Policies Public-facing policies
SEO and Public Indexing Policy
What Map.ca exposes to search engines, what stays out of public indexes, and the controls users have over indexing.
- Version
- 0.1.0
- Effective
- May 20, 2026
- Last reviewed
- May 20, 2026
- Review cycle
- every 12 months
- Master Policy Index entry
- §4 #23
Policy text
Indexing is a Constitutional question, not an SEO question. Constitution §2 principle 8 (Public data and personal data are not the same thing) and principle 2 (Location is used for presence, not surveillance) draw the line. The SEO and Public Indexing Policy defines what is indexable by default, what is opt-in, what is permanently noindex (sensitive locations, personal civic reports, anything involving minors), and how Map.ca treats AI crawlers given the doctrine’s position on AI training without consent.
It applies to Map.ca’s SEO and engineering teams, Pin owners with privacy preferences, and any user who wants their content discoverable on terms they control.
Principles this policy enforces
- Location is used for presence, not surveillance
- Collect less, protect more
- Public data and personal data are not the same thing
What it requires
- Respect noindex declarations on opted-out content.
- Configure robots.txt to align with the AI Training and Data Use Policy.
- Structure URLs for permanence so deletions and updates do not break inbound links.
- Provide users with documented indexing controls in account settings.
What it forbids
- Do not index sensitive-location content.
- Do not index personal civic reports.
- Do not allow indexing of content involving minors without explicit authorization.
- Do not optimize indexing in ways that defeat the platform’s privacy posture.
How it applies
- Map.ca SEO and engineering
- Pin owners with indexing preferences
- Users with privacy concerns
References
- Map.ca Policy Constitution §2 principle 8
- Map.ca Policy Constitution §2 principle 2
Related policies
Sensitive Location Data Policy
Protects homes, shelters, children’s programs, places of worship, support services, vulnerable populations, and safety-sensitive locations.
Privacy Policy
What Map.ca collects, why, how long it is kept, who it is shared with, and what rights people have.
AI Training and Data Use Policy
How Map.ca's user content is and is not used for training AI — Map.ca's own systems and external vendors alike.