Terms of Use

By using explore.mv you agree to these terms. The right column is a plain-English summary — the left column is what is legally binding.

1. The service

Explore Maldives (explore.mv) is an encyclopedic reference for the natural world, geography and cultural heritage of the Maldives, operated by DOTMV. The site is provided for informational and research purposes. Access is free and no account is required to read content.

Basically,

explore.mv is a free reference site about the Maldives. No account needed to read.

2. Intellectual property

The content on explore.mv — including but not limited to the selection, arrangement, curation, translation, annotation, and presentation of data — is the intellectual property of DOTMV and is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved.

While some underlying facts (scientific names, island coordinates, population figures) are in the public domain, the compiled dataset, its structure, the Dhivehi translations, the editorial summaries, and the software that presents them represent substantial proprietary investment and may not be reproduced, extracted, or redistributed without written permission from DOTMV.

Basically,

The data we've compiled, curated and translated is ours. Individual facts are public, but the years of work turning them into a structured, searchable database is not. Don't scrape or copy it.

3. Permitted use

You may:

Read, search and browse content for personal, educational or research purposes
Link to individual pages on explore.mv with attribution
Quote short excerpts (up to 100 words per entry) with a citation that includes the URL and the name "Explore Maldives"

Basically,

Read it, link to it, quote a sentence or two with a citation. That's fine.

4. Prohibited use

You may not, without prior written consent from DOTMV:

Scrape, crawl, or systematically download content or data
Reproduce, republish, or mirror the dataset or any substantial portion of it
Use the content to train machine learning models or build competing products
Access the site through automated means at a rate that disrupts service for others
Resell, sublicense, or commercially exploit the content in any form

Basically,

Don't scrape it, mirror it, train AI on it, or build a competing product from it. If you need bulk access for a legitimate purpose, contact us.

5. Accuracy and liability

We make every effort to ensure accuracy. However, content is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. DOTMV accepts no liability for decisions made based on information found on explore.mv. For critical decisions — medical, legal, navigational — always verify against authoritative primary sources.

Basically,

We try to be accurate, but don't rely on this site for critical decisions. We're not liable if something turns out to be wrong.

6. Changes to the service

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the service at any time without notice. We may also update these terms; continued use of the site after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

Basically,

We can change or shut down the site, or update these terms, at any time. Continuing to use it means you accept the changes.

7. Contact

For licensing inquiries, data access requests, or to report inaccurate content, contact us at [email protected].

Basically,

Want to license the data, found an error, or have a question? Email [email protected].

Last updated: April 2026