Privacy Policy for Pocket Botanist

Last Updated: May 12, 2025

Welcome to Pocket Botanist ("App", "we", "us", or "our"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application. Please read this privacy policy carefully. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TERMS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY, PLEASE DO NOT ACCESS THE APPLICATION.

1. COLLECTION OF YOUR INFORMATION

We may collect information about you in a variety of ways. The information we may collect via the Application depends on the content and materials you use, and includes:

Pocket Botanist may collect the following types of information:

  • Usage Data: We may collect anonymous information about how you use the App, such as the features you access, the frequency of access, and error logs to help us improve the App. This data is aggregated and does not personally identify you.
  • Image Data (via Gemini API): If you use the plant identification feature, images you submit for identification will be processed by Google's Gemini API. We aim to process these images in a way that respects your privacy. You will be prompted for camera/photo library access. Please refer to Google's Privacy Policy for information on how they handle data processed by the Gemini API.
  • Device Information: We may collect basic device information (e.g., device type, operating system version) for troubleshooting and to optimize the App experience. This is not linked to personal identifiers.
  • Advertising Data (via Google AdMob): We use Google AdMob to serve advertisements within the App. AdMob may collect and use information about your device, such as your device's advertising identifier, IP address, and information about your interaction with ads. This information is used to provide personalized advertising and to measure ad performance. For more details on how Google collects and uses data through AdMob, please review Google's Privacy & Terms.
  • Data for Gemini API: In addition to image data, interactions with features powered by the Gemini API (such as text prompts for plant information or care tips) may involve sending text data to the API for processing. This data is used to provide you with the requested information or functionality.

Note on Third-Party Services:We utilize third-party services like Google AdMob for advertising and Google's Gemini API for features such as plant identification. These services have their own privacy policies that govern how they collect and use your data. We encourage you to review them:

You MUST disclose what data these SDKs/APIs collect and ensure your practices align with their terms and your users' expectations.

2. USE OF YOUR INFORMATION

Having accurate information permits us to provide you with a smooth, efficient, and customized experience. Specifically, we may use information collected about you via the Application to:

  • Provide, operate, and maintain our App.
  • Improve, personalize, and expand our App.
  • Understand and analyze how you use our App.
  • Develop new products, services, features, and functionality.
  • Process your requests for plant identification.
  • Monitor and analyze usage and trends to improve your experience with the Application.
  • Diagnose and fix technical issues.

3. DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION

We may share information we have collected about you in certain situations. Your information may be disclosed as follows:

  • By Law or to Protect Rights: If we believe the release of information about you is necessary to respond to legal process, to investigate or remedy potential violations of our policies, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of others, we may share your information as permitted or required by any applicable law, rule, or regulation.
  • Third-Party Service Providers: We may share your information with third parties that perform services for us or on our behalf, including data analysis, image processing for plant identification, hosting services, customer service, and analytics. We require these third parties to maintain the confidentiality of your information and to use it only for the purposes for which it was disclosed.
  • Business Transfers: We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
  • Aggregated or Anonymized Data: We may share aggregated or anonymized information, which does not directly identify you, with third parties for various purposes, including research, marketing, or improving our services.

We do not sell your personal information.

4. TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES (IF APPLICABLE)

This website does not use cookies or similar tracking technologies. Our mobile application, Pocket Botanist, may use device identifiers or similar technologies provided by the mobile operating system or third-party analytics providers (Firebase Analytics) to collect anonymous usage statistics to help us improve the app and diagnose issues. These identifiers are not typically linked to your real-world identity. You may be able to control or reset these identifiers through your device settings.

5. DATA SECURITY

We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your information. While we have taken reasonable steps to secure the information you provide to us, please be aware that despite our efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse. Any information disclosed online is vulnerable to interception and misuse by unauthorized parties. Therefore, we cannot guarantee complete security if you provide personal information.

6. DATA RETENTION

We will retain your information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy policy..

7. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY (IMPORTANT)

Our App is not intended for use by children under the age of 13 (or a higher age threshold if required by applicable law, e.g., 16 in some EU countries for GDPR, or as per Apple/Google Store guidelines). We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under these ages. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from a child under the relevant age without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with Personal Information, please contact us.

8. YOUR DATA PROTECTION RIGHTS (E.G., GDPR/CCPA)

Depending on your location and applicable laws, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information. These may include the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you.
  • Request that we correct any inaccurate personal information.
  • Request that we delete your personal information.
  • Object to or restrict our processing of your personal information.
  • Request the transfer of your personal information to another party (data portability).
  • Withdraw consent at any time (if processing is based on consent).

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the email address provided below. We will respond to your request within the timeframes required by applicable law. You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority.

For European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) Residents (GDPR):

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA) or the UK, you have certain data protection rights. We aim to take reasonable steps to allow you to correct, amend, delete, or limit the use of your Personal Data.

Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data under GDPR:

We may process your Personal Data under the following conditions:

  • Consent: You have given your consent for processing Personal Data for one or more specific purposes (e.g., for personalized advertising if an opt-in mechanism is used, or for specific feature usage).
  • Performance of a contract: Provision of Personal Data is necessary for the performance of an agreement with you and/or for any pre-contractual obligations thereof (e.g., processing images you submit for identification to provide the core service).
  • Legal obligations: Processing Personal Data is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject.
  • Legitimate interests: Processing Personal Data is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us, such as improving our App, analytics, ensuring security, and providing non-personalized ads, except where such interests are overridden by your data protection interests or fundamental rights and freedoms.

Your Rights Under GDPR: In addition to the rights listed above, you have the right to:

  • Be informed about how your data is processed.
  • Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

If your data is transferred outside of the EEA or UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses, or reliance on an adequacy decision, often managed by our third-party service providers like Google.

For California Residents (CCPA):

This section supplements the information contained in our Privacy Policy and applies solely to all visitors, users, and others who reside in the State of California. We adopt this notice to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) and any terms defined in the CCPA have the same meaning when used in this section.

Categories of Personal Information Collected: In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have collected the following categories of personal information (as described in more detail in Section 1 "COLLECTION OF YOUR INFORMATION"):

  • Identifiers (e.g., device advertising identifier, IP address).
  • Internet or other similar network activity (e.g., usage data, interaction with the App and advertisements).
  • Geolocation data (inferred from IP address, or more precise if you grant permission for specific features – please specify if your app requests precise location).
  • Visual information (e.g., images you submit for plant identification).
  • Inferences drawn from other personal information (e.g., to personalize your experience or ads).

Business or Commercial Purposes for Collecting Personal Information: We collect personal information for the business and commercial purposes described in Section 2 "USE OF YOUR INFORMATION."

Sharing Personal Information: We may disclose your personal information to third-party service providers for business purposes as described in Section 3 "DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION" (e.g., to Google for AdMob and Gemini API services).

"Do Not Sell My Personal Information": We do not "sell" your personal information as the term is traditionally understood. However, the CCPA has a broad definition of "sale" that may include sharing information for personalized advertising. We use Google AdMob, which may collect information to serve you personalized ads. You can typically control personalized advertising through your device settings and Google's ad settings. For more information on Google's practices, please visit Google's Privacy & Terms. We do not knowingly sell the personal information of minors under 16 years of age.

Your Rights Under CCPA: In addition to the rights listed at the beginning of Section 8, California residents have the right to:

  • Request that we disclose certain information to you about our collection and use of your personal information over the past 12 months (the "right to know").
  • Request that we delete any of your personal information that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions (the "right to delete").
  • Not be discriminated against for exercising any of your CCPA rights.

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the contact information provided below. Only you, or a person registered with the California Secretary of State that you authorize to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information.

9. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page. Significant changes may also be communicated through the App or via email if we have your contact information.

10. CONTACT US

If you have any questions or suggestions about our Privacy Policy, do not hesitate to contact us.

Email: [email protected]