PlantGuard

Maps & geolocation

Tile provider

The Nature Explorer uses Leaflet 1.9 via React Leaflet 5, loaded lazily only on the Explorer screen. Tiles come from a configurable raster provider (src/services/maps/map-provider.ts):

VITE_MAP_TILE_URL=https://tile.openstreetmap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png
VITE_MAP_ATTRIBUTION=          # required for any non-default provider
VITE_MAP_MAX_ZOOM=19

Default: the OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF) standard tile service with the attribution “© OpenStreetMap contributors” linked to https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright. The attribution is always visible in the map corner (Leaflet attribution control), and the screen also explains the source in text.

Usage policy

The OSMF tile service is not a free, unlimited production map API. Its tile usage policy requires, among other things, clear attribution, a valid HTTP User-Agent/Referer (browsers send these), and no bulk downloading or offline pre-seeding; heavy use can be blocked without notice. PlantGuard complies by: loading tiles only while a user views the map, not pre-fetching, not caching tiles in the service worker, and capping zoom at 19.

For a busy production deployment, switch to a provider whose terms fit your traffic (several offer free tiers with an API key that is meant to be public and restricted by domain) or host your own tiles, and set VITE_MAP_ATTRIBUTION accordingly. Paid map services are never required.

Offline behaviour

• Saved places and observation coordinates are stored in IndexedDB and always shown in the list next to the map, with a detail panel — the explorer is fully usable without tiles.
• When offline (or when tiles fail to load), a notice explains that the background map needs internet. Markers still render on a blank map; the rest of the app is unaffected.
• No offline basemap is promised or provided.

Geolocation

• Location is requested only when the user presses My location, Use my current location or Attach my location (scanner). Opening the map never triggers a request — this is checked by tests/e2e/navigation.spec.ts.
• getCurrentPosition (src/services/geolocation/geolocation.ts) uses enableHighAccuracy, a 15 s timeout and accepts a cached fix up to 60 s old.
• Errors are typed and explained: permission denied (with how to re-enable), unavailable, timeout, unsupported browser, insecure context (HTTP), or disabled by configuration.
• Alternatives always exist: tap the map to choose a point or type coordinates.
• VITE_ENABLE_GEOLOCATION=false hides all location buttons.

Location privacy

• Coordinates are stored only with places or observations the user explicitly saves, only on the device, and are included in exported backups (the export screen warns about this).
• Photos are re-encoded before storage, which strips EXIF GPS data from camera images.
• Tile requests reveal the viewed map area and the user’s IP address to the tile provider, as with any web map.

Nearby park discovery

Not implemented in the MVP. Public sources such as the Overpass API (OSM data) have fair-use limits and no SLA; doing this responsibly needs request throttling, caching, timeouts, response validation and attribution. It is listed in ROADMAP.md as an optional, online-only extension. The explorer is complete for saved places and observation points without it.

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