Privacy Policy

Bench Map UK is a small, independently-run site. There's no user account or sign-in, and we don't collect names, emails, or any way to identify you personally. This page explains, plainly, what data the app does handle and where it goes.

What's stored only on your deviceYour device

These stay in your browser's local storage and are never sent to us:

• Your favourited and visited benches
• Which benches you've personally rated (so we can show "you already rated this" and stop double-voting)
• Whether you've dismissed the welcome screen or a location prompt

Clearing your browser's site data for benchmap.co.uk removes all of this.

What's sent to our databaseFirebase

The following are stored in our Firebase (Google Cloud) database so they can be shared across everyone using the map. None of it is linked to your identity — there's no account system, so there's nothing to link it to:

• Ratings — aggregated totals and counts per bench per category (comfort/ambience/view). We don't store who submitted an individual rating.
• Check-ins — a timestamp against a bench ID, used to show "X people here today." Not tied to any personal identifier.
• Community tags — the tags (e.g. "Dog friendly", "Scenic") applied to a bench.
• New benches you add — the location and any details you choose to submit (material, seating, inscription, etc). Please don't include personal information about living people in notes or inscriptions beyond what you're comfortable being public.
• Photos — if you upload a photo, it's stored in Firebase Storage and reviewed before it appears publicly. Once approved, it's visible to anyone using the site. Photos may contain metadata (like the time taken) depending on your device — we don't specifically strip this, so consider that before uploading if it matters to you.

Location

If you allow location access, your coordinates are used entirely in your browser — to centre the map and calculate distances to benches — and aren't sent to our servers or stored anywhere. You can revoke this permission at any time in your browser settings.

If you use the "Get walking directions" feature, your current location and the bench's location are sent to OSRM, a free open-source routing service, purely to calculate the route. Location searches are sent as text to Nominatim, OpenStreetMap's search service. Neither of these is under our control — see their own privacy practices if you want details.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used (pages visited, rough location by IP, device type) — but only if you accept the cookie banner shown on your first visit. If you decline, Google Analytics never loads. You can change your mind at any time using the "Cookie preferences" link in the footer. Google Analytics uses cookies and may collect data as described in Google's own privacy policy. We don't use this data to identify individuals, and we don't sell or share it beyond what Google Analytics itself involves.

Bench data sources

The underlying bench locations come from OpenStreetMap contributors and OpenBenches, both under open licences. This is public map data, not personal data about you.

Changes to this policy

If what the app collects or how it's used changes meaningfully, this page will be updated with a new "last updated" date above.

Data controller & questions

Bench Map UK is run by:

Greg Morton
greg_morton@hotmail.co.uk

If you have questions about this policy, want to know what data is held about you, or want something removed (e.g. an uploaded photo or a bench you added), get in touch at the address above.