PlacesLit FAQ

Home keeps a six-question teaser. This page is the durable set: statuses, D.C., world, storage, editing a shared map, and whether share links appear in search.

Standalone rules: Does Washington DC count? · What counts as visiting?

How many states have I visited?

PlacesLit counts the 50 U.S. states. Your score is N / 50 and a percentage. Washington, D.C. is trackable on the map but never adds to the /50 total.

Does visiting D.C. count?

Mark D.C. if you’ve been — it shows as its own badge. It is not one of the 50 states, so it does not change your percentage.

What do Visited, Lived, and Want mean?

They are the three statuses you paint with. Visited is gold (you’ve stood there). Lived is off-white. Want is a dashed gold outline for a place you still intend to go. US /50 counts Visited or Lived only.

What counts as visiting a place?

You decide. PlacesLit does not require a passport stamp, a night slept, or a photo. Mark Visited if it counts for you, Lived if you lived there, or Want if it’s still ahead.

Can I map countries too?

Yes. Switch to World for 177 countries. They use the same Visited / Lived / Want statuses. The US /50 score still counts only states you’ve visited or lived in.

Is PlacesLit free? Do I need an account?

Yes, it’s free. You can mark places and mint a share link with no account. Your working map stays on this device in localStorage.

Where is my map saved?

On this device, in localStorage. Refresh keeps your selections. Sharing creates a short server-backed /s/[id] link so anyone — and social cards — can reload the exact map.

Can I export a Reel or TikTok?

Yes. Share studio defaults to a 1080×1920 vertical poster. Download the PNG and upload it yourself — PlacesLit never posts to Instagram or TikTok.

Can I edit a shared map?

Yes. Opening a share link loads an editable copy. Use “Save as my map” to replace the map stored on this device, or share again to mint a new link.

Are share links public in search?

Private share pages are noindex and disallowed in robots.txt. Anyone with the unguessable link can open the map. Don’t put secrets in the title — the map is the page.

How does Play trip work?

On the US map, mark two or more states. Play trip sends a gold roadster along your visit order. Drag the stop chips to edit the order. World maps export a still Reel instead.