🔒 Your Privacy Matters
Simple Truth: Moon Phase Garden does not collect, store, or share any of your personal information. Everything stays on your device. No tracking, no ads, no servers, no accounts.
Overview
Moon Phase Garden ("we," "our," or "the app") is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy policy explains what information we do and do not collect, how we handle your data, and your rights regarding your information.
Our Philosophy: We believe your garden journal, photos, and personal information belong to you and should stay with you. We built this app to help you garden naturally—not to collect data about you.
Information We Do NOT Collect
This app does not collect any of the following:
- Personal Information: No names, email addresses, phone numbers, or contact information
- Account Information: No user accounts, passwords, or login credentials
- Usage Analytics: No tracking of how you use the app, which features you access, or how often you open it
- Device Information: No device IDs, advertising IDs, or hardware information
- Location History: No tracking or storage of your location over time
- Contacts: No access to your contacts or social connections
- Browser History: No web browsing data
- Any Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
⚠️ Important: We do not have servers. We do not have databases. We do not have your data. Everything happens on your device only.
Information Stored Locally on Your Device
All data you create in the app is stored locally on your device only and never leaves your device:
📔 Garden Journal Entries
- Your journal entries and notes
- Plant names and descriptions
- Tags and categories you create
- Dates and timestamps
- Moon phase information at time of planting
📸 Photos
- All photos you take or add to journal entries
- Photos are stored in the app's private directory on your device
- Photos are encrypted by Android's system security
- Only accessible by this app and you
⚙️ App Settings
- Your selected USDA hardiness zone
- Location (city/zip code) if you provide it for weather
- Temperature unit preference (Celsius/Fahrenheit)
- Theme preferences (light/dark mode)
🔒 Data Security
Your local data is protected by:
- Android's built-in security and encryption
- App-specific storage (not accessible by other apps)
- Your device's lock screen security
Weather Data
The app uses the Open-Meteo Weather API to provide weather forecasts and freeze alerts. Here's what happens:
What Gets Sent:
- Location coordinates: When you request weather, we send your approximate location (latitude/longitude) to Open-Meteo's servers
- No personal information: We do not send your name, device ID, or any identifying information with the weather request
Open-Meteo's Privacy:
- Open-Meteo is a privacy-respecting weather service
- They do not track users or store personal information
- Their privacy policy: https://open-meteo.com/en/terms
Your Control:
- Weather features are optional
- You can use the app without enabling location
- You can manually enter a zip code instead of using GPS
- You can revoke location permission anytime in device settings
Permissions Explained
The app requests the following permissions, all optional and only when needed:
📍 Location Permission (Optional)
Why: To automatically detect your location for weather forecasts and to determine your USDA hardiness zone
What we do: Get approximate latitude/longitude coordinates
What we don't do: Track your location, store location history, or share it with anyone except Open-Meteo (for weather only)
Your control: Grant/deny in Android settings; can manually enter location instead
📷 Camera Permission (Optional)
Why: To let you take photos for your garden journal
What we do: Access camera only when you tap "Take Photo" button
What we don't do: Access camera in background, upload photos, or share them
Your control: Grant/deny in Android settings; can choose existing photos instead
📁 Storage Permission (Optional)
Why: To save journal photos and access photos from your gallery
What we do: Read photos you choose and save them to app storage
What we don't do: Access all your photos, upload them anywhere, or share them
Your control: Grant/deny in Android settings; app-specific storage is always private
🌐 Internet Permission (Required)
Why: To fetch weather data from Open-Meteo API
What we do: Send location coordinates to Open-Meteo when you request weather
What we don't do: Send any other data, track you, or communicate with any other servers
Note: All other app features work offline
Third-Party Services
This app uses only one third-party service:
Open-Meteo Weather API
- Purpose: Provides weather forecasts and current conditions
- Data sent: Location coordinates only (when you request weather)
- Privacy policy: https://open-meteo.com/en/terms
- No tracking: Open-Meteo does not track users or use cookies
What We Don't Use:
- ❌ No Google Analytics or any analytics services
- ❌ No advertising networks or ad tracking
- ❌ No crash reporting services (like Firebase Crashlytics)
- ❌ No social media integrations
- ❌ No affiliate tracking
- ❌ No cookies or tracking pixels
Children's Privacy
Moon Phase Garden does not collect any information from anyone, including children under 13 years of age. The app is safe for all ages because:
- No data collection of any kind
- No user accounts or profiles
- No social features or communication
- No advertising
- No in-app purchases
- Educational content about gardening only
Parents can feel confident letting children use this app to learn about gardening and nature.
Data Sharing
We do not share your data with anyone because we don't have your data.
Your journal entries, photos, and settings never leave your device. We have no way to access them, and therefore no way to share them.
No Data Sharing With:
- Third-party companies
- Advertisers
- Data brokers
- Government agencies (unless legally required, but we have nothing to share)
- Business partners
- Anyone else
Data Retention
Since all data is stored only on your device:
- You control retention: Your data stays on your device as long as you keep the app installed
- Deletion: Uninstalling the app deletes all your data (journal, photos, settings)
- No cloud backup: We do not back up your data to any cloud service
- Your responsibility: You may want to back up your device if your journal is important to you
Your Data Rights
Under privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA, you have rights regarding your data. Here's how they apply:
Right to Access
Your data: All on your device. You have complete access through the app.
Our data: We have none of your data to provide.
Right to Deletion
How to delete: Simply uninstall the app from your device. This removes all your journal entries, photos, and settings.
What we delete: Nothing, because we don't have anything to delete.
Right to Portability
Your data: Since everything is on your device, you already have it. In future versions, we may add an export feature.
Right to Opt-Out
Nothing to opt out of: We don't collect data, so there's no tracking or data collection to opt out of.
Right to Object
No processing: We don't process your personal data on servers, so there's nothing to object to.
Security Measures
We take security seriously, even though we don't collect your data:
How Your Data is Protected:
- Local storage only: Nothing transmitted to servers means no risk of server breaches
- App-specific storage: Other apps cannot access your Moon Phase Garden data
- Android encryption: Your device's built-in encryption protects your data
- No accounts: No passwords to be stolen or accounts to be hacked
- Minimal permissions: We only request what's absolutely necessary
- No third-party SDKs: Fewer dependencies means fewer security risks
What You Can Do:
- Use a strong lock screen password/PIN
- Keep your Android OS updated
- Only download the app from Google Play Store
- Back up your device regularly if your journal is important
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be:
- Posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date
- Announced in the app if the changes are significant
- Subject to your continued use constituting acceptance
We will never:
- Start collecting personal data without clear notice and consent
- Change our core privacy promise (no tracking, no data collection)
- Sell your data (we don't have it anyway!)
International Users
Moon Phase Garden is available worldwide. Regardless of where you are located:
- Your data stays on your device
- We don't collect or transfer personal data
- Local privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA, etc.) are respected by design
- The only international data transfer is weather coordinates to Open-Meteo (privacy-respecting)
Compliance
This app complies with:
- GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation - Europe)
- CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act - California, USA)
- COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act - USA)
- Google Play Store data safety requirements
- Android privacy and permission best practices
Contact Us
Our Commitment
🌱 Our Promise to You
Moon Phase Garden was created to help you connect with nature and grow food naturally—not to collect data about you. We believe:
- Your garden journal is personal and should stay that way
- Apps should be tools, not surveillance devices
- Privacy should be the default, not an option
- You should own your data, not us
We will never compromise on these principles.
Summary
In plain English:
- ✅ Your journal, photos, and settings stay on your phone only
- ✅ We send location to weather service (Open-Meteo) when you request weather—nothing else
- ✅ No tracking, no analytics, no ads, no accounts, no servers
- ✅ Your data is yours. Period.
- ✅ Uninstall the app = all data deleted from your device
- ✅ Safe for all ages, including children
- ✅ Complies with GDPR, CCPA, and privacy regulations