This privacy policy applies to the GPlates mobile application ("the GPlates App", "the App"), listed as:
gplates.app, developer Xiaodong Qin6447170583, developer/seller Xiaodong QinThe App is developed and published by Xiaodong Qin on behalf of the EarthByte group in the School of Geosciences at The University of Sydney (ABN 15 211 513 464), Camperdown NSW 2006, Australia, with funding support from the Australian government-funded AuScope National Collaborative Research Infrastructure System (NCRIS) program. The University of Sydney is the legal entity responsible for the App and the web services it uses.
This policy explains what the App accesses, collects, uses and shares. It supplements the University of Sydney's overarching Privacy Statement; where this policy is more specific about the App, this policy applies.
Effective date: 27 September 2026
The GPlates App does not require an account, does not contain advertising, and does not include any analytics, advertising, tracking or crash-reporting software. We do not collect personal information in order to identify you, we do not build user profiles, and we never sell or rent information about you to anyone.
Location (optional). The App only requests your device location when you tap the "my location" button, and only if you grant permission. Your coordinates are used to centre the globe on your position and, so that the App can show where that point sat in the geological past, the latitude and longitude are sent to the GPlates Web Service (gws.gplates.org) to look up the corresponding tectonic plate. The coordinates are used for that lookup only and are never associated with your name, an account or a device identifier. Because they form part of the request address, they may appear in the service's standard access logs, described below, and are retained only for as long as those logs are kept; they are not added to any profile or database about you. The copy held on your device is discarded when you close the App. You can refuse or withdraw location permission at any time in your device settings; every other feature of the App continues to work without it.
Photo library (write only). If you choose to save a screenshot, the App writes the image to a "GPlates" album in your device's photo library. The App does not read, browse or upload your existing photos.
Sharing you initiate. If you use the share button, the image and text you chose are handed to your device's standard share sheet, and the app you pick (mail, messaging, social media) then handles them under its own privacy policy. Nothing is shared unless you initiate it and choose the destination.
Settings and cached map data. Your App settings, together with cached maps, rasters and plate model data, are stored locally on your device so the App starts quickly and works offline. This data stays on your device and is removed when you uninstall the App.
To display maps and reconstruct geological data, the App requests data from services operated by the EarthByte group at The University of Sydney:
gws.gplates.orggeosrv.earthbyte.orgAs with any request to a web server, these services record standard technical log entries: the IP address the request came from, the date and time, and the data requested — which, for a plate lookup, includes the coordinates you asked about. These logs are used only to operate, secure and troubleshoot the services and to count aggregate usage. They are not used to identify individual users, and they are not combined with any other information about you.
If you change the server address in the App's settings, requests go to the server you nominate instead, and that server's operator — not us — determines how those requests are handled.
The App contains links to external websites, such as gplates.org, the EarthByte website, the University of Sydney website and reference pages. Those sites are governed by their own privacy policies.
The GPlates App is an educational tool suitable for all ages and is used in schools. It collects no personal information from anyone, including children, and contains no advertising, no in-app purchases and no social features.
We do not sell, rent or trade information about you. We do not disclose information to third parties except where we are required to do so by Australian law.
Because the App does not collect personal information, there is normally nothing for us to retrieve, correct or delete. Server logs are retained only as long as needed to operate and secure the services. If you believe we hold personal information about you, you may ask to access or correct it, or make a privacy complaint, by contacting us below or through the University of Sydney's Privacy Statement, which sets out the University's obligations under the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW).
If we change how the App handles data, we will update this page and revise the effective date above. Significant changes will be noted in the App's release notes.
For any question about this policy or the GPlates App:
EarthByte, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Camperdown NSW 2006, Australia