Privacy Policy

Introduction

Welcome to HiGroPonics ("we", "our", "us"). We are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our application.

This policy is written to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for our users in the European Union.

Information We Collect

We may collect information about you in a variety of ways. The information we may collect on the App includes:

Personal Data

Personally identifiable information, such as your name and email address, that you voluntarily give to us when you register an account with the App.

Project & Activity Data

All data you voluntarily enter into the application, including but not limited to project details (plant name, system type, etc.) and activity logs (pH, EC, temperature, notes, harvest data). This data is necessary for the core functionality of the application.

Derivative Data

Information our servers automatically collect when you access the App, such as your IP address, your browser type, your operating system, your access times, and the pages you have viewed directly before and after accessing the App. This is handled by our secure cloud infrastructure providers.

How We Use Your Information

Having accurate information about you permits us to provide you with a smooth, efficient, and customized experience. Specifically, we may use information collected about you via the App to:

• Create and manage your account.
• Provide the core functionality of the app, such as logging data and generating AI suggestions.
• Monitor and analyze usage and trends to improve your experience with the App.
• Anonymously use data to improve the AI models and application features.

Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA), we process your information on the following legal bases:

• Consent: We process certain information based on your consent, which you provide when you sign up and agree to this policy.
• Contractual Necessity: We process your Personal Data and Project Data to provide you with the App's services, as it's necessary for the performance of the contract between you and us.
• Legitimate Interests: We may process your information for our legitimate interests, such as for improving the App, provided that these interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

Data Storage

Your information is stored on secure servers operated by our trusted cloud infrastructure providers. We select data center locations—including those within the European Union, where feasible—to ensure your data is stored securely and in compliance with applicable data protection laws, such as the GDPR. We have taken appropriate safeguards to require that your personal information will remain protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Cookies and Local Storage

Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help us operate our application. We use them only for essential purposes that are necessary for the site to function. We do not use cookies for tracking or advertising, and we use no advertising or cross-site tracking technologies of any kind.

• Essential Cookies (only set when you sign in): If you create an account and log in, we set a small number of strictly necessary cookies to keep you signed in and to protect the forms you submit — a session token, a CSRF (cross-site request forgery) protection token, and a short-lived cookie recording where to return you after sign-in. These are set by HiGroPonics itself, not by any third party, and they are used for nothing but operating your session. If you never sign in, we set no cookies at all.
• Local Storage: We use your browser's local storage to save certain non-sensitive preferences — for example your preferred weather location, your weather-service API key, and whether you have dismissed our cookie notice (cookie-consent-given). This data is stored only on your device and is never transmitted to our servers.

Usage Analytics

We use a privacy-focused analytics tool (Umami) to understand which parts of HiGroPonics are actually used, so we know what is worth improving. You should know exactly what that involves:

• It sets no cookies and stores nothing on your device for this purpose.
• It does not identify you. No names, no email addresses, nothing that identifies you personally, and analytics are not linked to your account.
• It does not follow you elsewhere. No cross-site tracking, no advertising network, and no profile is built about you.
• What is collected: which pages are viewed, the referring site, and general technical details such as browser, device type and country.
• We never sell or share it. Analytics data is not sold, rented, or shared with advertisers or data brokers.

Global Privacy Control (GPC)

If your browser or an extension sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we detect it and disable usage analytics for your visit entirely. Nothing is collected, you need do nothing else, and no banner interaction is required.

To be straightforward about what this does and does not change here: GPC is primarily intended to opt you out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell or share your personal information with anyone, and we run no advertising, so there was nothing of that kind to switch off in the first place. We honour the signal regardless, because it is a clear statement of your preference.

Affiliate Links & Third-Party Cookies

Some links on this site are affiliate links — marked with “sponsored” in their HTML or indicated by a disclosure notice on the page. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

HiGroPonics participates in the Amazon Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. When you click an Amazon affiliate link, Amazon may set cookies on your device to track the referral. These cookies are set by Amazon, not by HiGroPonics, and are subject to Amazon's own Cookie Notice and Privacy Policy.

Affiliate links do not influence our editorial decisions. We only recommend products and equipment that we believe are genuinely useful to hydroponic growers.

Your Rights Under GDPR

Under GDPR, you have various rights in relation to your personal data:

• The right to access – You have the right to request copies of your personal data.
• The right to rectification – You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate or complete information you believe is incomplete.
• The right to erasure – You have the right to request that we erase your personal data, under certain conditions.
• The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
• The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
• The right to data portability – You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the contact information below.

Data Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your personal information. While we have taken reasonable steps to secure the personal information you provide to us, please be aware that despite our efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse.

Contact Us

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

HiGroPonics Support
Email: [email protected]