Privacy Policy

Root & Relay helps growers monitor garden conditions, review plant images, and make better growing decisions. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices available to you when you use the Root & Relay mobile app or website.

Information we collect

• Account information: email address, display name, authentication provider identifier, account and premium-access status, and the ZIP code you provide for local growing weather and regional growing guidance. We use the signed-in account to determine access to personalized Karpos features.
• Garden information: garden, zone, bed, crop, variety, life-stage, irrigation, and sensor settings that you enter or connect.
• Device information: sensor readings, connection status, battery status, signal information, calibration status, and timestamps.
• Plant images: photos captured by a connected sensor or selected by you for plant review. Images are associated with the account, garden, and sensor that supplied them.
• Messages and assistant context: questions, answers, selected images and their identifiers or links, and the garden, sensor, crop, and weather information used to provide Karpos guidance and garden recaps.
• Support information: the name, email address, messages, and other details you send through our contact form, support chat, or email, together with conversation status and timestamps.
• Waitlist information: signup and verification records, email-consent records, referral links and attribution, verified-referral counts, earned rewards, and unsubscribe preferences, as described below.
• Technical and usage information: browser and device information, network information such as IP addresses processed by our service providers, website page views and interactions, authentication/session information, and operational logs used to deliver, measure, secure, and troubleshoot the service.

How we use information

• Authenticate your account and keep your garden available across supported devices.
• Sync garden configuration, sensor readings, and selected plant images.
• Provide weather context, alerts, charts, image review, and Karpos responses.
• Maintain, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the Root & Relay service.
• Respond to support requests and communicate about service or account matters.
• Manage waitlist and referral participation, honor email preferences, and send the marketing emails described in your signup consent.
• Understand website use through analytics, including page views, guide and link clicks, and form-submission events.

Waitlist and email marketing

When you join our waitlist, we collect your name, email address, signup and verification timestamps, and referral attribution where applicable. For signups using our consent checkbox, we also record the consent wording, version, and time accepted. We use this information to manage the waitlist, verify your email, track referral rewards, and send the waitlist, product-status, presale, launch, and referral-program emails you opted into.

We use Firebase to store signup and consent records and Google Workspace to deliver these emails. A referrer may receive their verified-referral count and reward progress; our notification emails do not disclose the referred person's name or email address.

You can withdraw email-marketing consent using the unsubscribe link in our marketing emails. We retain unsubscribe preferences to avoid contacting you again, along with limited consent and referral records needed for recordkeeping. Unsubscribing does not remove your waitlist place or earned referrals. For questions or a deletion request, contact Support@rootnrelay.com.

Karpos and plant images

When you use live Karpos features, our assistant service sends your question and relevant garden context to OpenAI to generate an answer. That context can include your growing area, crops, sensor readings, weather, and images supplied for analysis. Avoid including unrelated personal or sensitive information in questions or photos. Demo experiences may use sample data instead of your garden data.

We keep account-linked records of Karpos questions, responses, context, model information, and timestamps so authorized administrators can investigate problems and review how an answer was produced. Image identifiers or links may be included in these records. Garden recaps may be saved and reused rather than generated every time you open the app.

Phone-uploaded and sensor-captured photos are stored with account and garden metadata. Where available, the app lets you select photos for analysis, delete stored photos, and disable app-initiated sensor-photo capture. Turning off capture does not delete existing photos. Removing a photo from your gallery does not necessarily remove earlier answers, associated context, or records already processed by service providers.

Support conversations

Website support chats are stored so you and our support team can continue the conversation. Your browser stores a support-session identifier and access token to reopen that chat. Clearing browser storage may remove your access to the conversation on that browser; it does not delete the stored conversation. Authorized support personnel may view your messages and relevant account, device, and assistant records to resolve your request. Contact-form messages and support notifications may also be delivered through email.

Cookies, local storage, and analytics

Our website and authentication providers use browser storage to maintain sign-in, remember account information, and preserve your support-chat session. The app also stores settings and cached information on your device.

Our website uses Google Analytics to measure page views and interactions, such as guide clicks, link and button clicks, and form-submission events. Analytics can process page addresses, link destinations, browser and device details, and identifiers stored in cookies. The current website loads analytics when a page opens; the waitlist email-consent checkbox controls email subscription, not analytics.

You can manage cookies and site storage through your browser settings and permissions through your device settings. Blocking or clearing storage may affect sign-in and support-chat continuity. Email unsubscribe choices do not change browser storage or analytics settings.

Services we use

• Google Firebase and Google Cloud: website and backend hosting, account authentication, data and image storage, and supported notification delivery.
• Google Sign-In: optional account authentication using your Google account.
• Google Workspace: verification, referral, waitlist, contact, and support email delivery.
• Google Analytics: website usage measurement as described above.
• OpenAI: processing questions, garden context, and supplied images to generate live Karpos responses.
• Weather and location-lookup services: ZIP-code lookup through Zippopotam.us and forecasts through the U.S. National Weather Service. These lookups use the supplied ZIP code or coordinates derived from it.

These providers process information under their applicable service terms and privacy policies. Processing and storage may take place outside the country where you live.

Sharing and disclosure

We do not sell personal information or use garden data for advertising. We share information only with service providers needed to operate the app, when you direct us to share it, when required to protect the service or its users, or when required by law. Garden data and images are intended to remain associated with your account and are not public by default.

Authorized administrators can access relevant account, waitlist, referral, support, and Karpos records to operate and support the service. Our referral notification emails report progress and rewards without identifying the referred person. Links to social networks and other third-party websites lead to services governed by their own privacy policies.

Storage and retention

We retain account, garden, sensor, and image information to provide your account and garden history; support conversations to handle requests and follow-up; and assistant records to troubleshoot and review responses. Waitlist and referral records support participation and reward administration. Consent records and unsubscribe preferences help document your choices and prevent unwanted marketing.

Retention depends on the purpose of the record, your account or program participation, unresolved support requests, deletion requests, and legal or security needs. We do not promise a single automatic deletion period for all data. Contact us to request deletion of account, image, assistant, support, or waitlist records. Unsubscribing, signing out, clearing local storage, or deleting the app does not by itself delete all server-side records. Limited records may remain where needed to honor an opt-out, prevent fraud, resolve a dispute, or meet legal obligations. Service providers may have separate retention practices.

Your choices

• You may choose email/password sign-in instead of Google Sign-In.
• You may review or update garden and device details in the app.
• You may remove supported plant images from the app.
• You may manage supported photo-capture and notification settings and device permissions.
• You may unsubscribe from waitlist and referral marketing emails using the link in those emails. Necessary account, security, verification, or requested support messages are separate from marketing preferences.
• You may request access, correction, or deletion of your information by contacting Support@rootnrelay.com. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights to obtain a copy, restrict or object to processing, or complain to a privacy regulator. We may need to verify your identity before handling a request.

Children

Root & Relay is intended for growers and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the service changes. The revised policy will be posted on this page with a new effective date.

Contact

Questions or privacy requests can be sent to Support@rootnrelay.com.