1. Who we are

This Privacy Policy explains how we process personal data when you use Plant Identifier Online, a browser-based service that helps visitors identify plants from photos.

You can contact us at [email protected]

2. Personal data we collect

We may collect the following categories of personal data:

A. Information you submit

uploaded plant photos you submit for identification
optional information you choose to provide with a request, such as notes, location, and date found
support or privacy communications you send to us by email, including your email address and message contents

B. Technical and usage data

Device and Connection Data: IP address, approximate geographic location, browser type, device settings, and user-agent details.
Usage and Log Data: Server logs, diagnostic details such as crash reports and system events, and website performance metrics.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies: Session identifiers, cookies, and local storage data used for site functionality, free identification limits, abuse prevention, and analytics.

C. Data generated during processing

identification results
model outputs
request and response traces
provider and model metadata associated with a request

3. How we collect personal data

We collect personal data:

directly from you when you submit photos, optional details, or emails to us
automatically through your use of the service and related analytics or logging tools
from service providers that help us host, secure, analyze, and operate the service

4. How we use personal data

We use personal data to:

provide the identification service you request
process uploaded photos and return results
enforce free identification limits
operate, maintain, monitor, and secure the service
detect, prevent, and respond to abuse, fraud, misuse, errors, and security incidents
troubleshoot problems and improve performance
analyze usage and improve the service
respond to support or privacy inquiries
comply with legal obligations
enforce our terms and protect our rights, visitors, and service

5. Uploaded photos and request details

When you submit a request, we process the photos you upload and any optional details you provide, such as notes, location, and date found, in order to generate identification results.

Uploaded photos are stored privately for processing and are not public by default.

Uploaded photos are stored only as long as needed to process your request and are then deleted. Because uploads are temporary and Plant Identifier Online does not provide visitor accounts or saved identifications, there may be little or no data left to access or delete after processing is complete.

Optional request details and resulting outputs may appear in logs, traces, analytics, and troubleshooting records where reasonably necessary to operate, secure, and improve the service.

6. AI and third-party model providers

We use third-party AI and model providers, including Google and OpenAI, to generate identification results.

When you submit a request, we may send to those providers:

uploaded photos
optional notes, location information, and date found
related request content
model outputs and results

We use OpenAI and Google Gemini API services to process submitted content and generate results. Provider handling depends on the service tier, region, account settings, and features in use. OpenAI states that it does not use API inputs or outputs to improve its models by default unless the API customer opts in to data sharing, although limited retention may apply for abuse monitoring. Google states that prompts and responses from paid Gemini API services are not used to improve its products, while content sent through unpaid services may be used for product improvement and reviewed by people. Review the current OpenAI API data controls and Gemini API terms for details.

For that reason, you should not submit sensitive, confidential, or highly personal information through Plant Identifier Online.

We do not use uploaded photos to train our own models.

7. Analytics, cookies, and similar technologies

We use analytics and related technologies to understand how people use the service, monitor performance, troubleshoot problems, enforce free identification limits, and improve the product.

Analytics and related service providers may process identifiers, session data, usage events, interaction data, exception and performance data, request traces, model outputs, and optional text submitted with identification requests.

Plant Identifier Online may also use cookies, local storage, and similar technologies to keep the service reliable, recognize browsers or sessions, measure usage, prevent abuse, monitor performance, and support analytics.

Where required by applicable law, we will request consent before using non-essential cookies or similar technologies.

We may share personal data with service providers that help us operate the service. Based on our current setup, these may include providers for:

image storage and delivery
hosting and platform infrastructure
rate limiting and abuse prevention
analytics and error monitoring
AI and model inference
support communications

We may also disclose personal data:

when required by law
to comply with lawful requests from courts, regulators, or law enforcement
to enforce our terms or other legal rights
to detect, prevent, or respond to fraud, abuse, or security incidents

We do not sell personal data, and we do not share personal data for cross-context behavioral advertising.

9. International transfers

Plant Identifier Online and its service providers may process personal data in countries other than your own.

Where required by applicable law, we will rely on an appropriate legal mechanism for cross-border transfers.

10. Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

In general:

uploaded plant photos are stored only as long as needed to process the request and are then deleted
analytics and tracing records may be retained for up to 1 year
support emails and related records are retained until no longer needed
technical logs are retained only as reasonably necessary for security, troubleshooting, and operations

Third-party providers, including AI and model providers, may retain and process submitted content under their own terms, policies, and retention practices.

We may retain information longer where necessary for legal compliance, dispute resolution, fraud prevention, security, or protection of the service.

11. Legal bases for processing

Depending on where you are located and the law that applies, we may rely on one or more of the following legal bases:

performance of a contract, to process submitted photos and provide the service you request
legitimate interests, to operate, secure, maintain, analyze, troubleshoot, and improve the service, respond to inquiries, prevent abuse, and protect the service and visitors
consent, where required, for non-essential cookies or similar technologies and certain analytics or other processing
legal obligation, where processing is necessary to comply with applicable law or lawful requests

12. Your rights and choices

Subject to applicable law, you may have rights such as the right to request:

access to your personal data
correction of inaccurate personal data
deletion of personal data
restriction of processing
objection to certain processing
portability of certain data
withdrawal of consent where processing is based on consent

You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection or supervisory authority.

To make a privacy request, email: [email protected]

Because Plant Identifier Online does not provide visitor accounts or saved identifications and uploaded photos are deleted automatically, we may be unable to identify or locate certain data unless you provide enough information for us to do so.

We may be unable to fulfill a request where:

we cannot reasonably verify your identity
we cannot reasonably locate the data
the data has already been deleted
an exception applies under applicable law

Where available, you may also manage cookie or analytics preferences through any consent tools or settings we provide.

13. Support communications

If you contact us for support or privacy questions, we will process your email address and message contents to respond, troubleshoot, and keep records of the issue until no longer needed.

14. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal data and help keep the service reliable and secure. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

15. Age restrictions

Plant Identifier Online is intended only for adults aged 18 or older.

If you are under 18, do not use the service or submit personal data to us. If we learn that a person under 18 has provided personal data through the service, we will review the situation and delete the data where reasonably possible.

16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised effective date. Your continued use of the service after an update becomes effective means the updated Privacy Policy will apply going forward, subject to applicable law.

17. Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise privacy rights, contact:

[email protected]