Can I store Geocode data forever in my database?

Jo 20 Reputation points
2024-09-23T17:15:18.2333333+00:00

It's not really clear from the ToS and answers here. When I make a request to get Geocode data, can I store the response forever in my private database for commercial purposes as long as I have a Azure account?

Azure Maps
Azure Maps
An Azure service that provides geospatial APIs to add maps, spatial analytics, and mobility solutions to apps.
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  1. rbrundritt 17,981 Reputation points Microsoft Employee
    2024-09-23T20:23:54.77+00:00

    Before answering, I want to put down the key information here for others who come across this post. The terms of service for Azure Maps are included with the Azure terms of service here: https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/terms/en-US/productoffering/MicrosoftAzure/MCA

    Microsoft does not provide legal guidance, you should seek verification of any legal terms with your own council since at the end of the day, it is you/your company who would be responsible for aligning with the terms.

    My interpretation of the terms are as follows:

    1. You can store geocode results from Azure Maps in Azure for as long as you have an active Azure account. Note, the data is to be stored in Azure, not in database outside of Azure. However, if you need to store geocode results outside of Azure, I believe that would revert back to the method of using the expires header or 6 months period, whichever is shorter.
    2. There are some restrictions on what can be done with this stored data. I believe the primary use case that this term is designed for is for store locator like scenarios, where you would geocode all your addresses ahead of time and store the coordinates with the rest of your data. Then you could use the spatial query functions of the database to find your results (e.g. all records within a circle or polygon), then potentially show the record on a map at those coordinates.
    3. Geocodes are one of the few types of data in Azure Maps where you can use them in combination with a 3rd party map. For example, if you wanted to display your records on a simple map in Android and iOS, it might make more sense to use the map control that's built into each of these platforms.
    4. The stored geocode data cannot be resold. For example, if you were to sell a copy of your data to say a marketing company, you would need to remove the geocode data.
    5. There is a term that says "Customer may not cache or store information delivered by the Azure Maps API including but not limited to geocodes and reverse geocodes, map data tiles and route information (the “Results”) for the purpose of scaling such Results to serve multiple users, or to circumvent any functionality in Azure Maps." which I think contradicts what I say in #2. I believe the idea of storing the data with your records makes sense and the purpose of this term is more so along the lines of preventing people from building up a database of locations from Azure Maps, then creating their own geocoding service that might be used to power a search box on a website as a way to avoid making calls to the Azure Maps services. At the same time, if you were geocoding all the records in a database, I personally would try an optimize that process by finding records that had identical records and only geocode unique addresses once.
    1 person found this answer helpful.

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