Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 2026
Overview
My World In Blocks turns map locations into 3D block models. The app is designed to keep your data on your device. We do not require an account, we collect no personal data, and we do not sell your data.
Location
With your permission, the app uses your location only while the app is in use, and only to centre the map on where you are. Your location is not stored by the app and is not shared with us or third parties.
Map & elevation data
Satellite map imagery, and a plain map of the area that the app reads on your device to find where the sea is, are provided by Apple Maps. To build a model, the area's geographic coordinates are converted to map tile numbers and used to request public elevation tiles from AWS Terrain Tiles (a public open-data dataset). A tile covers several kilometres, so it identifies a broad area rather than your position. Requests identify the app and its version so the data provider can see which software is using the service; no personal identifiers, names, or account information are sent. Rivers and Landmarks are off unless you turn them on (the Rivers button on the main screen, or Settings). With either on, the area’s bounding box — the same broad area the map shows — is also sent to the public Overpass API to fetch river lines and well-known buildings and bridges from OpenStreetMap; results are cached on your device so each area is asked for once.
Offline data stored on your device
Elevation tiles, and the river and landmark data from OpenStreetMap, are kept in the app's cache by map tile, so areas you revisit or move around redraw instantly and work without a connection. This cache holds only public map and terrain data — no personal information — and the system may clear it automatically when storage is low. You can see its size and remove it at any time in Settings ▸ Storage.
Renderings you save
Saved renderings — the location, its layers, and the grid, height and colour settings used — are stored on your device. If iCloud Drive is on, they are also copied to the app’s own folder in your iCloud Drive, so they come back on a new or reset device; that copy is stored by Apple in your iCloud account, and we can’t see it. Clearing My Renderings (Settings ▸ Danger Zone) deletes them from both. When you buy a guide, the rendering it was made from is saved for you.
Purchases
Building-guide purchases are handled by Apple via the App Store. We never see or store your payment details; Apple processes the transaction under its own privacy policy. Guides you buy are saved on your device and, if iCloud Drive is on, copied to the app’s folder in your iCloud Drive so Restore Purchases can bring them back, along with their parts lists (so “Reuse my old bricks” can take bricks you already have off later lists; these stay on your device). The places you bought them for (the map area, size and build style, never your location) are kept in your own iCloud so Restore Purchases can bring them back on a new device; we can't see that data. If you tap “We can help you build it”, your browser opens our website with your model’s reference number, grid size, piece count and layer count so we can quote for the bricks — never its location. Anything you then send us, and payments made on the website (processed by Stripe), are covered by our website’s privacy terms.
Analytics & tracking
The app collects no data. It contains no third-party advertising, analytics or tracking SDKs, and does not track you across other apps or websites.
Children
The app is suitable for a general audience and does not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Data sources & acknowledgements
Elevation data is provided by AWS Terrain Tiles.
Terrain tiles contain 3DEP, SRTM and GMTED2010 content courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey, and ETOPO1 content courtesy of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Additional contributing sources include NASADEM and a number of national elevation datasets; the full list is published at registry.opendata.aws/terrain-tiles.
These datasets are in the public domain or made available under open terms. Elevation values are approximate.
River and landmark data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL). They are fetched through the Overpass API.
Satellite map imagery is © Apple and its data providers.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Contact support@myworldinblocks.com.au.