Privacy Policy

Effective October 11, 2026

About this policy

This policy explains what personal information Whimsy Gardener LLC, [mailing address] (“we”, “us”) collects when you use app.whimsygardener.com or our website at whimsygardener.com, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.

Information we collect

Information you give us

Account details: your name, username and email address, and a profile photo if you add one. Your password is handled by our sign-in provider, Google Firebase Authentication. We never see or store it in readable form.
Garden content: the gardens, beds, plants, tasks, journal entries, recipes, notes and photos you add, plus your ZIP code, hardiness zone and frost dates.
Your preferences: whether you want marketing emails, and your analytics choice, each saved with the date and time.

Information collected automatically

Location for weather: if you allow it, your browser shares your device’s location so we can show local weather. If you decline or it isn’t available, we can estimate an approximate location from your IP address.
Usage and device information (analytics): described under “Analytics, cookies and local storage” below.
Security information: to block abuse and bots we use Google reCAPTCHA through Firebase App Check, which looks at technical information about your device and browser.

Payment information

Paid plans are sold through our payment provider, Paddle, which acts as the seller of record. Paddle collects your payment details. We don’t see or store your full card number. We receive your subscription plan and status.

How we use your information

To provide the app: create and secure your account, store and show your garden, and show weather and hardiness-zone information for where you are.
To process subscriptions.
To keep the service secure and prevent fraud and abuse.
To understand how the app is used and fix what’s confusing, through analytics, only as described below.
To improve and develop the app, including fixing problems and adding features.
To send you service messages such as password resets, and marketing emails only if you opted in.
To meet legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.

Our legal bases (EEA, UK and Switzerland)

If you are in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, we rely on: performing our contract with you (providing the app and your account); our legitimate interests (security, preventing abuse, and keeping the service working); your consent (analytics, marketing emails and, through your browser, location), which you can withdraw at any time; and legal obligations.

Analytics, cookies and local storage

We use essential browser storage to keep you signed in, remember your choices and keep the app working. These don’t require consent.

We also use an analytics service to see how the app is used. It records screens you open, what you click, your device and browser type, and an approximate location derived from your IP address. It also makes session recordings, which capture what happens on your screen as you use the app and can include content visible on screen, such as plant names and journal text. It uses cookies and local storage entries to recognise your browser.

In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland (and where we can’t tell where you are), analytics is off until you accept it in the banner shown on your first visit.
Elsewhere, analytics is on by default and you can turn it off at any time.
To change your choice at any time, use the checkbox in Account → Settings, or the “Cookie preferences” link on the sign-in page. Turning it off stops collection immediately and removes the analytics cookies and storage we can reach.
If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we treat it as a request to turn analytics off.
Your analytics choice is saved in your browser and, once you are signed in, on your account so it follows you across devices.

Who we share information with

We don’t sell your personal information, and we don’t share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We share it with service providers that process it for us.

We may also disclose information when the law requires it, to protect our rights, our users or the public, or as part of a merger, sale or reorganization of the business.

How long we keep information

We keep your account and garden content while your account is open. If you delete your account, we remove your information from our systems, except as described below.

Backups: backups are generally kept for a limited time, but some information such as refund requests or disputes may be retained for a longer period of time.
Legal requirements: separately, we keep information we must retain by law, such as transaction records, for as long as those obligations require.
Refund and dispute records: after you delete your account we keep a record of your deletion (email address and the confirmation you gave) and your billing records (plan, dates, status, and the IDs linking you to Paddle) for as long as needed to verify and handle refund requests and disputes.

Your choices and rights

Your account and data: you can edit your profile and garden content in the app, and delete your account and its data from your account settings, except for backups we keep for a limited time and/or information we must keep by law.
Marketing emails: unsubscribe using the link in any email, or the checkbox in Account → Settings.
Location: you can deny or revoke location access in your browser settings.
Analytics: change your choice at any time, as described above.

If you are in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, you also have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to our processing of your information, to receive a portable copy of it, and to withdraw consent at any time. You can complain to your local data protection authority.

If you live in a US state with a privacy law, such as California, you may have the right to know, access, correct and delete your personal information, and to opt out of its sale or sharing.

To use any of these rights email: hello@whimsygardener.com. We will respond within the time the law requires.

Children

The service is not directed to anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you are under the age of 18 you may not use the services. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us at hello@whimsygardener.com.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We’ll change the effective date at the top and, for material changes, tell you in the app or by email.