A little clarity.
How to use the atlas, how information is handled, and what stays on your device.
Beta notice · Updated 15 October 2026
Using the atlas
MEZZO.EARTH is an independent directory and reading list for discovering communities, projects, ideas and ways of living. It is a research starting point, not a complete census or a booking service.
Listings, book selections, classifications and sovereignty assessments are editorial information. Inclusion is not an endorsement, partnership, certification of independence, or assurance of safety, legality, availability or current activity. A mapped-community count does not mean all those communities have been assessed as sovereign.
Locations are approximate public discovery points. Do not use them as directions to private property or as permission to visit. Confirm access, conditions, fees and arrangements directly with the organization. Respect residents’ privacy and local rules.
Building, land, climate, soil, health, finance and spiritual material can contain competing views or outdated information. It is not personalized professional advice. Research layers are models and dated observations, not navigation tools or assurances about a particular parcel. Check relevant sources and qualified local advice before acting.
We aim to correct mistakes when identified but cannot guarantee uninterrupted access or the accuracy or completeness of every third-party source. Nothing here excludes liability or consumer rights that applicable law does not allow us to exclude.
Sources, covers & contributions
Third-party books, covers, names, trademarks, maps and linked content remain subject to their respective owners’ rights. Displaying a cover or providing a link does not transfer a licence to reuse it. Original MEZZO text and design and source-derived data may have different rights; this page grants no blanket licence over the website.
Dataset attribution and reuse conditions are listed on the sources & coverage page and individual records. Adapted Living Atlas data is identified under CC BY-SA 4.0; other sources have their own terms. In particular, imagery can carry non-commercial conditions. Check each source before reusing or monetizing material.
Send only material you are entitled to share. An introduction through Connect stays private to authorized administrators; it does not automatically become a public profile or grant permission to publish private personal information. Please do not submit passwords, confidential information about others, or sensitive personal details.
External links lead to independent websites with their own terms and privacy practices. When you open payment details, Stripe’s payment form loads inside the donation dialog. Payment information goes directly to Stripe; MEZZO does not collect card details. Some payment methods require a redirect for authorization. Confirm the amount and any monthly recurring terms before paying.
Privacy
This notice describes the current application. Its hosting provider also processes requests to deliver and secure the website. Mezzocosm LLC, based in New York, United States, operates MEZZO.EARTH and is responsible for the application’s handling of personal information. For privacy, legal and copyright requests, email info@mezzocosm.com.
| Information | Purpose & handling |
|---|---|
| Page requests and searches | Our server receives requested pages and submitted search terms to deliver results. Requests necessarily expose a network address to the server or hosting provider. Search does not require an account. Do not put sensitive personal information into searches. Hosting access-log and backup retention periods have not yet been confirmed. |
| Connection, language and broad region | The globe loads by default. On the atlas and library pages, Automatic mode times a 32 KB download from this website. A very slow result offers an optional lighter view on the atlas; it does not switch the view automatically. Data Saver skips the test and offers the same option. Browser language suggests a book language. The browser’s time zone suggests the globe’s opening region. These choices are calculated on your device. Test measurements are not saved as a profile or sent back to the server, and no third-party speed-test or IP-geolocation service is used. The test request itself reaches our hosting provider like other file requests. |
| Location button | Only after you request it, your browser asks permission to locate you. Coordinates are rounded to whole degrees and used in memory to center the globe. The application does not save them in an account or send them to its own server. Requests for external map tiles and research layers can reveal the area being viewed to their providers. |
| Email updates (when signup is available) | Signing up requests occasional updates from MEZZO.EARTH and MEZZOCOSM LLC, including Mezzo Habitat. Your email, language, consent wording/version and signup time are shared within these projects to manage that subscription. We do not sell subscriber information. Subscription does not create a Studio account. You may unsubscribe from these updates or request deletion at info@mezzocosm.com. Delivery and storage providers must be identified here before signup is enabled. |
| Connect introductions | The form stores your email, optional name and message, interest, consent version and submission time so authorized administrators can follow up about the project. It does not subscribe you to a newsletter. The application currently retains introductions until an administrator removes them; you can withdraw permission or request removal at info@mezzocosm.com. A periodic retention schedule still needs to be established. |
| Studio accounts and security | Team email, role, password hash, session tokens, recovery records and security/audit events are used for access control and abuse prevention. Passwords are hashed rather than stored as readable text. Sessions expire after eight hours, or thirty minutes of inactivity; recovery links expire after twenty minutes. Account, audit and backup retention still require an operator policy. Short-lived rate-limit records protect sign-in and forms. |
Purposes include providing features you request, operating and securing the atlas, and responding to introductions made with your permission. You can contact us to ask about a particular use of your information or withdraw permission for an introduction.
Community profiles and direct introductions
The community builder saves a private draft and photo in this browser. You can download, restore or clear that draft. After email sign-in, you can also save it in your account. Drafts are not public; editors see a version when you submit it for review. Approved profiles and photos appear publicly. Your email is not shown on the profile. You can take your page offline or delete your project and account from the builder.
When you send an introduction, your name, email and message go directly to the project’s confirmed email address through our email provider. The project replies directly; the MEZZO team does not approve conversations or store their text in the website database. The team can see delivery status and listing reports for 90 days. Recipients and the email provider may keep their own copies. Project owners can pause enquiries by switching off introductions and saving online.
Email sign-in links work once and expire after 20 minutes. The separate project session cookie lasts up to 7 days; signing out clears it and this device’s draft. Browser drafts use the key mezzo-project-draft-v1. Online drafts, photos, review feedback and the representative’s email remain until the project is deleted.
Outside services
The initial globe overview, fonts and application scripts are served by this website. Zooming into the full globe can request imagery from NASA GIBS and EOX. Optional soil, wind and current layers use ISRIC and Open-Meteo. The current library covers are served by this website, with original sources credited separately. Those providers receive the network information needed to answer a request, including an IP address and requested resource. Lightweight view skips these automatic map and cover requests; a cover loads only if you ask for it.
GoDaddy hosts the production website. Password-recovery email, if configured, uses the operator’s email provider. Hosting processing locations, retention periods and international-transfer arrangements are still being confirmed. Following a bookseller, source or Stripe link takes you to a separate service. Stripe also loads inside the donation dialog when you request payment details.
The current application contains no analytics or advertising tracker and does not implement a sale or sharing program for behavioral advertising. If new services change this, the notice and any required controls must be updated before enabling them.
Questions, rights & corrections
Depending on the law that applies, you may have rights to access, correct, erase or receive your personal information, restrict or object to processing, and withdraw consent without affecting earlier lawful processing. You may also complain to the relevant data-protection authority. Contact Mezzocosm LLC at info@mezzocosm.com to exercise these rights. You can also contact your local supervisory authority where applicable.
For a listing correction, privacy concern or copyright request, identify the page or record, explain the issue and your relationship to the information, and provide a way to reply. Do not send identity documents through the public form. Send these requests to info@mezzocosm.com. We may need proportionate information to verify that a request concerns your own data.
Cookie guidance informing this implementation: CNIL and UK ICO. This beta notice will be updated as our practices and service configuration change.