8/ 🚨 ACHTUNG! 🚨 - editing OpenStreetMap is fun and can become addictive.
But this gets to a key point - open data thrives when we all contribute back. We do that with data, code, growing the community, financial support, the Geomob events and podcast @geomob , etc
11/ We do all the work to provide and maintain enterprise level reliability around open data.
✅ Fully redundant data centers
✅ Reasonable price, with no lock in
✅ Responsive point of contact when you have questions
✅ Friendly (and good-looking) team that doesn't take itself too seriously on mastodon
This month OpenStreetMap - the global crowdsourced open geodata project - celebrates its 19th birthday 🎂🎉, so the next few weeks our #geoeducation threads will focus on the amazing OSM community.
Our geocoding API is built on OpenStreetMap, and for many years now we've been interviewing OpenStreetMap communities small and large over on our blog.
Join us on a virtual trip to see how OSM works around the world 🌎🌍🌏
1/n
After a week off to enjoy the summer this week's #geoeducation thread again focuses on OpenStreetMap
The OpenStreetMap community is massive (and growing) 💪, global 🌍, and very dynamic 🕺💃!
The OSM database has millions of edits per day. Lots of things are happening all the time. But ... that can also be a bit overwhelming. How do we stay aware of what's happening?
Today's topic is one that doesn't get as much respect as it should.
Ask most people about geocoding, they automatically think forward geocoding - turning text (an address or placename) into coordinates.
Today though we'll cover the opposite: reverse geocoding
After a few weeks of #geoweirdness threads, this weekend let's switch things up and do some #geoeducation
One topic that often comes up around location data is privacy 🕵️
If you accurately know where someone spends their time, you can often figure out who they are. Users of our geocoding API have to send us location info. So, how can they ensure privacy?
3/ But let's get into what we actually do about privacy.
It starts with our website, where we don't use Google Analytics or any other trackers.
Instead, we use privacy-focused Fathom Analytics so we can anonymously see what is happening on the site without tracking anyone. Our Fathom account is configured so that all data stays in the EU 🇪🇺.
2/ From day one, we've known one of the key value propositions of our geocoding API is that some customers really do NOT want to share data with Google and other internet giants.
So privacy has been a continual focus for us, not an afterthought.
We're a 🇩🇪 🇪🇺 German legal entity thus fully compliant with GDPR.
7/ So now let's get into the geocoding API itself.
First up, please send us only location information, never details of who is at that location. Besides privacy concerns it just makes geocoding much harder.
8/ Next, if you use the optional "no_record" parameter in your API call, we will keep ... absolutely no record of what your query was. None. Nada. Zilch.
10/ Digital privacy is a continually evolving issue. New technology makes so much possible, but also exposes us to new risks. It's a topic that is never "done".
We welcome (and pay for) suggestions as to how we can improve security. Here's our bug bounty program, at the bottom you can find a list of bug reports we've paid for: https://opencagedata.com/security-bounty