PlaceVaultPrivacy Policy
PlaceVault is a Mac app for organising waypoints, routes, tracks and maps. It is designed to work offline.
What we collect
Nothing. PlaceVault has no account, no analytics, no advertising and no tracking. The developer receives no data about you or your use of the app.
Data on your Mac
Your library (places, routes, tracks, notes, photos you import), offline maps, settings and backups are stored on your Mac — in the app's container, or in a folder you choose. If you choose a folder in iCloud Drive, Apple stores it under your iCloud account and Apple's privacy policy applies. If Spotlight indexing is on (Settings › Library), place names and notes are added to your Mac's local Spotlight index.
Diagnostics
PlaceVault can keep a small diagnostics log and the crash and hang reports macOS provides (MetricKit) on your Mac only. They contain no places, coordinates or file names. Nothing is sent anywhere. You can turn the log off, clear it, or export a report yourself (Help › Export Diagnostics…) if you want to share it with support.
When PlaceVault connects to the internet
Only when you use a feature that needs it:
- Apple Maps base maps, place search, geocoding and (if enabled) routing — requests go to Apple and are covered by Apple's privacy policy. The map area and search text are sent to Apple.
- Downloading map, elevation, routing or place data from the servers you choose (public sources such as USGS and AWS Open Data, Protomaps builds, the PlaceVault pack catalog, or a catalog URL you enter). Those servers see your IP address and the areas you download.
- KML network links — only if you turn them on; they contact the servers named in your files.
- Images in KML descriptions — remote images are blocked unless you allow them.
- In-app purchase — handled by Apple through the App Store.
Devices and photos
When you connect a GPS device, PlaceVault reads and writes files on it only when you ask it to. When you geotag photos, PlaceVault writes the position into the photo files you selected, only when you ask it to.
This website and the waitlist
getplacevault.com uses no cookies, no analytics and no third-party scripts or fonts. If you choose Light or Dark with the theme switch, that choice is saved in your browser’s local storage on your device (key pv-theme) and is never sent to us; choosing System removes it. It is served by Cloudflare, which processes your IP address and request details to deliver the site and protect it from abuse.
If you join the waitlist, we store the email address you enter, the date, and your optional answer to “What do you use today?” in a Cloudflare D1 database. We use it only to email you once when PlaceVault is available, and we don’t share or sell it. To stop abuse, a salted one-way hash of your IP address is kept for up to 24 hours to limit repeated sign-ups; the IP address itself is not stored. To have your email removed, contact us through the support page.
Feature requests and votes
If you submit a feature request, we store the title and details you write, the date, and — only if you enter it — your email address. Title and details are shown publicly on getplacevault.com/requests once we approve the request (we may edit the title for clarity or merge duplicates). Your email address is never shown; we use it only to contact you about that request. Don’t include personal information in the title or details.
Votes need no account and use no cookies. To allow one vote per request per network, we store a salted one-way hash of your IP address (for IPv6, its /64 network prefix) combined with the request’s number, which can’t be turned back into your IP address or linked across requests; it is deleted with the request. Submissions and votes are also rate-limited using a salted IP hash kept for up to 24 hours. To have a request or your email removed, contact us through the support page.
Children
The PlaceVault app does not collect data from anyone, including children. The waitlist is intended for adults.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new effective date.
Contact
See the support page.