Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how SoilStudio LLC (“SoilStudio,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, discloses, and protects information when you use our website, mobile application, app features, support channels, and related services.

SoilStudio is a Washington-based software company building garden care, plant tracking, soil insight, weather-aware planning, learning, and related mobile tools for home gardeners.

1. Information we collect

We collect information in a few ways: information you provide, information generated through your use of SoilStudio, information collected automatically, and information received from service providers that help us operate the app.

Information you provide

Depending on how you use SoilStudio, you may provide:

• Contact information, such as your name, email address, and messages when you contact us.
• Garden records, such as plant names, garden locations, growing areas, care tasks, schedules, notes, observations, and journal entries.
• Photos and media you choose to add, such as plant photos, garden photos, or images submitted for plant identification or plant health support.
• Messages, prompts, questions, and feedback submitted through app features, including Wizard or guided help features.
• Optional location information, such as a city, region, garden location, or approximate location used to provide weather-aware and garden-specific guidance.
• Purchase or subscription-related information, such as your app subscription status, product tier, entitlement status, or transaction metadata received through Apple or other authorized payment providers.

Information collected automatically

When you use our website or app, we may collect technical and usage information, such as:

• Device and app information, including device type, operating system, app version, language, and general settings.
• Log and diagnostic information, such as crash reports, error logs, performance data, timestamps, and feature usage.
• Approximate technical information, such as IP address or browser information, when you visit our website or interact with online services.
• Installation or device identifiers used to operate the app, prevent abuse, understand reliability, and manage usage limits.

Information stored locally

Some SoilStudio features may store garden records, preferences, or app data locally on your device. Local data may remain on your device unless you delete it, uninstall the app, clear app data, or use available in-app deletion controls.

Some features, including cloud-backed, AI-assisted, photo analysis, weather, support, subscription, or analytics features, may require information to be transmitted to SoilStudio or our service providers.

2. How we use information

We use information to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve SoilStudio.
• Track plants, tasks, notes, garden areas, journal entries, and related records.
• Provide weather-aware garden context and location-relevant guidance.
• Support plant identification, plant health, watering, pest, soil, and garden learning features.
• Respond to support requests, feedback, and other messages.
• Personalize app experiences based on your garden, plants, location context, preferences, and usage.
• Monitor app reliability, safety, security, abuse prevention, and performance.
• Manage access, usage limits, subscriptions, entitlements, and app tiers.
• Test, debug, analyze, and improve app features.
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms.
• Protect SoilStudio, our users, service providers, and others.

3. Photos, prompts, and AI-assisted features

SoilStudio may allow you to submit photos, messages, prompts, plant details, garden notes, and related context to receive plant identification, plant health support, watering guidance, pest guidance, soil-related suggestions, or other garden assistance.

To provide these features, SoilStudio may process your submitted content and related context using our systems and trusted service providers, including providers that support image analysis, artificial intelligence, infrastructure, app security, and related functionality.

You should avoid submitting photos or messages that include sensitive personal information, faces, children, addresses, license plates, financial information, medical information, or other information you do not want processed by SoilStudio or our service providers.

4. Location and weather context

SoilStudio may use approximate location, manually entered location, selected garden location, or weather context to provide garden-aware features, including forecasts, watering context, soil and plant guidance, seasonal information, and localized recommendations.

You can control device location permissions through your device settings. If you do not enable device location access, you may still be able to use SoilStudio by manually entering or selecting a location, depending on the feature.

SoilStudio does not need precise real-time location tracking to provide core garden guidance. We do not sell location information.

5. Payments and subscriptions

If SoilStudio offers paid features or subscriptions through the App Store, purchases are processed by Apple. SoilStudio may receive limited transaction, subscription, entitlement, and purchase status information needed to activate paid features, provide support, prevent fraud, and manage subscription access.

We do not receive your full payment card details from Apple.

6. Shop, affiliate links, and third-party retailers

SoilStudio may include links to third-party products, retailers, or services. If you open a third-party link, the third party may collect information under its own privacy policy and terms.

Some product links may be paid or affiliate links, which means SoilStudio may earn a commission or other compensation if you purchase through those links. SoilStudio does not control third-party retailer websites, product availability, prices, shipping, returns, warranties, or privacy practices.

7. Sharing information

We do not sell personal information.

We may share information with service providers and partners that help us operate SoilStudio, including providers for:

• Cloud hosting and infrastructure.
• Database storage and app backend services.
• AI-assisted text, image, or photo analysis.
• Weather, location, and mapping-related functionality.
• Analytics, diagnostics, crash reporting, and reliability monitoring.
• Email, support, communications, and customer service.
• App subscriptions, payments, and entitlement management.
• Security, abuse prevention, and legal compliance.

We may also disclose information if we believe it is necessary to comply with law, respond to lawful requests, enforce our terms, protect rights and safety, prevent fraud or abuse, or complete a business transaction such as a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets.

8. Analytics and diagnostics

We may use analytics, diagnostics, and crash reporting tools to understand how SoilStudio performs, identify bugs, improve features, and monitor reliability. These tools may collect device, app, event, usage, and diagnostic information.

Where possible, we design analytics and diagnostics to limit unnecessary personal information.

9. Your choices

Depending on the feature and your location, you may have choices such as:

• Accessing, correcting, or deleting certain information.
• Deleting local app data from your device.
• Adjusting device permissions for location, camera, photos, microphone, or notifications.
• Choosing whether to submit photos, prompts, notes, or other content.
• Unsubscribing from non-essential emails.
• Managing or canceling app subscriptions through your Apple account settings.
• Contacting us with privacy questions or requests.

Some information may be retained where needed for security, legal compliance, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, accounting, backup, or legitimate business purposes.

10. Data retention

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide SoilStudio, operate app features, maintain records, respond to requests, improve reliability, comply with law, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements.

Local data stored on your device may remain until you delete it, uninstall the app, or use available deletion controls. Information submitted to cloud-backed, AI-assisted, support, subscription, or analytics features may be retained according to our operational, legal, and security needs.

11. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect information. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. Children’s privacy

SoilStudio is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information to SoilStudio, contact us and we will take appropriate steps to review and delete the information where required.

13. International users

SoilStudio is based in the United States. If you access SoilStudio from outside the United States, your information may be processed in the United States or other locations where we or our service providers operate.

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Updates will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. If changes are material, we may provide additional notice where appropriate.

15. Contact us

For privacy questions or requests, contact:

SoilStudio LLC
Email: support@soilstudioapp.com