PlantPal strives to be a good citizen on your iPhone and iPad. That includes minimum data collection on our end, and user data that belong to the user. As a summary:
- PlantPal stores user data locally and with iCloud. We simply don’t have access to your user data.
- PlantPal uses RevenueCat to handle purchase data. This is required for the app’s functionality.
- PlantPal uses Google Analytics to understand how users engage in the app, and to plan features. The linked SDK does not collect device identifiers and is not used to serve targeted ads in other apps.
- When you submit a keyword for a missing plant, we transmit the keyword, and possibly any names you gave to the related plant.
- PlantPal adopts a subscription-based business model, and we don’t profit with user data, tracking, or ads.
User Data
“User data” are things you create within PlantPal. Examples include your plants (and their photos), rooms, properties, tasks, etc.
User data are stored locally on the device and—if iCloud is enabled—synced with iCloud. The user owns their data. There is no 3rd party server that stores user data.
We the developer cannot see user data unless you explicitly share them via iCloud.
Exporting and importing data
You can always export your data. The exported file is in an uncompressed ZIP file, containing one export.json file that describes the structure of the data, and a folder of images in their original size. Exporting your data does not require a PlantPal Pro subscription. You may import data with the exported ZIP file.
Data exporting and importing are free to use.
Purchase Data
PlantPal utilizes RevenueCat to check for in-app purchases and validate them with the App Store. RevenueCat generates a random device ID that it uses, and may tie this ID to App Store receipts. We may therefore know that two RevenueCat IDs belong to the same user. RevenueCat reports metrics in aggregate such as total income and active users over a period of time. This is required for the app’s functionality.
Analytics Data
Google Analytics is utilized to collect statistical information on how users use the app. The SDK we link is explicitly not for ad and tracking. The SDK, according to Google, does not collect personally identifying data, and does not use IDFA to portrait you, or to serve you targeted ads in other apps.
On the data I collect, I care about the “how many” and “how much,” never “what” or “which.” We collect:
- The count of plants, rooms, groups, and properties that a user has
- The count of photos that the user has
- The count of wishlist items that the user has
We also collect how users interact in the app to understand how they behave in key experiences such as the welcome screen or in our paywall.
We do not collect (and do not quite care about) what plants you may have, their names, photos, or anything other than a total count. These statistics help us plan features, and understand patterns of how users engage in the app.
The Plant Catalogue
The Plant Catalogue helps user find plants by using keyword search. The Catalogue contains nothing created by the user. We the developer populate 100% of the information.
Submitting keywords to the Catalogue
Starting with Version 3.10, the user may submit keywords for us to consider including in the Catalogue. We will use submitted information to periodically add missing plants, or improve the accuracy on existing ones.
When submitting a keyword, the app will send what you have typed in the textfield to our server. Along with it is a random User ID stored locally and used only for feedback submission. The User ID is not tied to your purchase, your iCloud account or your device ID. It helps us audit the validity of the submitted information.
When you submit the keyword via “Care Notes”, the name (and secondary nickname) of the plant will also be sent to us.
When you submit a feedback for a missing plant from search, we will also receive the text in your search bar.
Information is retained up to 40 days on our server, and usually removed sooner when we review and use them to populate the Catalogue.
Using Photo Library
PlantPal does not need access to your photo library to function. By default, when you pick a photo, only the selected photo is passed to the app by iOS, stripping it of any information such as date, location and EXIF information.
The only time that PlantPal requires photo library access is when you batch-import old photos. Granting access to you photo library allows PlantPal to know when the photos were taken, and to match the timestamp in app. You may choose to revoke access to your photo library after batch import (since this is likely not done on a regular basis). You may also import your old photo one by one, and manually date them, without granting access to photo library at all.