Personalization of map content via an application programming interface

A method for personalizing interactive digital maps, the method comprising:

• when a first instance of an application programming interface (API) is invoked by a web browser in response to instructions included in first web page content received from a first provider operating independently of a map server implemented in one or more computing devices:
• providing, by the map server, a first digital map to a user in the web browser,
• receiving, by the one or more computing devices, an identifier of the user,
• receiving, by the one or more computing devices, personalization content which the user applied to the first digital map via the web browser,
• storing the personalization content in a computer-readable memory;
• and
• when a second instance of the API is invoked by the web browser in response to instructions included in second web page content received from a second provider operating independently of the map server and the first provider:
• providing, by the one or more computing devices, a second digital map to the user, wherein the second digital map includes the geographic area and is created independently from the first digital map using map data from the map server, and
• modifying the second digital map in accordance with the personalization content.

A server that operates on a communication network to provide, to client devices, a software for generating interactive digital maps, the server comprising:

• one or more processors;
• a non-transitory computer-readable medium;
• and
• first instructions stored on the computer-readable medium that implement a mapping Application Programming Interface (API), wherein the mapping API, when invoked by a web browser as a first instance in accordance with instructions included in first web page content received from a first provider of the web page content operating independently of a map server, is configured to:
• (i) receive an identifier of a user operating the web browser,
• (ii) generate a first interactive digital map including a representation of a certain geographic area for display by the web browser,
• (iii) personalize the first interactive digital map in accordance with personalization content received from the user via the web browser, using map data from the map server and in accordance with at least one parameter specified by the first provider of the web page content, and
• (iv) store the personalization content for access by a second instance of the API, wherein the second instance of the API (i) generates a second digital map in accordance with one or more parameters included in instructions in second web page content received from a second provider operating independently of the first provider and the map server, and (ii) personalizes the second interactive digital map in accordance with the personalization content, when the second interactive digital map is provided to the same user;
• and
• second instructions stored on the computer-readable medium that, when executed on the one or more processors, provide the first instructions to a client device via the communication network.