Mapplings

Mapplings

Mapplings Privacy Policy

Effective date: 23 October 2026
Last updated: 23 October 2026
Provider: Parn Jones, trading as PrettyMuch Works ("PrettyMuch Works", "we", "us"), Auckland, New Zealand.
Contact / Privacy Officer: PrettyMuch Works Support, support@prettymuchworks.com

1. Summary

Mapplings is a free learning and world-exploring app for children aged 5 to 8. We do not collect, store or share any personal information from children, parents or anyone else. Mapplings has no account or sign-in, no chat, no ads, no in-app purchases, no analytics and no tracking. The only link that can take a child out of the app is the "Legal" link built into Apple Maps on iPhone and iPad, described in section 2. The Android version has no links to websites or other apps. Progress is saved only on the device. Mapplings is made for iPhone and iPad, and an Android version for phones and tablets is planned. This policy covers the iPhone and iPad app, and it will cover the Android version from the day that version is released. Mapplings is offered in New Zealand and Australia only.

2. For parents and guardians

  • What your child can do. Explore a map of the world, answer short questions, collect stamps and treasures, and hear things read aloud. Everything is chosen from buttons and pictures. Your child never types anything, and there is no way to talk to other people or post anything.

  • What we collect. Nothing. We don't ask for your child's name, age in years, photos, voice, email address, or location, and Mapplings has no way to send that kind of information to us.

  • What your child chooses. The Settings screen lets your child pick a home country, an age group (5 to 6 or 7 to 8), and whether music, sound effects and read-aloud are on. Settings has no grown-up gate because it only holds these choices. They are saved on the device and are never sent to us.

  • Nothing to tap that costs money. There are no ads or purchases. We have not put any links to websites or other apps in Mapplings. The one exception is the map itself. On iPhone and iPad, Apple Maps shows a small "Legal" link beside the Apple Maps logo; tapping it leaves Mapplings and opens Apple's maps legal page in Safari, with a link at the top left to come back. A grown-up may want to know this. On Android, the map credits are plain text that can't be tapped, and nothing in the Android app opens a web browser. If we ever add other links or purchases, they will go behind a grown-up check first and we will update this policy before that version is released.

  • How to delete everything. Delete (uninstall) the Mapplings app. This removes the progress saved on the device. On Android you can also clear the app's storage in Settings > Apps > Mapplings > Storage (menu names vary by phone). Copies in an existing phone backup (see section 4) are removed when that backup is deleted or replaced.

  • How to contact us. Email support@prettymuchworks.com. Please don't put your child's full name or other personal details in your email; you don't need to for us to help.

3. Maps and the internet

Mapplings needs an internet connection to show maps. The rest of the app, including the questions, stamps, sounds and read-aloud, works without one.

  • iPhone and iPad. Maps come from Apple Maps (Apple's MapKit). When the map loads, the device sends normal network requests to Apple, which can include the device's IP address and the part of the map being shown. Apple handles these under its own Privacy Policy (https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/).

  • Android. Maps come from OpenFreeMap, a free service that supplies OpenStreetMap map tiles. When a map loads, the phone sends normal network requests to OpenFreeMap, which can include the phone's IP address and the part of the map being shown. OpenFreeMap handles these under its own policy (https://openfreemap.org/privacy/). That policy says it uses no cookies or tracking and does not keep IP addresses in its normal access logs, although its error logs may briefly hold an IP address, and it may use Cloudflare as a content delivery network. The app sends the map service the phone's IP address, a standard app and phone-software identifier, and the normal request information for loading maps. It sends no cookies, accounts, advertising IDs or keys, and the map library has no analytics or usage reporting of its own. The map data credits that the map's licences require ("© OpenStreetMap contributors · © OpenMapTiles · OpenFreeMap") are shown as plain text on the map, and in full in the app's Settings under Map credits, which also shows the plain-text address openstreetmap.org/copyright for the map data licence. It is not a tappable link.

  • What we send them. Nothing about your child. The app sends the map provider only what is needed to load the map. We don't send names, progress, settings or any other personal information, and we never receive what the map provider sees. Your child's device connects to the map provider directly.

  • Location. Mapplings does not ask for, use or store your device's location. It does not use GPS. The places on the map, and the distances between them, are fixed in the app. The "home country" is something your child picks from a list.

4. What stays on the device

  • Progress and settings. Stamps, treasures, badges, the streak of days played, the home country, the age group, and the music, sound and read-aloud settings are stored in Mapplings's private storage on the device. We don't sync this to iCloud, Google or us.

  • Device backups. If you back up the device, the backup may include Mapplings's saved progress. On iPhone and iPad this means iCloud Backup or a computer backup, under Apple's terms. On Android, Mapplings turns Android's cloud backup and phone-to-phone transfer off, so its progress is not saved to a Google Account backup. The downside is that progress starts afresh on a new phone.

  • No camera, microphone, contacts or photos. Mapplings doesn't ask for permission to use any of them.

5. Read-aloud, music and sounds

  • Read-aloud. On iPhone and iPad, Mapplings reads text aloud with the voices built into the device, using Apple's speech feature on the device. On Android it uses the phone's own text-to-speech service. The text read aloud is the app's own text, not anything your child has typed, because nothing can be typed. We don't receive it.

  • Music and sounds. The tunes and sound effects were made by us for Mapplings and play from inside the app.

6. Analytics and crash reports from Apple and Google

We don't use any analytics or crash-reporting tools of our own. If a grown-up has chosen to share analytics with app developers in the device settings, Apple (through App Store Connect) or Google (through Google Play Console, as Android vitals) may give us aggregated or anonymised crash and usage numbers. These aren't about identifiable people, and we don't use them to find out who anyone is.

7. Children

  • Who it's for. Mapplings is designed for children aged 5 to 8, so it is directed at children. It is built to meet the rules for the App Store's Kids category and for Google Play's Families programme: no behavioural advertising, no third-party analytics or advertising tools, no tracking, and no personal information collected. Our Android map service, OpenFreeMap, says its own website is not intended for people under 18; Mapplings only loads map pictures from it and sends it nothing about your child.

  • Because we collect nothing, we don't need to ask a parent for consent to collect anything. If you think we somehow hold information about your child, email us and we will delete it.

  • If this ever changes. If we ever add a feature that collects personal information from children, we will first update this policy, ask for parental consent where the law requires it, and update the App Store privacy label and the Google Play Data safety section before that version is released.

8. Sharing and overseas disclosure

We do not sell, rent, share or disclose personal information, because we do not hold any. We don't send personal information from the app overseas. The map providers in section 3 receive normal network requests directly from the device, under their own policies, and may be located outside New Zealand. If you email us, your message is stored by our email provider, Apple (iCloud Mail), which may store it outside New Zealand; see our website Privacy Policy (https://www.prettymuchworks.com/privacy/).

9. Security and retention

We hold no personal information from the app, so there is nothing from the app to retain or secure on our side. Data on the device is protected by the device's operating system and stays under your control until you delete it or the app. We keep support emails only for as long as we need them to respond to you and to meet our legal obligations, and then delete them.

10. Your rights

New Zealand (Privacy Act 2020)

You have the right to ask us for access to, and correction of, personal information about you or your child (Information Privacy Principles 6 and 7). As we hold none, we will normally confirm that. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (www.privacy.org.nz).

Australia (Privacy Act 1988)

If you are in Australia, you can ask us for access to, and correction of, personal information about you or your child. As we hold none, we will normally confirm that. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (www.oaic.gov.au).

Other countries

Mapplings is offered in New Zealand and Australia only, and it is not aimed at children in other countries. If you are somewhere else, the privacy laws there may also give you rights. As we collect nothing from the app, we will normally confirm that we hold nothing about you or your child if you ask.

11. Changes

If Mapplings ever starts collecting information, for example through an account, sync or ads, we will update this policy, the App Store privacy label and the Google Play Data safety section before that version is released, and change the effective date above.

12. Contact

Parn Jones, trading as PrettyMuch Works, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: support@prettymuchworks.com