---
type: Domain Concept
title: Map
description: A shareable composition of layers, camera, basemap, and access settings.
tags: [map, composition, sharing]
visibility: public
---

# Meaning

A Map is the user-facing artifact: an ordered composition of
[Layers](layer.md), basemap configuration, camera state, metadata, and access
settings.

# Data relationship

Maps do not own platform data feeds. Their Layers reference stable Provider and
Channel identities. Catalog default changes therefore affect new compositions,
not already published maps.

# Portability

GeoLama map recipes serialize presentation and catalog references with stable
slugs and provider-local channel export keys. User data and credentials are not
implicitly bundled.

# Preview camera

An explicitly updated preview may publish the camera used by the captured frame
as the Map's shared viewport when the author enables that option. The option is
off by default. A viewer's later personal camera remains a local preference.

# Preview labels

An author may exclude Mapbox map labels from one explicit preview capture. The
option is off by default, does not change the Map's presentation, and restores
the live map's label state immediately after the frame is copied.

# Link preview

Each explicit preview update publishes one immutable revision containing a
gallery WebP and a 1200×630 branded social JPEG. Link metadata and the social
image are exposed anonymously only while the Map is public; the same RLS-backed
access boundary continues to protect private Maps.

# Access

Authorization is enforced by database RLS. Client-side visibility checks are
user experience controls, not a security boundary. See
[Authorization and secrets](/security/authorization.md).