1. Privacy at a glance
- No account or email address is required to use the app.
- We do not include third-party advertising or behavioral advertising SDKs.
- We do not sell personal information or use it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
- We do not operate cloud sync for your plant library.
- The app uses a random installation identifier to enforce subscriptions, quotas, rate limits, and abuse protections.
2. Scope and operator
SproutShout is operated by Christopher W. Jacobs (“SproutShout,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). This policy applies to the SproutShout mobile app, this website, and support communications that link to it.
This policy does not control Apple, Google, OpenAI, RevenueCat, Supabase, WeatherAPI, or any application or service you select from your device’s sharing interface. Those organizations process information under their own terms and policies.
3. Information we handle
Information stored locally on your device
Depending on how you use SproutShout, the app stores plant names and species, plant profile details, notes, locations within your garden, pot and environment details, care schedules and history, notification settings, app preferences, statistics, imported sharing history, photos you select or take, and AI chat messages and images. Local notifications and widget snapshots are also generated from local app data.
AI information you choose to send
When you use an AI feature, SproutShout sends the text you enter, images you attach, the limited chat history needed for the conversation, and any plant details you select for context to our backend and then to OpenAI to generate a response. The app does not send your entire plant library by default.
Weather information you choose to send
When you use Weather Assist, SproutShout sends the location label and geographic coordinates you selected, together with operational request information, to our backend and WeatherAPI so weather conditions can be returned. A saved weather location also remains on your device.
Purchase and subscription information
Apple or Google processes payment. SproutShout and RevenueCat receive purchase and entitlement information such as product, subscription status, renewal or expiration status, store, environment, and transaction-related identifiers. We do not receive your full payment-card number.
Operational and security information
The app creates a random installation identifier. RevenueCat receives that identifier as a custom app user ID. Before our backend stores an installation record, it applies a one-way keyed hash. Our backend stores subscription and entitlement status, plan and product metadata, monthly usage and reservation counters, request result and error categories, model and token counts, attached image and plant counts, latency, idempotency information, app version, platform, timestamps, and rate-limit records. Network services also necessarily receive connection information such as IP address and request headers while processing requests.
Information you share
If you export a SproutShout sharing file, it can contain the selected plants’ names, species, profile details, notes, environment and schedule information, and a limited care history. The file does not include the plant-photo files themselves. Your device’s sharing interface sends the file to the person, app, or service you choose.
Support communications
If you email support, we receive your email address and whatever information, screenshots, or diagnostics you include. Please do not send sensitive information that is not needed to resolve the issue.
Website information
This static website does not set advertising cookies, run analytics, create accounts, or operate a contact form. Our hosting provider may process ordinary request information, including IP address, browser information, requested page, timestamps, and security logs, to deliver and protect the site.
4. How we use information
We use information only as reasonably necessary to:
- provide plant care, AI, weather, subscription, sharing, reminder, and widget features you request;
- verify purchases, restore entitlements, and synchronize subscription status;
- enforce monthly feature limits, prevent duplicate charging of quota, apply rate limits, and protect the service from fraud or abuse;
- operate, secure, troubleshoot, and improve reliability and performance;
- respond to support requests and enforce our Terms; and
- comply with law and protect users, SproutShout, and others.
Where applicable law requires a legal basis, we rely on performance of our contract with you, your consent or requested action, our legitimate interests in operating and securing the service, and compliance with legal obligations.
5. Service providers and disclosures
| Provider | Purpose and information involved |
|---|---|
| Apple App Store / Google Play | App distribution, payment, subscription management, refunds, and store services. They process store-account and transaction information under their own policies. |
| RevenueCat | Subscription offerings, purchase validation, entitlement status, customer center, and webhooks. Receives the random app user ID and purchase/entitlement data. |
| Supabase | Hosts SproutShout Edge Functions and operational databases. Processes AI and weather requests in transit and stores the limited subscription, quota, and security metadata described above. |
| OpenAI | Generates AI responses from the text, images, conversation context, and selected plant context you submit. OpenAI states API data is not used to train its models unless the API customer opts in. Standard API safety and application-state retention may apply. |
| WeatherAPI | Provides current, historical, and forecast weather information for the location coordinates and label you submit through Weather Assist. |
| Cloudflare | Hosts and protects this public website and may process connection and security logs. |
Provider privacy resources: Apple, Google, RevenueCat, Supabase, OpenAI, WeatherAPI, and Cloudflare.
We may also disclose information if required by law, legal process, or a valid government request; to investigate fraud, security, or safety issues; to protect rights and property; or as part of a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale, subject to appropriate notice and safeguards.
6. Retention and deletion
On-device data
Plant and app data remains on your device until you delete the relevant plant, clear the relevant AI chat, remove imported caretaker plants, clear app storage through your operating system, or uninstall the app. Deleting a plant removes its locally stored care history and associated photo files. Clearing an AI tab removes that tab’s locally saved messages and images.
Backend operational data
We retain subscription records while needed to provide and verify paid access, usage records while needed to enforce the applicable monthly limits and resolve quota disputes, and security records while reasonably needed to prevent abuse and investigate incidents. We may retain records longer where required for legal, tax, accounting, fraud-prevention, dispute-resolution, or security purposes. We may retain information that has been aggregated or de-identified so it can no longer reasonably identify an installation.
Provider retention
Providers maintain their own retention rules. In particular, OpenAI documents that standard API abuse-monitoring logs may generally be retained for up to 30 days and that Responses API application state may be retained for at least 30 days when storage is enabled or left at its default. Store, subscription, weather, hosting, and support providers may retain information under their policies and legal obligations.
Deletion requests
SproutShout has no user account to delete. You may request deletion of backend information reasonably associated with your installation or support email by contacting us. We may need a support identifier or other proof sufficient to locate the pseudonymous record and prevent unauthorized deletion. We will delete or de-identify eligible information, subject to records we must keep for the reasons above. Deleting SproutShout data does not cancel a store subscription; cancel it through Apple or Google separately.
7. Your choices and privacy rights
- Photos and camera: do not grant access, or revoke access in device settings. Features requiring a new photo may not work.
- Location: SproutShout uses the location you enter or choose for Weather Assist. You can change or remove the saved location in the app.
- AI: do not submit information you do not want processed by the AI providers. Clear a chat tab to remove its local thread and saved images.
- Notifications: change reminder settings in the app or device settings.
- Plant sharing: inspect the selected plants and destination before sharing. Once another service or person receives a file, their handling is outside our control.
- Subscriptions: restore, manage, or cancel using the controls in SproutShout or your store account.
- Privacy request: email support@sproutshout.app.
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to certain processing; receive a portable copy of certain information; or withdraw consent. You may also have the right to appeal our response or complain to a privacy regulator. These rights can be limited by law, and because SproutShout does not use accounts, we may need information from your installation to locate a pseudonymous record and verify the request.
We do not sell personal information, share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, or use it for targeted advertising. We therefore do not offer an advertising opt-out signal or “Do Not Sell or Share” toggle.
8. Children and family use
SproutShout is a general-audience plant-care service and is not directed or marketed to children under 13. Its local plant-care features may be used as part of family gardening. A child under 13 should not independently use SproutShout’s online features to submit photos, AI messages, precise weather locations, or other personal information. A parent or guardian may operate those features on the child’s behalf.
We do not knowingly collect personal information online directly from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child under 13 submitted personal information directly to us, contact us. We will investigate and delete eligible information or take other action required by law.
9. Security and international processing
We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to the information we handle, including restricted backend access, server-side secrets, authorization checks, pseudonymous installation records, and encrypted network transport. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Our providers may process information in the United States and other countries. Those countries may have privacy laws different from those where you live. Where required, we use lawful mechanisms for cross-border processing.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as SproutShout changes. We will post the revised policy here, update the date above, and provide additional notice where required. Materially different data uses will not be applied retroactively without an appropriate legal basis or consent.
11. Contact
For privacy questions or requests, contact:
Christopher W. Jacobs
California, United States
Email: support@sproutshout.app