Last updated: September 19, 2026
NihaoMap ("the app") is a map of hand-picked places in Shanghai, built for travelers. This policy explains what data the app handles, what leaves your device, and what never does.
NihaoMap has no accounts, no sign-up, no advertising, and no NihaoMap product analytics. Saved places and downloaded place details remain on your device, but the base map and content updates need a network connection. When you search for a place, your search text and — for "near me" searches, including nearby-facility lookups such as the nearest toilet or pharmacy — a deliberately coarsened location (and, for facility lookups, the facility category you picked) are sent to NihaoMap servers so we can find matching places; your precise location is never uploaded. Mapbox may process map requests and, when you grant location permission and use a location feature, location data as described below.
Feedback you choose to send. If you submit feedback through the in-app form, we store: your message, the feedback category you picked, the related place (if any), your app version, and your device operating system name and version (for example, "iOS 26.5" or "Android 16"). We use this only to fix content errors and improve the app. Feedback cannot be linked back to you — we do not know who sent it.
Search requests. When you search for a place, the app sends the search text you typed, the current city, the search area mode (city / near me / map viewport / a named area), and — for "near me" searches — a coarsened center point (rounded to roughly 200–500 meter precision) to NihaoMap servers (hosted by Supabase, Inc., with project data stored in the United States). Our server uses this only to find matching places: it looks up NihaoMap's own place index and, for specific name/address/category searches, forwards the query to the Mapbox search service (see Map services below). Your precise location is never sent. Our server logs are deliberately minimal: they keep only a short-lived request ID, the coarse request context (city, search area mode, and requested page size), timing, result counts, and machine error codes — not your search text, not your location (not even the coarsened center point), and nothing that could reconstruct a history of where you went. External search results are returned to the app on the fly and are not stored on our servers.
Your location is requested only while you use the app ("When In Use"), after you choose a feature such as My location. NihaoMap uses it to show your position, move the map to you, and — if you run a "near me" search — to derive the coarsened center point described above (the precise value stays on your device; the app also uses it locally to compute exact distances to results). NihaoMap otherwise does not send or store it on its own servers. The active map SDK may process location data to provide its map and location functionality. If you decline location permission, city browsing still works and the map remains centered on its default area.
NihaoMap uses Mapbox as its base-map provider. Before the Mapbox SDK is initialized, the app presents the map-data notice and provider privacy link.
The base map is provided by Mapbox, Inc. Loading the map sends requests to Mapbox for styles, tiles, fonts, and related map resources. These requests necessarily include an IP address and may include app, device, SDK, and request information used to provide, secure, and account for the service. If you grant location permission and use a location feature, Mapbox may also process location data. NihaoMap disables optional Mapbox telemetry in this integration and keeps Mapbox's logo and attribution control visible. In addition, when you search for a specific place by name, address, or category, our server forwards your search text (plus, for "near me" searches, the coarsened center point and, for map-viewport searches, the bounds of the map area you chose) to Mapbox's search service to supplement NihaoMap's own results; these external results are fetched on the fly and are not stored by NihaoMap. Mapbox states that it processes product data primarily in AWS in the United States and may use CDN locations in other regions; it states that IP addresses are generally retained for 30 days unless needed for a security, fraud, or legal investigation. See the Mapbox Product Privacy Policy. If you decline the map-data notice, the app does not initialize Mapbox.
The app periodically checks our server (hosted by Supabase, Inc., with project data stored in the United States) for updated place content. The application payload contains the content version the app currently holds; like any Internet request, the connection necessarily exposes an IP address and basic request metadata to the network and hosting provider.
When you open Saved or an individual place, the app may request public details, including price and opening hours, for that place or places no longer included in the current city download. These requests send the requested place IDs to the same Supabase content server, together with ordinary connection metadata. They contain no account identifier and do not create a server-side Saved list.
Place photos are served from our image host, images.nihaomap.com, operated on Cloudflare R2 storage and Cloudflare's content delivery network. Loading a photo sends the photo's file path to that host and, like any Internet request, exposes your IP address and basic request metadata to the network and hosting provider. No account or device identifier is sent with image requests.
Feedback records are kept as long as needed to maintain content quality. Since feedback carries no account or contact identifier, we generally cannot match a record back to you. Search requests are processed on the fly; the minimal server diagnostics described above (request ID, coarse request context, timing, counts, error codes — no search text, no location) are retained only for short-term troubleshooting. Saved places and preferences live on your device and are removed when you delete the app. Map providers apply their own retention periods to data they process under their policies.
The app is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect data from them.
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted at this URL with a new date.
NihaoMap is developed and operated by Guanwei Hao.
Email: privacy@nihaomap.com