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DC Cloud Apps

Privacy Policy

Last updated October 26, 2026

This policy covers the Topo Maps US and Topo Maps Canada apps for iPhone, iPad and Android (“the apps”), made by DC Cloud Apps, LLC (“we”). It explains what information the apps send, what stays on your device, and the choices you have.

What stays on your device

Everything you create or record in the apps is stored only on your device:

• Your current location and the GPS fixes used to show it, record trails and navigate to flags.
• Recorded and imported trails, their elevation profiles, and flags with their notes.
• Downloaded maps, trails and places.
• Motion activity, used to tell when a trail recording has turned into a drive so it can stop and trim the drive.
• Photos you pick for “Use Photo Location”. The app reads only that photo's position. The photo is not copied or sent anywhere.

Deleting an app deletes this data, except copies you made yourself, such as shared GPX files or a map backup, and copies in your device's own backups.

What the apps send

Map tiles

To show and download maps, the apps request map images (tiles) for the area on screen or the area you choose to download. The requests go to:

• The U.S. Geological Survey (basemap.nationalmap.gov), for Topo Maps US.
• Natural Resources Canada (maps-cartes.services.geo.ca and maps.geogratis.gc.ca), for Topo Maps Canada.
• The open elevation tiles hosted on Amazon Web Services (s3.amazonaws.com), for elevation profiles.
• Our own server (tiles.dc-cloudapps.com), for OpenStreetMap trails and places.

A tile request asks for a square of map. It does not include your location, an account or a device identifier. Like any internet request, it reaches the server with your IP address and the app's standard request details, which those organizations handle under their own policies.

Usage count

So we can count how many people use the apps, each app keeps a list of the dates it was opened. When it can next reach our server (tiles.dc-cloudapps.com), it sends those dates, which of them were the first in their week or month, the app version and, on Android, the word “android”. Days spent offline are sent later. No identifier is sent or stored, so we can count active installs but cannot tell them apart or link them to a person. This count is always on; there is no setting to turn it off.

Our server logs

Our server, which runs on Amazon CloudFront, logs each request it receives: the time, the address requested, the IP address and the app's request details. We use these logs only to count usage and keep the service running. The raw logs are deleted automatically after 30 days. We keep only the totals calculated from them, such as the number of active installs each day.

What you choose to share

• Sharing trails and flags. When you share a GPX file, it goes to the app or person you pick in your device's share sheet.
• Opening a flag in Google Maps. The flag's coordinates are sent to Google, whose privacy policy then applies.
• Moving maps to another device. On iPhone and iPad, Wi-Fi transfer runs a file server on your local Wi-Fi network while it is switched on, so that devices on that network can copy your maps. On Android, maps are copied to a ZIP file in the storage location you choose. If that is a cloud drive, its provider's policy applies.
• Emailing us. We receive your email address and your message, and use them only to reply.

Permissions

• Location: to show where you are, record trails and navigate to flags. On iPhone and iPad, “Always” lets a recording continue in the background. On Android, a recording continues in the background as a foreground service with a notification and a Stop button.
• Motion & Fitness (iPhone, iPad) or Physical activity (Android): to stop a recording when you start driving. It is optional.
• Photos: to read the position of a photo you pick for a flag.
• Notifications (Android): for recording, map download and driving-detected notifications.

You can turn any of these off in your device's settings. The rest of the app keeps working.

App stores

Apple and Google handle app downloads, updates and any payments under their own privacy policies. If you agree in your device's settings to share diagnostics with app developers, they may give us crash reports and usage statistics that do not identify you.

Children

The apps are not directed at children and collect no personal information from anyone, including children under 13.

Your choices and requests

Because the apps have no accounts and we hold no information that identifies you, there is nothing for us to look up, correct or delete. To remove everything an app has stored, delete the app. For any question about your privacy, email us.

Changes to this policy

If the apps start handling information differently, we will update this page and the date at the top.

Contact

DC Cloud Apps, LLC
david@dc-cloudapps.com