Privacy
What we do with your data, in plain words.
Trekit is a small independent project. This page is written by the people who run it, not copied from a template, and it describes what actually happens. Effective 27 September 2026, updated the same day when shared links launched.
Our promises
- We don’t sell your data. Not to advertisers, not to data brokers, not to anyone. Ever.
- No ads, no ad trackers. There is no analytics script, no tracking pixel and no advertising code on this site.
- Your map is yours. Download it as a file or erase it any time from “Your data” in the app. When accounts arrive, the same two buttons will cover your account.
- We only collect what the product needs. A map needs places. It does not need your contacts, your location history or your browsing habits.
What we collect today
Your map: the places you mark, with any notes, live in your browser on this device. They are not sent to us unless you choose to share it (next paragraph). There is no account yet.
Your shared map, only if you press “Get my link”: a copy of your map (places, notes, dates, trips and the name you type) is stored in our database so the link works for other people. Anyone with the link can see it. We store a hash of your edit key, not the key itself, so only your browser can update or remove it. “Update my link” replaces the copy; “Remove link” deletes it. We count how many times a link is opened, as a number only.
Where shared maps live: in a Postgres database hosted by Neon in Frankfurt, Germany (EU). Neon is a hosting provider; it does not use the data for anything of its own. A shared map stays until you remove it.
Waitlist: if you join it, we collect your email address, which kind of traveler you said you are, and which part of the page you signed up from. We use it for one thing: to tell you when accounts and embeds open. We’ll remove it on request.
Your location, only when you ask: “Trekit here” asks your phone for its position once, turns it into a pin, and does not keep the position. Nothing tracks where you are in the background.
Nothing else. No name, no location tracking, no contacts, no browsing history, no cookies, no analytics.
Who else sees anything
The map is built from public data. Your browser fetches it directly from these services, so they see the request the same way any website you open does. We don’t send them anything about you beyond that request.
- Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons
- The name of the place you tap, so we can show its summary and photo. They see your IP address the way any website you open does.
- Photon by Komoot (place search, in your map editor)
- Whatever you type in the place search box is sent to Photon to find matching places on OpenStreetMap. Don’t type anything you wouldn’t search for on a map. “Trekit here” sends your current coordinates to Photon once, to name the place you’re standing in.
- Open-Meteo
- The coordinates of the world wonders on the map, to show current weather there. Never your location.
- iNaturalist, NOAA, The Space Devs, Nager.Date
- Public feeds (wildlife sightings, aurora forecast, rocket launches, holidays). We request public data; nothing about you is sent beyond the IP address every request carries.
- Formspree
- If you join the waitlist, your email and the answers in that form go to Formspree, which stores them for us.
- Vercel
- Hosts this site. Like every host, it keeps standard request logs (IP address, browser, pages requested) for a short time to run and secure the service.
Map imagery (NASA, Natural Earth) and fonts are served from trekit.app itself, not from third parties.
When accounts arrive
Accounts are coming, and this is the plan. We’ll update this page before they launch.
- Where: in the same Frankfurt (EU) database that holds shared maps today, or a provider we name here before accounts launch.
- What: your email, a username, the places on your map with any notes and dates, and photos you choose to upload. Nothing collected in the background: everything on your map is something you put there.
- Who can see it: a public profile is public by design, that’s the point of sharing a map. One switch will make your whole map private, visible only to you.
- Your controls: the same “Download my map” and “Erase my map” buttons, plus delete your account and all its data, from your settings.
- Still true: no selling, no ads, no ad trackers. If we ever add a paid plan, it will be paid for with money, not with your data.
Questions
- Do you use cookies?
- No. Trekit sets no cookies. Your map is kept in your browser’s local storage on your device. Some public feeds are cached in session storage, which clears when you close the tab. When accounts arrive, signing in will need one session cookie so we know it’s you, and nothing else.
- Where is my map stored?
- In your browser, on this device, unless you press “Get my link”, which stores a copy on our servers in the EU so the link works. Clearing your browser data erases the local map and the edit key for your link (the shared copy stays until removed; write to us if you lose the key). With an account, when they arrive: on our servers, so it follows you across devices.
- Can I delete everything?
- Yes, in the app: “Remove link” deletes the shared copy from our database, and “Your data” → “Erase my map” wipes every place, trip, note and the local activity log; neither can be undone. “Download my map” gives you everything as a file first. If you joined the waitlist, we’ll remove your email on request.
- Will this page change?
- Yes, when accounts arrive and whenever what we collect changes. We’ll update the effective date at the top, and if you have an account we’ll email you before any change that affects what we collect or how we use it.
Contact
A contact address for privacy questions will be added here before accounts launch. Until then, nothing about you is stored on our servers, so there is nothing for us to look up or delete.
We’ve tried to be accurate rather than exhaustive. If you spot something on the site that doesn’t match this page, the site or the page is wrong, and we’ll fix whichever it is.