Privacy at Vernal^™

Effective: October 23, 2026

Vernal^™ is a garden planning app, and the idea behind it is that your data is yours. This page explains what I collect, why, who else touches it, and how to get it back or get rid of it. I've tried to write it the way I'd explain it to you in person.

Who I am

Vernal^™ is built and run by me, Robert P. Horton, Jr., an independent developer in Spokane, Washington. When this page says "I" or "me," that's who it means. If Vernal^™ moves into a company I set up later, that company takes over these commitments and I'll update this page to say so.

Questions, requests or complaints go to robert@vernal.garden. I read every one.

What I collect

If you join the waitlist: your email address and the date you confirmed it. That's all.

If you join the follow-the-build list: your email address, the date you confirmed it, and which page you signed up from.

If you write to me through the contact form: your name, your email address and your message.

If you apply to the beta: what you type into the form. That's your first name, email, where you garden (zone, region or city), what you grow and how much space you have, how you track your garden now, which devices you'll use, whether you can give it the time, and anything else you choose to tell me.

If you use Vernal^™:

• Your account. Your email address and a securely hashed password. If you sign in with Google instead, I get the email address and basic account identifier Google shares; I never see your Google password.
• Your garden. Everything you put in: gardens, beds, layouts, plantings, seeds, harvests, notes, soil records, photos and so on. Your growing zone and frost dates come from the location you give me, at the level you give it.
• Connected services you choose to add. If you connect a weather station (such as a Tempest), I store the access key it gives me and the readings it sends, so Vernal^™ can show them to you.
• Feedback. When you send feedback, in the app or in a survey, I keep what you send.
• How the app is used. A record of which features get used, kept in Vernal^™'s own database, so I know what's working. During the beta I also look at whether you've used Vernal^™ in a given week and how much feedback you've sent, because that's how the lifetime tier is earned (see the beta terms). If you delete your account, or your guest session ends, I keep these records without your account attached.
• Error reports. When something breaks, a report goes to my error-tracking service with technical details about what went wrong. The report can include a short recording of the screen leading up to the error, with all text hidden and all images removed. It doesn't include your IP address or your account.
• Payments, after launch. If you buy a paid plan, payment is handled by Stripe. I see what you bought and when, and the last four digits of your card. I never see or store your full card number.

Visiting the website. vernal.garden counts visits itself, on its own server. For each visit it records the page, the site you came from (shortened), and an anonymized version of your IP address. There are no third-party analytics, tracking pixels or ads on the website or in the app.

Cookies. Vernal^™ uses one cookie to keep your session, whether you're signed in or trying Vernal^™ as a guest. Guest sessions expire after 30 days. If you sign in with Google, a second cookie holds a security code for about ten minutes while you sign in. There are no advertising or tracking cookies, and the website sets no cookies for visitors. The app may also save some of your settings in your browser so it remembers them; those stay on your device.

What I do with it

I use your information to run Vernal^™ for you, to pick beta testers and talk to them about the beta, to answer you when you write to me, to fix bugs and decide what to build next, and to send you email you've asked for.

Here's what I don't do with it:

• I don't sell your information.
• I don't share it with advertisers or use it for targeted advertising.
• I don't add you to the newsletter unless you sign up for it yourself.

The only email you'll get without signing up for the newsletter is the kind that comes with using the app: sign-in and password emails, beta emails if you're a tester, and notices about changes to your account or to this page.

Who else handles it

Vernal^™ runs on a handful of services, and each one only gets what it needs to do its job:

Most of these services are based in the United States, and your information is stored and processed there. Open-Meteo is based in Switzerland and OpenStreetMap in the United Kingdom; they receive the location they need to do their job, not your name or email.

I'll also disclose information if the law requires it, or if I need to in order to protect someone's safety. If Vernal^™ is ever sold or moved into a company, your information goes with it under the same promises on this page.

How long I keep it

• Your account and garden data: for as long as you have an account. If you delete your account, there's a 30-day grace period in case it was a mistake. After that, I delete your data, including your photos, garden images and any data exports. Copies in backups are gone within 30 days after that.
• Trying Vernal^™ as a guest: if you don't sign up, your guest gardens are deleted when the guest session expires, 30 days after you first try Vernal^™.
• Data exports: deleted 7 days after they're ready, whether or not you've downloaded them.
• Waitlist and email list signups you never confirm: deleted after 30 days.
• Waitlist and newsletter emails: until you unsubscribe. Unsubscribing deletes your address. Every email has an unsubscribe link.
• Contact messages: 12 months.
• Beta applications from people who aren't selected: deleted by January 31, 2027.
• Feedback: kept so I can keep improving Vernal^™. If you delete your account, I remove your name and email from it.
• Visit counts on the website: 90 days.
• Error reports: 30 days.
• Server logs: 14 days for the app, and up to 28 more days in server backups. The website's own error and request records are deleted within 60 days.

Your choices and rights

Wherever you live, you can:

• See and download your data. Vernal^™'s export gives you your gardens and records in standard formats. For anything export doesn't cover, email me and I'll send it.
• Fix it. Most of it you can change in the app. For anything else, email me.
• Delete it. You can delete your account in the app, or ask me to delete a beta application, contact message or waitlist entry by email.
• Unsubscribe from any email list at any time.

I'll answer requests within 30 days, and usually much sooner. I may need to confirm a request really comes from you before I act on it.

Do Not Track. Vernal^™ doesn't track you across other websites, so it works the same way whether or not your browser sends a Do Not Track signal.

If you're in the EU or UK: I process your information to provide the service you asked for, with your consent where I ask for it (you can withdraw it any time), and for my legitimate interest in keeping Vernal^™ working and improving it. You have the rights above plus the right to object to or restrict processing, and to complain to your local data protection authority. Your data is transferred to and stored in the United States.

Kids

Vernal^™ isn't meant for children under 13, and I don't knowingly collect information from them. Beta testers must be 18 or older. If you believe a child has given me information, email me and I'll delete it.

Keeping it safe

Passwords are hashed, connections are encrypted, and access to the database is limited to me. Photos are stored at long, unguessable web addresses; anyone you share a photo's exact link with can open it, so treat those links the way you'd treat the photo itself. No system is perfect, though. If there's ever a breach that affects your information, I'll tell you directly and promptly, and I'll follow whatever notification rules apply.

Changes

If I change this page, I'll update the effective date at the top. If a change affects how your existing information is used, I'll email you before it takes effect, not after.