🔒 Closed-Country Missionary Protection
Field Link Missions has multiple built-in layers of protection for missionaries serving in sensitive or restricted-access countries. When Show on Web Map is unchecked, that missionary is completely invisible to the public at every level — not just hidden from view.
Layers of Protection
- Public map API — The map data endpoint only returns missionaries with Show on Web Map enabled. Closed-country missionaries are never included in the response regardless of how it is requested.
- Direct profile access — Even if someone knows a missionary's ID, the public profile endpoint returns a 404 when Show on Web Map is off. There is no URL that exposes their data publicly.
- Kiosk QR codes — QR codes are never generated for missionaries with Show on Web Map unchecked, neither on presentation slides nor behind the touch kiosk's Continue on your device button. In presentation mode, those missionaries cycle through silently with no scannable code.
- URL deep links — The public map's
?open=IDparameter only works if the missionary is in the public map data. A direct link to a closed-country profile simply does nothing.
💡 Show on Kiosk vs Show on Web Map are independent
A missionary can appear on your lobby kiosk (visible only to people physically inside your building) while remaining completely hidden from the public web map (accessible by anyone on the internet). This is the recommended setting for sensitive-context missionaries — known to your congregation, invisible to the world.
What Turning Off "Show on Web Map" Restricts
- Public map at
app.fieldlinkmissions.com/[your-slug] - Website embed on your church website
- All public API endpoints
- QR codes on kiosks — presentation slides and the touch kiosk's Continue on your device button
- Direct URL profile links
The missionary's data, photos, and letters remain fully accessible to your admin users — only public visibility is affected.