Privacy Policy
The short version: the things you record in GardenKnowm stay on your device. We run no servers that collect your data and have no account system. The exceptions (ads and usage analytics in the free version, the location-based weather and alert lookups the app makes, and this website's own analytics) are spelled out below.
1. Data you create stays on your device
Everything you enter in the app — plants, plantings, hives, queens, inspections, flocks, livestock, harvests, soil tests, journal entries, photos, your property location and boundaries, and all settings — is stored only in a local database on your device. We operate no backend and never receive a copy of it.
Optional sync you control: if you turn on syncing, your data moves directly between your own devices over your local network, or through your own Google Drive account (scoped so the app can only see the files it created). It goes only where you direct it; we are never in the middle.
2. Ads in the free version
The free version shows ads via Google AdMob. When ads are shown, Google's advertising SDK may collect:
- a mobile advertising identifier,
- your IP address (which implies coarse location),
- device information (model, OS version, language),
- ad interaction events (impressions, taps).
This is used by Google to serve and measure ads — see Google's advertising policies. Where required (e.g. the EU/UK) we show a consent prompt first; on iOS we show Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt. The one-time GardenKnowm Pro purchase removes the ads and this collection entirely — after that, nothing leaves your device for advertising.
3. Usage analytics in the free version
The free version uses Firebase Analytics (Google) to understand how the app is used — which screens and features get used — so we know what to improve. This may include app usage events, device information (model, OS version, language), and an app-instance identifier not tied to your name or an account (GardenKnowm has no account system).
Pro users are never tracked. The instant you purchase Pro or activate a license key, analytics collection stops completely on that device — nothing is collected or sent, not even anonymized or aggregated. This is automatic, tied to your purchase, not a setting you manage. Analytics data is separate from ad data (section 2) and never includes anything you record in the app (section 1) — Firebase Analytics never sees your plants, hives, animals, or other garden data.
4. Purchases
The GardenKnowm Pro purchase and any desktop license are processed by the app store (Apple / Google) or our web checkout provider. We never receive or store your payment card details — only confirmation that a purchase occurred.
5. Affiliate links
Some screens show "Where to buy" links to products on Amazon. These are Amazon Associate links: if you buy after following one, we may earn a commission. Following a link opens Amazon in your browser, where Amazon's own privacy policy applies. We do not receive personal information about you from Amazon, and product suggestions are based on agronomy, not on any profile of you.
6. Weather, alerts, and other services the app contacts
Built-in lookups (no key needed). To give you local weather, frost dates, drought and weather alerts, and species information, the app sends your property's coordinates (or the location you choose) to public data services: Open-Meteo, the US National Weather Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, MeteoAlarm, the US Drought Monitor, and iNaturalist. If you search for an address, the text you type goes to a geocoding service (OpenStreetMap Nominatim or the US Census Bureau). These providers can also see your IP address. We do not receive any of this.
Optional services with your own key. Plant identification, AI assistance, and some weather stations work only if you add your own API key. Then the relevant request (for example a photo for plant ID, or your garden details for the AI assistant) goes to that provider under your own account and their privacy policy. Without a key, these stay off and nothing is sent.
7. App permissions
- Location — your growing zone, local weather, and frost dates. (Affiliate links don't use it; Amazon routes shoppers on its end.)
- Camera / Photos — to attach photos and scan the device-pairing QR code.
- Notifications — reminders you schedule.
8. Windows desktop version
The Windows version of GardenKnowm (installed with the direct download or from the Microsoft Store) requires a GardenKnowm Pro license. It shows no ads and includes no usage analytics: nothing is sent to Google AdMob or Firebase Analytics. What it does contact:
- License activation. When you enter your key, the app sends the license key and your computer's name to LemonSqueezy, our checkout provider, to confirm it is valid. LemonSqueezy also handles your purchase and receipt. We never see your payment details.
- Local data services. The weather, frost, alert, and species lookups described in section 6 work the same way on Windows. They receive your chosen location and your IP address.
- Update check. About once a day the app asks gardenknowm.com whether a newer version exists. Our web host sees your IP address and the app version, and nothing else.
- Optional features. The AI assistant, plant identification, and Google Drive sync run only if you set them up, and send data only to the provider you choose (section 6 and section 1).
Where your data lives. Your garden database and photos are stored in your Windows Documents folder, and settings in your user profile. Windows may include them in your own backups (for example OneDrive folder backup) if you have turned that on. We never receive a copy.
Microsoft Store. If you install from the Microsoft Store, Microsoft collects install and diagnostic information under its own privacy statement. That is separate from anything GardenKnowm collects, and we do not receive it in any personal form.
9. This website
This marketing site (gardenknowm.com) uses Google Analytics to understand visits, which sets cookies and records standard analytics data (pages viewed, approximate location from IP, device/browser). If you join the launch-notify list, we store the email address you submit — along with the time, your IP, and browser user-agent for abuse prevention — on our own WordPress database, and use it only to email you about the launch. There are no third-party email or marketing services involved.
10. Children
GardenKnowm is a general-audience gardening tool and is not directed to children under 13.
11. Changes
We may update this policy as the app evolves; material changes are reflected by the "Last updated" date above.
12. Contact
Questions about privacy? Email support@gardenknowm.com.