Terms of use

Version 2026-09-27 · Applies to the Chamaps website and app at https://chamaps.app

1. Who we are

Chamaps is operated by Chamaps (Ed Freear, sole trader), Esher, Surrey, United Kingdom ("we", "us"). Contact: hello@chamaps.app. Chamaps is not affiliated with FATMAP or Strava.

2. Who may use Chamaps

• You must be at least 18 years old. Chamaps is an adults-only service: it contains user-to-user messaging, live location sharing and unmoderated-in-real-time community content, and it concerns dangerous alpine terrain. When you create an account you confirm you are 18 or over; we may suspend accounts we reasonably believe belong to under-18s.
• You must not use Chamaps if you have previously been suspended by us.
• One account per person. You are responsible for keeping your password secret and for everything done with your account.

3. Mountain safety — read this

Chamaps is an information tool, not a guide and not a safety device. Terrain, slope angle, aspect, imagery, weather, snow-depth models, avalanche bulletins, trails, routes, guidebook entries, conditions posts and anything else on the map may be wrong, out of date, low-resolution, mis-registered or incomplete. Snow and weather values are model outputs, not measurements. Avalanche danger ratings are shown as published by third-party warning services and may lag the official bulletin.

• Always check the official avalanche bulletin, weather forecast and local advice before going out, and turn back when conditions demand it.
• Do not rely on Chamaps for navigation in poor visibility or as your only map. Carry appropriate equipment and know how to use it.
• Live beacons and shared positions are a convenience, not an emergency system. They depend on your phone, its battery and mobile coverage. In an emergency call the local emergency number (112 in Europe, 999 in the UK).
• Content posted by other users, including "verified" guides and operators, is their opinion at a moment in time. Verification means we checked a qualification document; it is not an endorsement or a guarantee.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for loss, injury or death arising from decisions made using Chamaps. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited under English law, including for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.

4. Your content and how you behave

You keep ownership of what you post (routes, activities, photos, reviews, guidebook entries, conditions reports, messages). You give us a worldwide, royalty-free licence to store, display and distribute it within Chamaps so the service works, and to keep the parts that other people depend on (for example a route inside someone else's trip plan) in anonymised form after you leave. Photos and text you mark as public may be shown to people who are not signed in.

You must not post, send or share anything that:

• is illegal in the UK or where you are — including terrorism content, child sexual abuse material, threats, incitement to violence or hatred, harassment or stalking, revenge pornography or other intimate images without consent, fraud, sale of illegal goods, or content encouraging suicide or self-harm;
• harasses, bullies, threatens or intimidates another person, or targets them because of a protected characteristic;
• is sexually explicit;
• reveals someone else's personal information (home address, phone number, live location) without their consent;
• impersonates another person, guide, operator or rescue service, or misrepresents a qualification;
• is dangerous mountain advice presented as fact (for example telling people a closed slope is safe), spam, scams or unsolicited advertising;
• infringes copyright — do not upload maps, imagery, guidebook text or photos you do not have the right to share;
• contains malware or tries to interfere with the service or other users' accounts.

You must not use automated tools to bulk-download content or hammer the service, and you must not attempt to bypass a block or suspension with another account.

5. Reporting content and people

Every message, post, review, guidebook entry, route and profile made by someone else has a flag button. Use it to tell us what is wrong; you can choose a reason and add details, and you can block the person at the same time. Reports are confidential — the person reported is not told who reported them.

• We aim to look at every report within 48 hours. Reports of illegal content, threats, child safety and self-harm are prioritised.
• Where content is illegal or breaks these terms we remove it (messages are replaced with a removal notice), and depending on severity we warn, restrict or suspend the account. Where the law requires it we may refer content to the police or other authorities.
• You are told when your report has been dealt with, in the app.
• You can also email hello@chamaps.app, for example if the flag button does not fit the problem or if you are not a Chamaps user.

Blocking. You can block any user from their profile, a chat, or a report. Blocking removes them from your friends, stops direct messages and friend requests in both directions, hides you from their search, and hides their messages in group chats you share. You can unblock from the Me tab.

6. Enforcement, complaints and appeals

We may remove content, restrict features or suspend accounts that break these terms or the law, or where we reasonably believe an account belongs to someone under 18. Suspended users cannot sign in and are shown the reason.

If you disagree with a decision — content removed, an account suspended, or a report you made that we dismissed — email hello@chamaps.app with the username involved and why you think we got it wrong. A human will review it and reply, normally within 14 days. We will reinstate content or accounts where we were wrong. The same address handles complaints about how we apply these terms or about the reporting tools themselves.

7. Third-party data and services

Chamaps combines open data and services from many providers under their own licences, credited in the attribution panel in the app (for example OpenStreetMap contributors under ODbL, national mapping agencies, Copernicus Sentinel-2, MET Norway, DWD and NOAA weather models, EAWS avalanche bulletins, Photon and Nominatim place search). Their terms apply to that data; do not re-use it in ways their licences forbid. Trademarks and place names belong to their owners.

8. The service itself

• Chamaps is provided free, "as is", and may change, pause or stop at any time. We may impose storage and rate limits to keep costs bounded.
• We do our best to keep your data safe and available, but you should keep your own copies of routes and activities you care about (GPX export is built in).
• You can delete your account at any time from the Me tab; see the privacy policy for what is kept.
• We may update these terms. If the change matters we will tell you in the app before it applies; continuing to use Chamaps after that means you accept the new terms.
• These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction, without taking away consumer rights you have where you live.