How we handle your data

TributeMap is a calm place to share memories. We want to handle your data with care, just like the content you share. This page explains what we collect, why, with whom we share it, and what rights you have.

Who we are

TributeMap is an initiative by Johan and family. We're not a company in the legal sense, but a private undertaking that builds and maintains this site. Reachable via info@tributemap.com.

What data we collect

We collect only what's needed to run the site and to moderate carefully:

• What you provide yourself: when submitting a tribute or memory: title, description, location, optional photos and your name, plus your email for verification and moderation communication
• Email address: only for verifying your submission, status notifications (approval, edit), and possibly contact via the moderator. Not visible to other visitors
• Co-owners: if a tribute owner adds extra email addresses to manage the tribute together, we store those addresses only for access control. Co-owners can be removed at any time by the owner or by emailing us.
• Tribute followers: visitors who subscribe to new memories provide their email and confirm via double opt-in. Every email contains an unsubscribe link. On unsubscribe we remove the address within 24 hours.
• Contact messages: if you send a message via the contact form on a tribute, it is forwarded by email to the owner. We keep a short log that the message was sent (date, tribute, anti-abuse), not the full content.
• Technical data: minimal visitor behavior for site functionality. We use no third-party analytics trackers (no Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel or similar)

Why we collect this data

• To publish your tribute or memory
• To communicate with you about your submission
• To prevent abuse and spam (via captcha and email verification)
• To run the site safely

Automated text screening

Before we publish a tribute or memory, the text first passes through an automated screening against a locally held word list (profanity, discriminatory terms, spam patterns, harmful encouragements). On a serious match the submission is refused immediately; on a mild signal a human moderator sees it with priority.

No external AI, no third party. The screening runs on our own server, touches no personal data, and serves only as an aid to human moderation. We don't use the word list to build profiles or sell patterns, only to preserve the calm and respect on the platform.

What we do not share

The content you place on TributeMap, photos, videos, memories, names, dates, stories, locations, stays yours. We do not sell, rent or share it with third parties in any form. No AI training data, no ad networks, no data brokers, no partner feeds.

What a visitor of a tribute page sees is what you as owner have made public: that is your choice, not a resale by us. What you set to private or unlisted stays private or unlisted, also internally.

Three exceptions, explicit so you know where you stand:

• Legal demand: under a valid court order or law-enforcement request we share what the law obliges us to share, no more. We notify you when legally permitted.
• Technical suppliers (see below): they store the data or deliver mail on our behalf under a data-processing agreement, with the same confidentiality requirements. They may not use your content for their own purposes.
• Platform transfer: should TributeMap ever pass to another owner or foundation, content moves along under the same terms. We notify you before that happens.

Who we share data with

We share your data with a small set of carefully chosen technical suppliers that make the site possible. We do not share data with ad networks or data brokers.

• Database and user authentication (hosted in the EU): storage of tribute content, accounts and photos.
• Site hosting (hosted in an EU region): the servers tributemap.com itself runs on.
• Email delivery (hosted in the EU): transactional mail like verification links, anniversary messages and notifications.
• Map rendering and address search (European provider outside the EU, with EU-law-conformant privacy policy): tiles and geocoding for tribute locations.
• Anti-spam captcha: verifies a form is filled in by a human and blocks automated submissions.
• Receipt of emails on the info@ address: messages you send us arrive at the email suite we use for our inbox.
• External payment providers: only when you voluntarily contribute or buy a paid tribute. They handle the payment, we only receive the payout amount. Which provider appears depends on the button you choose on the site.

On request we share the exact name, country of incorporation and data-processing agreement of every listed provider. Email info@tributemap.com and you'll get the list within a week.

How long we retain data

A memorial platform carries responsibility. We don't want a memory to vanish because a mailbox is no longer being read. So our starting point is: a tribute belongs on the map, also 30 years from now.

• Tributes (free version): remain online as long as they comply with our house rules. No automatic removal or archiving due to inactivity. We only remove on serious breach of the terms, by court order, or upon explicit request from the original owner or a direct relative.
• Tributes (paid version): 5-year retention guarantee starting from the last payment. We send a renewal email well in advance. If you don't renew, paid features revert to the free version 30 days after expiry; the tribute itself stays online indefinitely.
• Memories: as long as the related tribute exists and is approved. On request from the author or the tribute owner we remove individual memories.
• Photos: as long as they belong to an existing tribute. After removal from the tribute they are deleted from storage within 30 days.
• Owner email addresses: kept as long as the related tribute exists, or until you request removal.
• Follower email addresses: until unsubscribe (via the link in every email) or within 30 days after the tribute is archived or deleted.
• Unconfirmed submissions: automatically deleted after 7 days if email verification is not completed.
• Verification and unsubscribe tokens: deleted as soon as they have been used or after 30 days at the latest.
• Edit history: we keep a short audit log of who changed what on a tribute and when. Maximum 12 months, after which it is automatically cleared.

Paid features after a payment expires

Paid features (such as a third photo, a custom vanity URL, anniversary mails, QR codes, co-owners) are extra options on top of the regular tribute. The tribute itself always stays online, even if the paid status expires. For the paid data we run a separate retention cycle so that re-activation can happen without data loss:

• Right after the paid term ends: 30 days later we revert paid features to the free version. The tribute stays online; only the paid extras become inactive. Data is preserved.
• After 1 year in free mode: we archive the paid extras (the third photo is hidden from view, the vanity slug is turned off, the co-owner list is paused, etc.). The data is no longer active on the site, but it has not yet been deleted.
• After 5 years in archive: we permanently delete the paid extras, unless paid has been re-activated in the meantime. The base tribute stays online afterwards.
• Re-activating during archive: anyone making a new paid payment within those 5 years gets all paid features back without having to upload or reconfigure anything.

Inactivity and check-ins

What if a tribute owner stops responding for years? We keep the tribute, but we'd like to know whether the mailbox is still being read, in case anything ever needs to be changed or transferred.

• After 4 years without login or mail response: we send a quiet check-in mail to see if the mailbox is still alive. No action required unless you want to change something.
• For paid: a renewal mail around the 5-year guarantee. Not responding means reverting to free (see above), not that the tribute itself disappears.
• No archive due to inactivity. A free tribute is never archived or deleted just because the mailbox is dead. We only remove on rule violation, court order, or a request from the owner or a direct relative.

Don't want emails about inactivity? Email us and we'll note it.

Cookies

We only use functional cookies needed to make the site work (for example: staying logged in). No tracking cookies, no advertising cookies. That's why you don't need to dismiss a cookie banner here.

Your rights under GDPR

As a visitor or user you have the right to:

• Access the data we hold about you
• Correction of inaccurate data
• Deletion of your data (and/or your tribute)
• Object to our processing
• Portability of your data to another party

Send an email to privacy@tributemap.com with your request. This address goes straight to the right person and helps us handle your request faster. We respond within five working days.

Filing a complaint

If you feel we're not handling your data properly, please tell us first. We'll try to resolve it. If you're not satisfied, you can file a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens).

Changes to this page

If we change our practices or suppliers, we update this page. The date at the top shows when. For major changes affecting your tribute, we send an email.