Privacy Policy

1. Who is responsible

Responsible for the processing of personal data on map.army (the web application at www.map.army, these information pages, the video page and the documentation under /doc) is:

gs-soft AG
Delfterstrasse 10
5000 Aarau, Switzerland
E-mail: mss@gs-soft.com

This policy is based on the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP / revDSG) and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

2. Summary

You can use map.army without an account. We do not ask for your name or e-mail address.
Symbols are drawn and military layers are read and written by our web services. Your browser sends them the symbols and layers you work with. Do not enter classified or personal information.
Map tiles, imagery and terrain come directly from their providers, which see your IP address and the map area you look at.
Your layers and settings are stored in your own browser unless you share them. map.army itself sets no cookies.
On the production site we use Google Analytics 4 to understand how the application is used. Google sets cookies for this.

3. Visiting the website

Every time you open a page or the application, your browser sends technical data to the web server that delivers map.army. The server records it in log files:

IP address, date and time of the request
requested address (URL) including its parameters - for example the address of a MilX^® layer opened with the layer parameter -, referring page, HTTP status, amount of data transferred and processing time
browser type and version, operating system (user agent)
for requests to our web services, the three technical identifiers described in section 4

We use this data to deliver the website, to keep it secure and stable, to recognise and limit abusive or excessive use, to analyse errors and to compile usage statistics of the service. The servers are operated by gs-soft AG and located in Switzerland.

4. Symbols and layers

map.army does not draw symbols or convert files in your browser. It uses the MSS^® (Military Symbol Service), MilX and MilX Share web services of gs-soft AG, which run at www.symbol.army. A request can contain:

the symbols you place: their code (SIDC), the modifiers and attributes you set, including free text in text modifiers, and their coordinates
the text you enter in the symbol search
military layers you open, import, export or download as MilX, KML or NVG - the complete content of the file, which is read and written on the MilX service
three technical identifiers: the version of the application, a random session identifier that is newly created every time the application is opened, and a random identifier of your browser installation that is stored in your browser (see section 6). The identifiers do not contain your name or any other information about you.

We use this data to construct the symbols and to read, write and convert the layers. The identifiers are recorded in the server log files (section 3) and used to analyse errors, to recognise and limit abusive or excessive use, and for usage statistics of the service (number of sessions, installations and application versions). If a request fails with an error, the service writes the request - including its content and the identifiers - to an error trace file, which we use to analyse the error.

Vector layers (KML, GPX, GeoJSON, Shapefile) and image layers you load from your own files are read in your browser and are not sent to us. Layers you load from an internet address are fetched by your browser from that address.

Treat map.army like any other internet service: do not enter classified information or personal data of others into symbols, layers or the search.

5. Maps, terrain and elevation

Your browser loads map tiles, imagery and terrain directly from the provider of the map you choose: Google, OpenStreetMap, OpenTopoMap, swisstopo, NLS Finland, IGN France, IGN Spain, GUGiK Poland or Ordnance Survey; the 3D view loads terrain from Cesium ion. The provider receives your IP address, browser data and the map area and zoom level you look at. When you ask for the elevation of a point (for example with a right-click), its coordinates are sent to the Esri elevation service. The privacy policies of these providers apply.

If you allow it in your browser, map.army shows your current position on the map. The position is used only for display and is not sent to us.

6. Data stored on your device

map.army stores data in your browser so that it remembers your work and your choices. This data stays on your device; it is not sent to us, except for the identifier mentioned in section 4.

Storage	Content	Lifetime
Local storage	language, settings, symbol format, the last map view, the layers you work with and the addresses of layers loaded from the internet, the last share link you used including its access key, messages you chose not to see again, the random identifier of your browser installation	until you delete it
IndexedDB	the access to a folder on your computer, if you choose a working directory (supporting browsers only)	until you remove it or delete the site data
Cache storage	the files of the application and of the 3D view, so that it starts quickly and can be installed as an app; files shared to the installed app from other apps until map.army has opened them	until the next update or until you delete it

map.army itself sets no cookies. Cookies of Google Analytics are described in section 8. You can delete all of this data at any time in your browser settings (site data for www.map.army).

When you create a share, your layers and the settings of the map are stored on our server as a MilX file, together with its versions and the changes made to it. Everyone who has the share link can open the share with the rights it grants (read-only, comment or write) and can see its content, including the comments and changes of other users of the share.

Links that you copy, send with the share function of your device or post to a social network, and embed codes, contain the address of the map or share. They are processed by the services you use to send or publish them.

8. Google Analytics

On the production site www.map.army - the application, these information pages, the video page and the documentation - we use Google Analytics 4, a web analytics service of Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland, and Google LLC, USA ("Google"). The test installations of map.army do not use it.

Google Analytics records how map.army is used:

pages viewed, referring page, device type, browser, operating system, screen size, language and approximate location (country or region, derived from the IP address)
use of functions in the application, for example switching between 2D and 3D, moving the map (without coordinates), opening panels, loading layers (with their file type), creating, importing, uploading or downloading MilX layers, exports (with their format), sharing and editing
application updates
contact requests by e-mail link or contact form, and the playing of videos on the video page

We do not send your name, e-mail address, coordinates or the content of your symbols and layers to Google, and we do not use a user ID. Google sets the cookies _ga and _ga_<ID>, which distinguish visitors and are stored for up to two years. Google states that Google Analytics 4 does not store IP addresses.

Data may be transferred to and processed by Google in the USA. Google LLC is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, which the European Commission and the Swiss Federal Council recognise as ensuring an adequate level of data protection for certified companies. Google keeps the analytics data of map.army for 14 months.

You can prevent the collection by Google Analytics by blocking or deleting cookies in your browser, by using a content blocker, or with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. More information: Google Privacy Policy.

9. Contact

If you write to us, for example at mss@gs-soft.com, we process your e-mail address and the content of your message to answer your request.

The contact form in the application sends your name, e-mail address and message through the form service of Bootstrap Studio (bootstrapstudio.io), which forwards it to us by e-mail. Its privacy policy applies to this transmission.

10. External links and videos

map.army links to other websites, for example the user forum on Google Groups, gs-soft.com and symbol.army. When you follow such a link, the privacy policy of that website applies.

The video page shows preview images stored on map.army. Only when you press play is the video loaded from YouTube (Google) via youtube-nocookie.com; YouTube then receives your IP address and browser data. Google's privacy policy applies.

11. Legal bases

Under the GDPR we process personal data on the following bases:

delivering the website, drawing symbols, processing layers, providing shares and answering messages: provision of the service you request and our legitimate interest in operating a secure and working service (Art. 6(1)(b) and (f) GDPR)
Google Analytics: our legitimate interest in understanding how map.army is used, so that we can improve it (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). You can object at any time as described in section 8.

Under the Swiss revFADP the processing described here is lawful without consent; you can object to it at any time.

12. Retention

server log files and error trace files, including the requests and identifiers recorded in them: 90 days, then deleted
shares: as long as they are needed to provide the share
Google Analytics: 14 months
e-mails and contact form messages: as long as needed to handle your request and as required by law
data in your browser: until you delete it (see section 6)

13. Your rights

Within the limits of the applicable law you have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to restrict or object to its processing, to receive it in a common format, and to withdraw a consent you have given. To exercise these rights, write to mss@gs-soft.com; we may ask you to prove your identity.

You can also lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority: in Switzerland the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC), in the EU the data protection authority of your country.

14. Changes

We adapt this policy when map.army or the law changes. The version published on this page applies; the date at the top shows the last change.