# Privacy-safe map images for real estate listings

Show buyers and renters the neighbourhood without putting a pin on someone's front door. One image URL, cached on your side, at a flat monthly price.

![A street map with a shaded circle around several blocks and no pin.](https://pinsharing.com/img/sample-area.png)

Privacy area mode: the circle always contains the home, and every address in its grid cell gets this same image.

## Why listing sites hide the exact address

- **Rentals:** an empty unit with a public address invites break-ins and rental scams.
- **For sale by owner:** private sellers often don't want their home on a public map before a viewing.
- **Vacation and short-term rentals:** guests see the area before booking and the address after.
- **Marketplaces:** pickup spots and local services show a district, not a doorstep.

## How the image protects the address

1. Send the real coordinates as `area=lat,lng`.
1. PinSharing snaps them to a grid (about 1 km by default) and draws a circle around the grid point, big enough to contain the real spot.
1. No pin is drawn, and the real coordinates never appear in the image.

## Add it to a listing page

```html
<img src="https://api.pinsharing.com/v1/static?area=41.6843,-88.3512&radius=800&size=640x300&scale=2&key=YOUR_KEY"
     width="640" height="300" alt="Approximate location of the listing">
```

Better still, fetch it on your server when the listing is created and store it with the listing. You pay for one image per listing, not one per page view, and the coordinates stay private.

## What it costs

A site adding 5,000 listings a month needs 5,000 images and about 5,000 address lookups: well inside Starter at $19 a month, with everything stored indefinitely. Use the [plan calculator](https://pinsharing.com/pricing#calc) for your own numbers.

## Questions

**Can buyers work out the address by comparing maps?**

No. Every address in the same grid cell gets the identical image, so comparing several maps of one listing, or maps of neighbouring listings, gives nothing away.

**How big should the area be?**

For rentals and private sales in towns, a radius of 500 to 800 metres with the default 0.01° grid works well. In rural areas, go larger: radius 2,000 and snap 0.02.

**Can I keep the images on my own servers?**

Yes, on any paid plan, indefinitely and even after you cancel. Build the URL on your server, fetch the image once and serve your copy, so the real coordinates never reach the browser.

**What about the MLS or IDX rules on showing addresses?**

Follow your MLS's display rules. Privacy area mode is for listings where the seller or landlord doesn't want the exact address public, or before a viewing is booked.

## Try it on a real listing

Type any address on the home page to see the privacy image, or get a free key. New accounts get Growth's limits free for 14 days.

Get a free API key

See pricing

More: [how privacy area maps work](https://pinsharing.com/privacy-maps) · [what a static map API is](https://pinsharing.com/learn/static-map-api)

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Source: https://pinsharing.com/use-cases/real-estate-listings · Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Index: https://pinsharing.com/llms.txt