Data Protection and Privacy
Bee Maps is built with data from the Hivemapper Network, whose mission is to build a useful map for people everywhere to use while protecting their privacy. The personal information and location data of Hivemapper Network contributors and Bee Maps customers is not the product. For this reason, the network has been designed to be private and anonymous, and to uphold the highest standards of data protection and privacy for both contributors and bystanders.
You can find more information on the privacy center, a comprehensive portal that includes all the relevant information about privacy at Hivemapper, including:
Key aspects of data collection and data products generated from map imagery
A list of cities and countries where mapping collection is occurring each quarter
The current Privacy Policy
Here are some of the ways that we implement "privacy by design."
Anonymous Usernames
Bee Maps will never ask contributors to share personal information such as phone numbers, credit card numbers, or home addresses, except when absolutely necessary to fulfill a shipment. The Hivemapper Network generates random three-word usernames to protect the identity of its contributors, and asks contributors not to share their usernames anywhere to shield their identities.
Anonymized Location Data
The location data in the Hivemapper Network Coverage Map is not associated with a username. Hivemapper doesn’t share usernames or places that have been mapped, so no one will know those locations unless provided. The Hivemapper Network uses various means to verify mapping data location while allowing contributions to remain anonymous.
Trip Trimming
The first 500 meters and the last 500 meters of a given trip are automatically discarded. A contributor can adjust this up to 1,000 meters. This feature cannot be disabled.
Personal Privacy Zones
This feature enables a contributor to define specific geographic areas — be it around their home, workplace, or any other location — as zones where their device will stop recording. Whenever the contributor’s device enters a personal privacy zones, it automatically pauses data collection. This eliminates a contributor’s need to manually stop or disable the device as they navigate spaces that they don’t want to map.
Personal Privacy Zones are never shared with Hivemapper servers, and remain confidential only to the contributor.
Network Privacy Zones
Network Privacy Zones extends privacy to sensitive areas where everyone’s data collection will be paused. If a location such as a military base, nuclear power plant, or private industrial facility is designated as a Network Privacy Zone, the Hivemapper Network automatically blocks collection within that area.
Contributors Know When They Are Mapping
All Hivemapper devices make it clearly visible to the contributor when they are actively mapping via LED lights and via the companion app. Bee Maps built on the Hivemapper Network is transparent about the data that contributors are collecting and how it is leveraged to build the network and Bee Maps. Furthermore, the Hivemapper Dashcam is an open-source device, and anyone can inspect the code that determines what is collected.
Blurred Faces, Bodies, Vehicles, and License Plates
The Hivemapper Network uses computer-vision algorithms to blur out faces, bodies, vehicles, license plates and faces to protect the privacy of anyone who happens to be captured in mapping images. For example, the image below shows a submission from a Hivemapper contributor that went through privacy blurring. Blurring occurs automatically on the edge on all device models.
Submitting a Redaction Request
Bee Maps and the Hivemapper Network can assist with blurring or deletion of personal information that is inadvertently collected by the network. If you have a request, please fill out the request form in our privacy center or contact us at [email protected]. To help Hivemapper identify the relevant materials, please include the following pieces of information in your message:
The three-word username of the contributor and the time window when the collection occurred.
The street address where the collection occurred and a description of the precise area, including landmarks such as position relative to adjacent streets.
The type of private information that was collected.
Placards for Mappers
In certain countries, we work to ensure that bystanders are aware that a device is collecting for a map, device contributors mount a placard provided by Hivemapper.
Blockchain and Wallets
Blockchain technology facilitates a new level of encryption, privacy, and anonymity. The Hivemapper Network is built on the Solana blockchain.
Hivemapper Network contributors and Bee Maps customers who receive HONEY require a crypto wallet to be connected to the Hivemapper and Bee Keeper app. Generally, wallets don’t track personally identifiable information and are not necessarily linked to your identity.
Government Privacy Regulators
The Hivemapper Network proactively works with government regulators to ensure that our privacy standards meet local regulations and are the best in the industry.
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