to 2 years |
| _grecaptcha | Google reCAPTCHA (local storage) | Tells people from robots, to stop spam. | Until you clear it |
| comment_author_… | WordPress (cookies) | Only if you tick “save my details” when commenting. | 1 year |
| wordpress_…, wp-settings…, Wordfence cookies | WordPress, Wordfence | Only for people logged in to manage the site. | Session to 1 year |
You can delete or block cookies and stored information in your browser settings. The site’s tools keep working, but they won’t remember your region. You can also stop Google Analytics with Google’s opt-out browser add-on.
5. Google services we use
MyMapcodes uses Google Maps features and content. Your use of them is subject to the current Google Maps/Google Earth Additional Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy. We also use Google Analytics, Google reCAPTCHA and Google Fonts (fonts are loaded from Google’s servers, which see your internet address). You can read how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
6. Who we share information with
We never sell your personal information, and we don’t share it for advertising. We share it only with these service providers, who process it for us or provide part of the service, and only as much as each needs:
- Xneelo (South Africa): website hosting, sending the website’s emails from our own mailbox, server logs and the hosting firewall.
- Google (USA and worldwide): maps, addresses and place search, Google Analytics, reCAPTCHA, Google Fonts, our backup storage (Google Drive) and email we forward to Gmail.
- Defiant Inc. (USA), maker of the Wordfence security plugin: internet addresses involved in suspicious activity are checked against, and shared with, its threat database. Wordfence privacy policy.
- Automattic (USA): Akismet spam checks and Gravatar, for blog comments only. Akismet privacy.
- iKhokha (South Africa): card payments. iKhokha privacy policy.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it (for example a court order), to protect our rights or the safety of others, or to a new owner if MyMapcodes is ever transferred, in which case this policy continues to protect your information and we will tell you on the site.
7. Information sent to other countries
Our website is hosted in South Africa. Some service providers above process information in other countries, mainly the USA. We only use providers that are bound by data protection laws or contracts giving protection substantially similar to POPIA and the GDPR (for example the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, where the provider uses them), as POPIA section 72 and GDPR Chapter V require.
8. How we protect your information
The site uses encrypted connections (HTTPS). The website’s administration is protected by two-factor login and a security firewall, only the site owner can see stored reports and messages, information is deleted on the schedules above, and our tools check and limit what can be sent to us. No website or internet transfer is completely secure, so we can’t guarantee absolute security, but if a breach affects your personal information we will tell the Information Regulator and you as POPIA and the GDPR require.
9. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you have the right to:
- ask whether we hold personal information about you, and get a copy;
- ask us to correct, update or delete it;
- object to us using it, or ask us to limit how we use it;
- withdraw consent you gave (for example, your browser’s location permission, or cookies), without affecting what was done before;
- receive information you gave us in a common electronic format;
- complain to a data protection authority (section 11).
To use these rights, email us or use the contact form (section 13). To protect you, we may ask for information to confirm the request is really from you, and we won’t ask for more than we need. Please tell us what you used (for example the reference number of a problem report), because we keep very little and most of it is anonymous, so we may otherwise not be able to find it. We reply within 30 days. This is free, unless a request is clearly unfounded or excessive, or a formal request for records under South Africa’s Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) carries a prescribed fee. We may decline a request where the law allows, for example to protect someone else’s information or for legal claims, and we will tell you why.
10. Extra information for specific countries
South Africa (POPIA and PAIA)
We process personal information under POPIA’s conditions for lawful processing: with your consent, to carry out your request or a contract, to comply with the law, or for legitimate interests that don’t override yours. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests at any time. Our PAIA manual is available at https://www.mymapcodes.com/paia-manual/.
European Union, European Economic Area and United Kingdom (GDPR)
Our legal bases are: consent (your location, Google Analytics cookies where the law requires it, comments, test recordings); performing your request or a contract (sending a mapcode by email, replying to you, payments); legal obligation (tax records); and legitimate interests (security, spam prevention, our own anonymous statistics, and fixing problems). You can object to processing based on legitimate interests.
We are adding a cookie choice for visitors from the European Union, the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, so you can accept or refuse Google Analytics cookies. Until it is in place, you can block them in your browser settings or with Google’s opt-out add-on (section 4).
United States, including California
In the last 12 months we collected these categories of personal information, from you and your device, for the purposes in section 3: identifiers (such as name, email and internet address), internet activity (pages and tools used), approximate and, only when you choose, precise location, commercial information (payments), and the content of messages you send. We do not sell or “share” personal information (for cross-context behavioural advertising), and we don’t use sensitive personal information to infer characteristics about you. Where your state’s law gives you rights to know, delete, correct or opt out, you can use them as described in section 9, and we will not treat you differently for doing so. Our own usage statistics respect the Global Privacy Control signal.
Everywhere else
If you live elsewhere (for example Brazil, Canada, Australia, India, Kenya or Nigeria), we will honour the rights your local law gives you in the same way.
11. Complaints
Please contact us first, so we can try to put things right. You can also complain to a data protection authority:
- South Africa: the Information Regulator, Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191; enquiries@inforegulator.org.za; https://inforegulator.org.za/complaints/
- United Kingdom: the Information Commissioner’s Office, https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints/
- European Union and EEA: the data protection authority in your country, listed at https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/our-members_en
- Elsewhere: your local data protection or consumer authority.
12. Children
MyMapcodes is a general-audience website and is not aimed at children under 13. We don’t knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, or from anyone under 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian as POPIA requires. All the main tools work without giving us any personal information. If you think a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
13. Contact us
For any privacy question or request: email leon@mymapcodes.com or use our contact form. Information Officer: Leon Schnell (Information Regulator registration number 2026-070181), 296 Pendoring Road, Blackheath, Johannesburg, 2195, South Africa.
14. Changes to this policy
We will update this policy when the site or the law changes, and change the effective date and version number at the top. If a change significantly affects how we use your information, we will show a notice on the site before it takes effect. Earlier versions are available on request.