Privacy Policy

JoeBees is a free raised-bed garden planner. The site is built to collect as little information about you as technically possible. This page explains exactly what data we touch and why.

The short version

• No account is required to use the planner.
• Your bed (size, plants, ZIP and zone, preferences) is saved in your own browser via localStorage. It never leaves your device unless you use a feature that requires the network.
• We do not sell or rent your information, and none of it goes to advertisers or data brokers. The only outside services we hand anything to are the ones needed to answer you — they are all named below.

What we collect

Information stored in your browser

The planner writes your current bed layout to localStorage so it’s waiting for you on your next visit. Clear it at any time with the “Clear bed” button in the planner header, or by clearing your browser’s site data.

Information sent to us

A network request is made only when you use the AI assistant or AI layout generator. In that case the request includes:

• The text you typed into the chat or prompt box.
• A short context summary of your current bed (dimensions, hardiness zone, sun setting, and the plants currently placed) so the AI can answer accurately.

The request is forwarded to Anthropic (Claude) for the response. Anthropic’s handling is governed by their privacy policy. We don’t retain prompts beyond what’s needed to complete the request, and we don’t associate them with an identity.

Server logs

Our hosting provider (Vercel) retains short-lived request logs including IP address, requested URL, and timing. These are used strictly for security and abuse prevention.

Sharing a garden

If you press Share on a finished garden, that garden is uploaded to us so we can give you a link to it. What goes up is the garden itself: its name, its size, the plants you placed, and its conditions — sun, soil and hardiness zone. No name, email or account is attached, because there isn't one, and your ZIP code is removed before the garden is stored, so a link never carries it. The recipient sees the hardiness zone instead, which is what all the planting dates are worked out from anyway.

The link is unlisted but not private: anyone who has it can open the garden, so only send it to people you mean to. We keep a shared garden for one year and then delete it automatically. Nothing is uploaded unless you press Share.

Want one gone sooner? Send us the link at joebeesgarden@gmail.com and we'll delete it. A shared garden is the only thing we hold that you could ask us to delete — there is no account and nothing else is kept. The delete your data page walks through that and through clearing the app off your phone.

What we don't do

• No advertising or ad-tracking cookies.
• No analytics that build a profile of you.
• No selling or renting of your information, and no passing it to a third party for their own use. The outside services named above — Anthropic, OpenStreetMap, the National Weather Service, Vercel — only ever get what it takes to answer the request in front of them.
• No third-party social trackers (no Meta pixel, etc.).

ZIP codes

You can enter a 5-digit US ZIP to set your USDA hardiness zone. The lookup runs entirely in your browser against a built-in table — your ZIP is not sent to us or to any third party. For ZIPs not in the built-in table (rare prefixes, territories, military), we fall back to a public zone API and send only the ZIP itself.

The JoeBees phone app

The Android app works the same way as the site, with these specifics:

• Your gardens, photos and care settings stay on your phone. There is no account and no automatic cloud copy. The “Back up” button writes a file you control, and pressing “Share” uploads that one garden on purpose (see Sharing a garden above). Photos are never uploaded.
• Location is used only if you tap “Use my location” or enter a ZIP, to find your growing zone and local forecast. Tapping “Use my location” reads your device's position and sends the coordinates to joebees.app, which passes them to OpenStreetMap's Nominatim to turn them into a ZIP code and to the U.S. National Weather Service for the forecast. We don't store them, and a ZIP you keep in a garden is removed before that garden can be shared.
• A random install ID is sent with JoeBee requests so daily allowances are per phone. It is not linked to you and resets if you reinstall.
• JoeBee chat works as on the site: your message and a summary of your bed go to Anthropic (Claude) to answer.
• Reminders are scheduled on the phone itself; no notification service receives your data.
• Anonymous usage events (for example that a layout was generated, with bed size and plant count) help us improve the planner. They carry no identity.

Deleting the app removes everything it stored on your phone.

Children

JoeBees is family-friendly. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Your choices

• Delete saved data: use “Clear bed” in the planner, or clear your browser’s site data for this domain.
• Skip the AI: the planner is fully usable without ever pressing “Generate” or opening the chat. Nothing leaves your device unless you do.

Changes to this policy

Material changes are reflected by an updated date above. Continued use of JoeBees after a change constitutes acceptance.

Contact

Privacy questions: email joebeesgarden@gmail.com or use the contact page.