Privacy Policy
Last Updated: 2025-07-20
Welcome to PlantShare! Your privacy is important. This Privacy Policy explains how the app collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use PlantShare.
1. Company Information
PlantShare is operated by Bulbul and Barbet (Pty) Ltd, a company incorporated in South Africa.
For any privacy-related questions or concerns, you may contact:
2. Data We Collect
We collect the following personal data to provide and improve the PlantShare experience:
- Email address
- Username or handle (user-defined; not required to be your real name)
- Location (required; can be approximate, e.g., suburb or city, or device-based)
- Profile image
- Plant images and descriptions
- Community posts including photos and comments
We do not collect device or usage data, and we do not use cookies or tracking technologies.
3. How We Use Your Data
- To create and manage your user account
- To enable messaging and community features
- To support location-based plant searching and discovery
- To improve the PlantShare app through internal analytics (used only within this app)
- To send app-related notifications such as messages, replies, and nearby plant alerts
We do not use your data for marketing or promotional purposes.
4. Sharing Your Data
We do not share your personal data with any third parties. The app does not use third-party services for login, analytics, or data hosting integrations.
5. Data Retention and Security
- We retain your data for as long as the app exists and you have not deleted your account or data.
- You have the option to delete your data at any time within the app.
- All data is transmitted using HTTPS encryption.
- Data is stored securely on privately hosted, modern infrastructure with appropriate access controls.
6. Region-Specific Compliance
PlantShare complies with South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). While the app is available globally, privacy practices may be updated to comply with other jurisdictions’ laws such as GDPR or CCPA if the user base expands.
7. Children’s Privacy
PlantShare is not intended for children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from users in this age group. If we learn that a user under 13 has registered, we will delete their data as soon as reasonably possible.
8. Privacy Policy Updates
- This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in laws, app features, or data practices.
- The "Last Updated" date at the top of this document will reflect the latest revision.
- Significant updates may be communicated through in-app notices or notifications.
If you have any questions about this policy, please contact us at [email protected].