This Privacy Policy explains how RoboPioneer ("RoboPioneer", "we", "us", or "our"), based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, collects, uses, and protects your information when you use PlantCare on the web at plantcare.robopioneer.ca and in the PlantCare apps for iOS and Android (together, the "Service"). Learn more about us at robopioneer.ca.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Information you provide
- Account information: when you sign in, Firebase verifies your identity and provides your email address and a user ID, plus a name or profile photo when supplied. Google sign-in supports verified Gmail accounts. Sign in with Apple also supports Apple's private relay email addresses when you choose Hide My Email.
- Garden data: plant names, species, photos, locations, watering schedules, notes, care history and assistant conversation history. This is stored only in your browser (local storage) or in the app's storage on your device. It is not stored on our servers.
- Photos for identification: when you identify a plant, the photo you take or choose is sent through our server to our AI provider for analysis. We do not store the photo.
- Assistant questions: when you use the AI assistant or AI watering checklist, your message and relevant garden and weather context are sent through our server to our AI provider.
- Support messages: what you send us by email.
1.2 Information collected automatically
- Subscription and usage records: your plan, subscription status and expiry, Stripe customer and subscription IDs (web purchases), App Store transaction IDs (iOS purchases) or a hashed Google Play purchase token (Android purchases), and counters for plant identifications and assistant messages, so web and mobile share one allowance.
- Location: if you allow it, PlantCare reads your approximate (low-accuracy) device location, or uses a location you enter, and sends coordinates rounded to two decimal places through our backend to Apple Weather to get a forecast. We do not track your location in the background and do not store it on our servers.
- Request logs: IP address, browser or device type, and error details processed by our hosting provider to keep the Service running and prevent abuse.
PlantCare does not use advertising, analytics or tracking SDKs, and does not track you across other companies' apps or websites.
2. How We Use Your Information
- To sign you in and secure your account.
- To identify plants, answer care questions and build weather-aware watering guidance.
- To process subscriptions and apply plan allowances.
- To respond to support requests and send important service notices.
- To detect and prevent abuse, fraud and security issues.
Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we rely on performance of our contract with you (providing the Service), our legitimate interests (security and abuse prevention), legal obligations (tax and accounting records), and your consent (device location and camera or photo access, which you can withdraw in your device settings).
3. Service Providers We Share Data With
We do not sell or share your personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising. We share data only with these providers, only as needed to run the Service:
- Google Sign-In and Firebase Authentication (Google LLC): Signing you in and verifying your identity. Firebase receives the identity information and sign-in tokens supplied by your chosen provider, Google or Apple. Privacy policy
- OpenRouter, Inc.: Routes AI requests to model providers (for example DeepInfra for chat). Receives the plant photo you submit for identification, your chat messages, and the garden and weather context sent with them. Privacy policy
- DeepInfra, Inc.: Runs the chat model that answers PlantCare assistant questions, via OpenRouter. Privacy policy
- Apple Weather: Weather forecasts. Receives coordinates rounded to two decimal places through our backend, without your account identity. Privacy policy
- Stripe, Inc.: Processes subscription payments made on the PlantCare website only. Receives your email address and payment details; we receive only a customer ID, subscription ID and payment status. Privacy policy
- Apple Inc. (Sign in with Apple and App Store): Provides Sign in with Apple, including a private relay email address if you choose Hide My Email. Also processes iOS subscription payments and lets us verify them. Apple handles payment details; we receive transaction IDs, the product, renewal status and expiry date. Privacy policy
- Google Play (Google LLC): Processes subscription payments made in the Android app and lets us verify them. Google handles your payment details; we receive only a purchase token, order ID, the product, renewal status and expiry date. Privacy policy
- Neon (Databricks, Inc.): Hosts the PlantCare database that stores account, subscription and usage records. Privacy policy
- Vercel Inc.: Hosts the PlantCare website and API. Processes IP addresses and request logs. Privacy policy
We may also disclose information if required by law, to enforce our Terms of Service, to protect the rights or safety of RoboPioneer, our users or others, or as part of a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, subject to this Policy.
4. International Transfers
RoboPioneer is based in Canada. Our providers process data in the United States and other countries, where privacy laws may differ from those where you live. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.
5. Data Retention
- Garden data stays on your device until you delete it, sign out, delete your account, or remove the app or browser data.
- AI results are kept on our server briefly so a request can be retried safely; they become eligible for removal after 15 minutes and are deleted when cleanup runs. Our AI providers apply their own retention policies.
- Account, subscription and usage records are kept while your account exists and are deleted when you delete your account.
- Payment records held by Apple, Google Play or Stripe, and records we must keep for tax, fraud prevention or legal reasons, are kept for the period the law requires.
6. Deleting Your Data
- Delete your account in the app: in the iOS or Android app, open Profile & settings → Delete account. On the web, open Upgrade (plan & billing) and choose Delete account. This deletes your sign-in record and all server-side PlantCare data, cancels any web (Stripe) subscription, and clears your garden from that device.
- Export or delete your garden only: in the app, open Profile & settings → Local data & privacy to export your garden as a JSON file or delete it from the device.
- By email: you can also request deletion at robopioneer.product@gmail.com. See our account and data deletion page.
App Store and Google Play subscriptions are billed by Apple or Google and are not cancelled by account deletion. Cancel them in your App Store or Google Play subscription settings to stop future charges; refunds for them are requested from Apple or Google.
7. Your Rights
Depending on where you live, including under Canada's PIPEDA, the GDPR and UK GDPR, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), you may have the right to access, correct, delete or receive a portable copy of your personal information, to object to or restrict certain processing, to withdraw consent, and to complain to your data protection authority (in Canada, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada). We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under California law, and we will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
To exercise your rights, email robopioneer.product@gmail.com from the Gmail address you use with PlantCare. We may need to verify your identity and will respond within 30 days.
8. Security
Data is encrypted in transit with HTTPS. In the mobile apps, sign-in tokens are kept in the device's secure storage (Keychain on iOS, Keystore-backed storage on Android). Access to our database is restricted. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
9. Children's Privacy
PlantCare is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country, if higher). If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
10. Cookies and Local Storage
PlantCare does not use advertising or analytics cookies. The website uses browser local storage and strictly necessary storage to keep you signed in, store your garden on your device and remember interface preferences such as theme and climate profile.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy. We will change the date at the top of this page and, for material changes, notify you in the Service before they take effect.