Privacy Policy

Because (app.philmaps.com) · Effective August 24, 2026

Who we are

Because is a free web-based editor for argument maps, operated by Disagree Wisely, Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit. You can reach us at info@disagreewisely.org.

What information the app handles

Because does not ask you to create an account. The app handles two kinds of data, both of which stay under your control:

• Your argument maps. Maps you create or open are processed in your browser. When you save, the file is written to your own device or, if you use one of the cloud integrations, to your own Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive. Map content is never sent to us.
• Local preferences and crash recovery. The app keeps a copy of your current map and your settings (for example, dark mode) in your browser's local storage so that work survives a crash or an accidental tab close. If you connect OneDrive, your Microsoft sign-in is kept there too, as described below. This data stays in your browser. You can remove it at any time by clearing your browser's site data for app.philmaps.com.

Google Drive integration

If you choose to connect Google Drive, the app requests the drive.file permission. This is Google's narrowest Drive scope: it gives the app access only to the specific files you open through the file picker or create with the app. The app cannot see, list, or modify anything else in your Drive.

• File content moves directly between your browser and Google's servers over an encrypted connection. We operate no server that receives, stores, or inspects it.
• The sign-in token Google issues is held only in the browser tab's memory and is discarded when the tab closes. It is not written to disk or transmitted to us.
• You can withdraw the app's access at any time at myaccount.google.com/permissions. Doing so has no effect on your files, which remain in your Drive.

Because's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Microsoft OneDrive integration

If you choose to connect OneDrive, the app requests four Microsoft Graph permissions: Files.ReadWrite, offline_access, openid and profile. Files.ReadWrite covers the files in your own OneDrive. It is not Files.ReadWrite.All, which would also reach files shared with you from elsewhere in your organisation. The app requests nothing over your mail, calendar, directory, or other people's accounts.

Microsoft publishes no per-file equivalent of Google's drive.file for work or school accounts, so this is the narrowest permission that allows a map to be opened and saved. The in-app folder browser bounds what the app is used for rather than what the permission allows: it reads the folder listings you navigate through and the .mup file you pick, and nothing else.

• File content moves directly between your browser and graph.microsoft.com over an encrypted connection. We operate no server that receives, stores, or inspects it.
• Sign-in uses the authorization-code flow with PKCE from a public client. No client secret exists and no credential of ours takes part in the exchange; Microsoft issues the token to your browser.
• Unlike the Google integration, the app keeps the Microsoft refresh token and the email address you signed in with in your browser's local storage, so that returning to the app does not reopen the sign-in popup every time. Microsoft limits these tokens to roughly a day. Both stay in your browser and are never transmitted to us. File > Switch Microsoft account… deletes them, as does clearing your browser's site data for app.philmaps.com.
• You can withdraw the app's access at any time: on a personal Microsoft account at account.live.com/consent/Manage, and on a work or school account at myaccount.microsoft.com, where an administrator can also revoke it for the whole organisation. Doing so has no effect on your files, which remain in your OneDrive.

Usage analytics

To understand how many people use Because and which features they use, the app sends anonymous usage statistics to Google Analytics. These consist of:

• Feature-usage events — for example, that a reason was added, a map was opened from a file, or dark mode was turned on. Events carry only feature names, fixed category values, and counts (such as the number of nodes in an opened map).
• Standard web measurements collected by Google Analytics: pages viewed, approximate location derived from your IP address (Google Analytics does not log or store the address itself), browser and device type, and a cookie (_ga) that lets returning visits be counted as the same browser.

What analytics never includes: the content of your maps, claim text, file names, Google Drive or OneDrive identifiers, or anything else you type. We have disabled Google's advertising and cross-site "signals" features; the data is used for aggregate statistics only and is not used for advertising.

If your browser sends the Global Privacy Control signal, the app disables analytics entirely. Blocking googletagmanager.com with a content blocker has the same effect; the app works identically either way.

Hosting

The app is served as static files by Google Firebase Hosting. As with any web host, Google processes the technical details of each request (such as IP addresses) in order to deliver the site; that processing is described in Google's privacy policy. Beyond the usage analytics described above, we add no advertising or tracking of any kind.

Data sharing and sale

We do not sell, share, or transfer user data to anyone. Google processes the usage statistics described above on our behalf as our analytics provider. For your map content, sharing is impossible even in principle, since it never reaches us.

Children

The app is intended for use in college and university courses and is not directed at children under 13. It collects no personal information from any user beyond the anonymous usage statistics described above.

Data deletion

We hold no account data about you, so there is nothing of yours to request from us by name; the usage statistics we keep are aggregate and not tied to your identity. To remove everything associated with the app: clear your browser's site data for app.philmaps.com (this also removes the analytics cookie and any stored Microsoft sign-in), revoke the app's Drive or OneDrive access at the links above, and delete any map files you no longer want from your own Drive, OneDrive, or device.

Changes to this policy

If the app's data practices change — for example, if a future version adds a feature that requires a server — we will update this page and change the effective date above before the change takes effect.

Contact

Questions about this policy: info@disagreewisely.org.