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My question is quite simple : when using OpenStreetMap tile server to display a map on a website, are informations like makers position and informations sent to OSM servers ? Or does OSM server just get informations about the area to render, and markers are added on 'client' side by the browser (so critical data are just shared by the server hosting the website and user's browser) ?

Thanks !

asked 08 Jun '12, 10:34

Camille's gravatar image

Camille
36113
accept rate: 0%


If you are at all concerned about information being passed back to the OpenStreetMap servers, the answer is simple: use your own tile server. This ensures that there is no chance anyone connected with OSM will be able to find out where you are showing maps of.

The technical answer is that if a map display library like OpenLayers or Leaflet shows a marker over a map, the location of the marker isn't explicitly passed back to the tile server, but some information does leak back should someone who has access to the server logs be trying to find this out. The list of tiles requested by each client on your site would be available, giving a very good idea of which area they were looking at and at which zoom level. Needless to say, none of the OSM server admins are even remotely interested in where your markers are.

permanent link

answered 08 Jun '12, 10:49

Jonathan%20Bennett's gravatar image

Jonathan Ben...
8.3k1785108
accept rate: 18%

Perfect, thx ! That's what I just figured out having a look at network traffic between my browser and OSM server : the only requests are thing like http://vmap0.tiles.osgeo.org/wms/vmap0?LAYERS=basic&SERVICE=WMS&VERSION=1.1.1&REQUEST=GetMap&STYLES=&FORMAT=image%2Fjpeg&SRS=EPSG%3A4326&BBOX=0,0,90,90&WIDTH=256&HEIGHT=256, which are parts of map, sliced from parameters sent :

LAYERS:basic

SERVICE:WMS

VERSION:1.1.1

REQUEST:GetMap

STYLES:

FORMAT:image/jpeg

SRS:EPSG:4326

BBOX:0,0,90,90

WIDTH:256

HEIGHT:256

so nothing about my markers ! :)

(08 Jun '12, 11:21) Camille

I guess that OSM server admins are not interested in my markers, and have certainly more important things to deal with, but my customer had just to be reassured, because geolocation can be quite a confidential issue... ;)

Thx again !

Best regards

(08 Jun '12, 11:27) Camille
3

vmap0.tiles.osgeo.org is not an OpenStreetMap based service.

(12 Jun '12, 08:43) Frederik Ramm ♦

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question asked: 08 Jun '12, 10:34

question was seen: 5,530 times

last updated: 12 Jun '12, 08:43

NOTICE: help.openstreetmap.org is no longer in use from 1st March 2024. Please use the OpenStreetMap Community Forum