Policies Public-facing policies
Duplicate Pin Policy
Prevents clutter, fraud, and SEO pollution from duplicate Pins for the same business or place.
- Version
- 0.1.0
- Effective
- May 20, 2026
- Last reviewed
- May 20, 2026
- Review cycle
- every 12 months
- Master Policy Index entry
- §4 #17
Policy text
Duplicate Pins create clutter, enable fraud, and pollute discovery. The Duplicate Pin Policy defines how duplicates are detected, how the canonical Pin is selected, and how the duplicates are merged, hidden, or removed.
It applies to Map.ca’s deduplication tooling, to the moderation team handling duplicate disputes, and to Pin owners whose Pins are merged into a canonical record. Affected owners are notified and have appeal rights under the Appeals Policy.
Principles this policy enforces
- People own their presence
- Visibility is not for sale
- Public data and personal data are not the same thing
What it requires
- Detect duplicates using location, name, and verified-owner signals.
- Notify affected owners before merging or removing duplicates.
- Preserve appeal rights under the Appeals Policy.
What it forbids
- Do not let duplicates be used to game discovery or saturate a category.
- Do not merge Pins without owner notice and an appeal path.
How it applies
- Pin owners
- Map.ca deduplication tooling
- Moderation staff handling duplicate disputes
References
- Map.ca Policy Constitution §2 principle 3 — Visibility is not for sale
Related policies
Pin Owner Agreement
The rights and responsibilities of Pin owners — who can create a Pin, what they control, what must stay accurate.
Anti-Manipulation Policy
Prevents tag stuffing, false service claims, duplicate Pins, fake locations, false reviews, mass-generated spam, and misleading listings.
Appeals Policy
The appeals path for moderation, claim, accuracy, ownership, and policy decisions that affect users.