FloraPlot is a garden planning application developed and operated by John Kiely. The app is available on the Apple App Store at floraplot on the App Store. The floraplot.app website provides information, support and privacy documentation.
If you have any questions about this policy, contact us at the address at the bottom of this page.
We collect almost no data. Here is a complete picture:
| Data | Why | Where it goes | Stored by us? |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPS location | To fetch local climate, soil and satellite imagery for your garden area | Sent to Open-Meteo, SoilGrids and Mapbox. Not stored by us. | No |
| Garden zones, plants, notes | Your garden plan | Stored locally on your device only (AsyncStorage / iCloud Backup). Never sent to our servers. | No |
| Plant search queries | To search the Trefle plant database | Sent through our proxy to Trefle. Not logged or stored by us. | No |
| Camera / LiDAR data | Mapping zones and measuring height and slope (Premium features) | Processed on-device only, while the measuring screen is open. Never sent to our servers — only the resulting measurements are kept. | No |
| In-app purchase receipt | To verify Premium unlock | Processed by Apple. We receive only a confirmation. No payment details. | No |
| Crash reports / errors | To fix bugs | We do not currently collect crash reports. | No |
When you enable satellite view or open the Climate tab, the app requests permission to access your GPS location. This is used solely to:
Your coordinates are passed as query parameters to these third-party APIs. They are not stored on our servers and are not linked to any personal identifier. You can deny location permission at any time in iOS Settings — the app will use default values instead.
FloraPlot uses your device's camera, and, on supported iPhones, the LiDAR sensor, for three Premium features: mapping zones (beds, lawns, trees, buildings and fences) by walking round your garden, and measuring the height or slope of a structure, tree or piece of ground. The camera is used only while one of those measuring screens is open, and nothing it sees is stored or sent anywhere: the app keeps only the resulting measurements — heights, angles, outlines — on your device. It is never accessed in the background and is not used for any other purpose.
| Service | Purpose | Privacy policy |
|---|---|---|
| Open-Meteo | Climate & forecast data | open-meteo.com/en/terms |
| SoilGrids (ISRIC) | Soil pH & organic carbon | isric.org/privacy-statement |
| Mapbox | Satellite map tiles | mapbox.com/legal/privacy |
| Trefle | Plant species database | trefle.io |
| Vercel | API proxy hosting | vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy |
| Apple App Store | App distribution & payments | apple.com/legal/privacy |
Everything you create in FloraPlot — zones, plants, notes, snapshots, budgets, tasks — is stored exclusively on your device. It never leaves your device unless you explicitly export it.
On iOS, your garden data is included in your standard iCloud Backup automatically, provided you have iCloud Backup enabled in iOS Settings. This means your data will be restored if you set up a new iPhone from a backup. FloraPlot does not independently back up your data to any external server.
We recommend using the Export feature (More → Export) to keep a manual backup of your garden data.
We cannot access your garden data under any circumstances.
FloraPlot is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect any information from children. If you believe a child has provided information through the app, please contact us and we will address it promptly.
We do not use any analytics tools and we do not serve advertisements. There are no tracking pixels, no ad networks, and no data brokers involved in FloraPlot.
Because we do not collect or store personal data, most GDPR rights (access, erasure, portability) are satisfied by the fact that all data is on your own device and under your full control.
If you have a concern about how this app handles data, you have the right to contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk (UK) or your national data protection authority (EU).
If we make significant changes to this policy — for example, when we add cloud sync or analytics — we will update the date at the top of this page and notify users through the app. We will not reduce your privacy rights without clear notice.