Acceptable Use Policy

1. Introduction

GeoPin is a geolocation inference service designed for legitimate, lawful purposes. This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") describes the rules governing the use of the GeoPin service and applies to all users, including free users, paid subscribers and business customers.

This AUP supplements our Terms of Service. By using GeoPin, you agree to this AUP. If you become aware of a violation of this AUP, please report it to us immediately.

Geolocation technology is powerful, and with that power comes the responsibility to use it ethically and in compliance with the law. We take this responsibility seriously and expect the same from our users.

2. Permitted Use

GeoPin is intended for the following lawful purposes, including but not limited to:

• Photography and creative work — geotagging photos, identifying locations depicted in images for editorial, artistic or personal archiving purposes.
• Journalism and research — verifying the location of newsworthy images as part of fact-checking and open source intelligence (OSINT) workflows, subject to the ethics guidelines in Section 4.
• Cultural heritage and tourism — identifying landmarks, historical sites and points of interest in the Netherlands.
• Real estate and urban planning — identifying estimated locations for property research, site analysis or urban development studies.
• Environmental monitoring — geolocating images related to environmental reporting, nature conservation or ecological research.
• Academic research — geolocation studies conducted in accordance with institutional ethical review processes.
• Business intelligence — lawful competitive analysis, logistics and supply chain research within applicable legal frameworks.

3. Prohibited Activities

The following activities are strictly prohibited when using the GeoPin service. Engaging in any of these activities may result in immediate termination of your account and, where applicable, referral to law enforcement authorities.

3.1 Stalking & Harassment

• Using GeoPin to track, monitor or determine the location of a person without their explicit, informed consent.
• Using GeoPin to identify a person's location for the purpose of harassment, threats or intimidating behaviour.
• Using GeoPin to discover someone's home address, workplace or frequently visited locations for the purpose of unwanted contact or surveillance.
• Using GeoPin in the context of domestic violence, stalking orders or restraining order violations.

3.2 Illegal Surveillance

• Using GeoPin as part of a surveillance system targeting individuals or groups without lawful authority.
• Using GeoPin to monitor political activities, religious practices, trade union membership or other activities protected under Article 9 of the GDPR or the Dutch Constitution.
• Using GeoPin in combination with facial recognition, person re-identification or other biometric surveillance technologies to track individuals.
• Using GeoPin on behalf of, or providing results to, government agencies or law enforcement without appropriate legal authorisation (warrant, court order or equivalent legal instrument).

3.3 Criminal Activities

• Using GeoPin to facilitate, plan or carry out criminal activities under Dutch, EU or international law.
• Using GeoPin to identify locations for the purpose of burglary, theft, trespass or property damage.
• Using GeoPin to locate individuals for the purpose of causing physical harm, kidnapping or human trafficking.
• Using GeoPin to geolocate images depicting illegal activities (e.g. child sexual abuse material). If we become aware of such use, we will immediately report it to the competent authorities.

3.4 Doxing & Privacy Violations

• Using GeoPin to collect, publish or distribute personal information about individuals without their consent ("doxing").
• Using GeoPin to de-anonymise individuals who have a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding their location.
• Combining GeoPin results with other data sources to compile detailed movement profiles or location histories of identifiable individuals.

3.5 Service Integrity

• Attempting to reverse-engineer, extract or replicate GeoPin's machine learning models.
• Using automated tools to submit requests at a rate exceeding your plan's limits or circumventing rate-limiting mechanisms.
• Disrupting or interfering with the Service or its infrastructure.
• Reselling access to GeoPin or offering GeoPin's API output as a competing geolocation service without our written permission.

4. OSINT Ethics Guidelines

GeoPin recognises that many of our users are journalists, researchers and OSINT professionals who use geolocation as a tool for verification, accountability and investigation in the public interest. We support this work and ask that it be conducted ethically and responsibly.

4.1 Principles

• Proportionality — the use of geolocation should be proportional to the purpose of the investigation. Do not geolocate images when it is unnecessary or irrelevant to your work.
• Minimisation — collect and retain only the location data you need. Avoid creating detailed movement profiles of individuals unless absolutely necessary for a legitimate investigation and proportional to the public interest.
• Do no harm — consider the potential consequences of publishing geolocation data. Could it endanger the safety of the person depicted, their family or others? If so, exercise caution or refrain from publication.
• Accuracy and context — GeoPin results are probabilistic estimates. Always verify results through independent means before publishing. Present results with appropriate caveats about confidence levels and limitations.
• Consent and public interest — where possible, seek consent before geolocating someone's images. Where consent is not feasible, ensure that the public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs the individual's privacy interest.
• Transparency — when publishing findings based on geolocation, be transparent about your methodology, tools used (including GeoPin) and the confidence level of your results.

4.2 Responsible Disclosure

If your OSINT work with GeoPin uncovers evidence of criminal activity or threats to human safety, we encourage you to report your findings to the appropriate authorities and exercise caution with public disclosure to avoid jeopardising investigations or endangering individuals.

5. Legal Obligations

As a user of GeoPin, you are responsible for ensuring that your use of the Service complies with all applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to:

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — (EU) 2016/679. If you use GeoPin to process personal data (e.g. geolocating images of identifiable individuals), you may be a data controller under the GDPR and must comply with its requirements, including having a lawful basis for processing.
• Dutch Criminal Code — including provisions on stalking (Art. 285b), threats (Art. 285) and invasion of privacy (Art. 139f).
• EU Charter of Fundamental Rights — including the right to respect for private and family life (Art. 7) and the right to protection of personal data (Art. 8).
• Applicable export control rules — you may not use the Service in violation of EU or Dutch export control laws or sanctions.

GeoPin is not a substitute for legal advice. If you are unsure whether your intended use of the Service is lawful, we strongly recommend consulting a qualified legal professional.

6. Enforcement & Consequences

We take violations of this AUP seriously. Upon becoming aware of a potential violation, we may at our sole discretion take one of the following actions:

6.1 Graduated Response

1. Warning — for a first or minor violation, we may issue a written warning and request that you immediately cease the offending activity.
2. Temporary suspension — we may temporarily suspend your API access for a period of up to 30 days while we investigate the violation.
3. Permanent termination — for serious or repeated violations, we will permanently terminate your account and revoke all API keys without refund.
4. Legal action — we reserve the right to pursue legal remedies, including damages, injunctive relief and reporting to law enforcement authorities.

6.2 Immediate Termination

The following violations will result in immediate account termination without warning:

• Any use of GeoPin to facilitate stalking, harassment or threats of violence.
• Any use of GeoPin to geolocate child sexual abuse material or other illegal content.
• Any use of GeoPin to facilitate kidnapping, human trafficking or other violent crimes.
• Active attempts to attack or compromise GeoPin's infrastructure.

6.3 Cooperation with Authorities

When we become aware of illegal activity through our Service, we will cooperate with Dutch and European law enforcement authorities to the extent required or permitted by law. We may preserve and provide account information, usage data and API logs as necessary to comply with legal process.

7. Reporting Violations

If you become aware of any use of GeoPin that violates this AUP, please report it to us immediately:

Please include as much detail as possible, including the nature of the violation, any relevant evidence (screenshots, API key identifiers, timestamps) and the identity of the individuals involved (if known). We will investigate all reports promptly and treat them confidentially.

8. Contact

If you have questions about this Acceptable Use Policy or need guidance on whether your intended use of GeoPin complies with this AUP, please contact us: