Supporting the OpenStreetMap Data We Rely On

I added a small Support OSM button in the project vector setup area. It only appears in the right context: when a project uses the Public OSM API for vector data.

The button is intentionally quiet. It is not a modal on login, not a permanent banner, and not something that follows you around the interface. If you close it, it stays away for a while. The point is to make the connection visible without turning support into noise.

Why It Is There

MapToPlay is not affiliated with OpenStreetMap or the OpenStreetMap Foundation. But like many other projects, MapToPlay uses OpenStreetMap data when it builds vector layers for your projects.

Those vectors are the roads, buildings, water, fields, paths, and other map features you see after processing. They do not appear out of nowhere. They come from OpenStreetMap, from contributors, from infrastructure, from maintenance, and from a project that has quietly become part of daily life for a lot of software.

OSM Is Everywhere

A lot of people use OpenStreetMap without knowing its name. You may see it in a car navigator, a running app, a hiking tool, a delivery service, a game-related workflow, or a small web map tucked into some product. It is one of those pieces of open infrastructure that can be everywhere while still feeling invisible.

That invisibility is useful, but it also means people can forget that the project needs support. Servers cost money. Data maintenance takes time. Tools need people. The fact that OSM feels normal is exactly why it is worth protecting.

Optional, But Worth Saying

The new button simply explains the relationship and links to the OpenStreetMap Foundation donation page. If OSM helped your project and you want to support it, the path is there.

That is all. No guilt, no forced flow, no pretending MapToPlay owns the thing it depends on. Just a small nudge toward giving credit and support where it belongs.

Stan, Developer of MapToPlay