Apple Maps not giving correct attribution

General talk
1

I think Apple Maps (in DuckDuckGo) only gives attribution if you click onto a link, and that is not right, isnt it?
For example, see here: Änderungsschneiderei Endenicher Straße 10c at DuckDuckGo

2

They have an attribution page because they have so many map data providers. OSM is a featured and top listed provider on such pages. The fact that you need to click to see attribution also applies to their iOS app where you need to tap the layers icon to see OSM contribution. This seems fair given the amount of data providers they need to attribute. FWIW I learned about OSM for the first time because I was trying to update Apple Maps and saw they attributed OSM. So it’s not hard to find and OSM is quite prominent.

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3

No. Apple is violating the attribution guidelines, which very clearly state:

Attribution must be presented to anyone who uses, views, accesses, interacts with, or is otherwise exposed to the map or produced work. The attribution format should not require individuals to interact with the map or produced work to see the attribution.

…and specify under guidelines for interactive maps that:

[…] the credit should typically appear in a corner of the map.

While the lower right corner is traditional, any corner of the map is acceptable. Alternatively, the attribution may be placed adjacent to the map or on a splash screen or pop-up shown when a user starts the app, device, website, etc.

You may use a mechanism to fade/collapse the attribution under certain conditions:

  • immediately with a dismiss interaction, for example clicking an ‘x’ in the corner of a dialog
  • automatically on map interaction such as panning, clicking, or zooming
  • automatically after five seconds. This also applies to splash screens or pop-ups.

If the attribution has been collapsed, the user must still be able to find the licence information if they look for it, for example from an ‘(i)’ button in the corner of the map or an ‘About’ option in a menu.

It looks like the attribution hidden in an attribution page would be fine if they showed it first for at least 5 seconds or until user interaction.

Then again, Apple has violated these guidelines since 2012 in various products (some listed at Lacking proper attribution - OpenStreetMap Wiki), the latest in line being Apple Maps Web, so it doesn’t look like there’s much we can do. Maybe the OSMF tolerates the behavior because Apple also contributes to the project?

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