11-21, 14:00–14:25 (Pacific/Auckland), WG126
MapSafe is a QGIS plugin that enables users to protect and share sensitive geospatial data with privacy controls like donut masking, encryption, and blockchain verification. It brings advanced geoprivacy functions into desktop GIS workflows, eliminating reliance on third parties and supporting compliance with data protection regulations.
This session introduces MapSafe, a desktop geoprivacy plugin for QGIS that empowers users to secure sensitive spatial data directly within their existing GIS workflows. Through a live demonstration, attendees will see how the plugin anonymizes data using techniques like donut masking and hexagonal binning, protects original datasets via public-key encryption, and verifies dataset authenticity using blockchain notarization. The talk will highlight how MapSafe avoids reliance on third parties, scales to large datasets, and supports regulatory compliance. Designed for usability, the plugin includes tooltips, documentation, and video guides, making geoprivacy accessible to users across skill levels. Whether you're a GIS professional, data steward, or researcher, this talk will offer practical insights into integrating geoprivacy directly into your desktop environment.
Link to article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17489725.2025.2497752?src=exp-la
As Associate Professor at the University of Fiji. I earned my PhD in Information Science from Otago University, Following my PhD, I joined the Department of Environment at the University of Auckland as a Postdoctoral Fellow, where I contributed to vital research on data sovereignty and Māori biodiversity data management in New Zealand. At the 2023 FOSS4G in Auckland, I presented our web based MapSafe: tool for achieving geospatial data sovereignty, an innovative tool https://www.mapsafe.xyz for secure data management, empowering sovereign data owners to obfuscate, encrypt, and notarize data—all client-side—ensuring data remains protected and verifiable.
This presentation will demonstrate a QGIS desktop based version of the web based tool.