Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy is provided by Virescent Ltd (trading as BotanicalMapper), a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17206041 with registered office 8 Acreman Street, Dorchester, Dorset, United Kingdom, DT2 7JX ("we", "our" or "us") for use of our products and services including our platform (Services).
We take your privacy very seriously. Please read this privacy policy carefully as it contains important information on how and why we collect, store, use and share any information relating to you (your personal data).
It also explains your rights in relation to your personal data and how to contact us or the relevant regulator in the event you have a complaint. Our collection, storage, use and sharing of your personal data is regulated by law, including under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
We are the controller of personal data obtained via the Services, meaning we are the organisation legally responsible for deciding how and for what purposes it is used.
Please read this policy with our Terms and Cookies Policy.
Last updated: 30 June 2026
What this policy applies to
This privacy policy relates to your use of the Services only.
The Services may link to or rely on other apps, websites, APIs or services owned and operated by us or by certain trusted third parties to enable us to provide you with Services. These other apps, websites, APIs or services may also gather information about you in accordance with their own separate privacy policies. For privacy information relating to these other apps, websites or services, please consult their privacy policies as appropriate. For more information see the section Who we share your personal data with below.
This policy applies when you visit our website (including public pages such as articles, featured maps, and published public maps), create or use an account, join or manage a workspace (organisation), subscribe to a paid plan, or contact us. It does not apply to third-party websites or services you reach through links we do not control (for example Stripe's checkout pages).
Personal data we collect about you
The personal data we collect about you depends on the particular activities carried out through the Services. We will collect and use the following personal data about you:
| Category of data | In more detail |
|---|---|
| Identity and account data you input into the Services. Registration is mandatory in order to use the Services. | Your name, email address, profile information, organisation (workspace) membership, and account details provided when you sign up or sign in (via our authentication provider, Clerk). |
| Data collected when you use specific functions in the Services | Data you store online with us using the Services, including plant and landmark records, areas and shapes, map data, tasks, calendar entries, diary notes, photos, and related metadata for your workspace, as well as your usage history or preferences (while such data may not always be personal data as defined at law in all cases we will assume it is and treat it in accordance with this policy as if it were). |
| Data collected when you permit the collection of location data | Details of your location with a high degree of precision — see the section Location services/data below. Location data may be collected when using the Maps function of the Services, when you place records on the map, when GPS coordinates are extracted from photographs you upload, or when you choose to use your device's current location (for example via the "My location" control). |
| Other data the Services collects automatically when you use it | Your activities on, and use of, the Services which reveal your preferences, interests or manner of use of the Services and the times of use; technical data such as IP address, browser and device type, logs, and security-related events needed to run and protect the service. |
| Billing data | Subscription status, plan, and identifiers needed for billing. Payment card details are processed by Stripe; we do not store full card numbers on our servers. |
| Data collected when you make an enquiry with us | Your name and email address (and any other information you choose to include). |
| Consent and preference records | Timestamps showing when you accepted our Terms and Privacy Policy, and whether you have opted in to marketing emails. |
If you publish a public map, visitors may see the garden information you choose to expose (see Public maps and published content below). Public visitors who are not signed in are not asked to create an account to view a published map.
If you do not provide personal data we ask for where it is required, including location data where a feature depends on it, it may prevent us from providing services and/or the Services to you.
We collect and use this personal data for the purposes described in the section How and why we use your personal data below.
Personal information of minors
If we collect personal data from individuals under the age of 18 directly, we will assess their capacity to consent on a case-by-case basis. As a general principle, an individual under the age of 18 may have the capacity to consent if they demonstrate sufficient maturity to understand the nature and consequences of what is being proposed. Where it is determined that the individual does not have such capacity, we will seek verifiable consent from a parent or guardian.
If it is not practicable to assess capacity on a case-by-case basis, we will generally assume that individuals aged 13 and above have the capacity to provide consent, unless there are reasonable grounds to believe otherwise. Parents or guardians may contact us using the details set out below to review, manage, or request deletion of their personal information.
Our Terms require users to be old enough to enter a binding contract in their jurisdiction (we expect users to be at least 18).
Sensitive data
Sensitive personal data (also known as special category data) means information related to personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious or philosophical beliefs; trade union membership; genetic data; biometric data (where used for identification purposes); data concerning health; data concerning a person's sex life; and data concerning a person's sexual orientation.
Please note that we do not knowingly or intentionally collect sensitive personal data or information about criminal convictions from individuals and that you should not submit sensitive data to us.
If, however, you do submit sensitive data to us, such as if you make this sensitive data available to other users of the Services (for example by publishing it on a public map), we will assume that you have purposefully made any such sensitive data manifestly public.
Location services/data
The Services may request your permission to access your device's location when you use features that need it — for example when you choose My location on the map, or when location data is extracted from photographs you upload.
We use location data to include GPS coordinates from photographs you upload to the platform, and location information you manually input when creating or placing plant records, landmarks, or areas on the map.
If you do not provide permission when your browser or device asks for it, you may still use much of the Services, but features that depend on your current device location (such as centring the map on where you are) will not be available until you allow access. To withdraw consent at any time you can turn off location permissions for your browser or device.
Location services will not operate unless location services are generally enabled on your device. You may disable such functionality at any time in your device or browser settings.
For more information see the section Who we share your personal data with below.
How your personal data is collected
We collect personal data from you directly when you sign up to the Services, contact us directly or reach out to us via social media, use the contact form on our website, or indirectly, such as your activity while using the Services.
We use essential cookies and similar technologies for sign-in and session management as described in our Cookies Policy. We do not use non-essential analytics or advertising cookies.
How and why we use your personal data
Under data protection law, we can only use your personal data if we have a proper reason, for example:
- where you have given consent;
- to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations;
- for the performance of a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract; or
- for our legitimate interests or those of a third party.
A legitimate interest is when we have a business or commercial reason to use your information, so long as this is not overridden by your own rights and interests. We will carry out an assessment when relying on legitimate interests, to balance our interests against your own. You can obtain details of this assessment by contacting us (see How to contact us below).
The table below explains what we use your personal data for and why:
| What we use your personal data for | Our reasons |
|---|---|
| Create and manage your account with us | To perform our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract |
| Providing services and/or the functionalities of the Services to you | Depending on the circumstances: to perform our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract (in this case, the contract means the applicable Terms which apply to the Services); the Maps function will use data relating to your location based on your consent or manual input as described in Location services/data (above) |
| To enforce legal rights or defend or undertake legal proceedings | Depending on the circumstances: to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations; in other cases, for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, i.e. to protect our business, interests and rights or those of others |
| Communications with you not related to marketing, including about changes to our terms or policies or changes to the Services or other important notices | Depending on the circumstances: to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations; in other cases, for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, i.e. to provide the best service to you |
| Protect the security of systems and data | To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations. We may also use your personal data to ensure the security of systems and data to a standard that goes beyond our legal obligations, and in those cases our reasons are for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, i.e. to protect systems and data and to prevent and detect criminal activity that could be damaging for you and/or us |
| Operational reasons, such as improving efficiency, training, and quality control or to provide support to you | For our legitimate interests or those of a third party, i.e. to be as efficient as we can so we can deliver the best service to you |
| Statistical analysis to help us manage our business, e.g. in relation to our performance, customer base, app and functionalities and offerings or other efficiency measures | For our legitimate interests or those of a third party, i.e. to be as efficient as we can so we can deliver the best service to you and improve and develop our app |
| Updating and enhancing user records | Depending on the circumstances: to perform our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract (in this case, the contract means the applicable Terms which apply to the Services); to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations; where neither of the above apply, for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, e.g. making sure that we can keep in touch with our customers about their accounts and new products or functionalities related to the Services |
| To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations | Depending on the circumstances: to perform our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract; to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations; where neither of the above apply, for our legitimate interests or those of a third party |
| To share your personal data with members of our group and third parties in connection with a significant corporate transaction or restructuring, including a merger, acquisition, asset sale, initial public offering or in the event of our insolvency. In such cases information will be anonymised where possible and only shared where necessary | Depending on the circumstances: to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations; in other cases, for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, i.e. to protect, realise or grow the value in our business and assets |
See Who we share your personal data with for further information on the steps we will take to protect your personal data where we need to share it with others.
Marketing
We intend to send you email marketing to inform you of our services such as promotions.
We will always ask you for your consent before sending you marketing communications, except where you have explicitly opted in to receiving email marketing from us in the past or except where you were given the option to opt out of email marketing when you initially signed up for your account with us and you did not do so.
You will have the right to opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time by:
- contacting us at info@botanicalmapper.com;
- using Settings in the app when signed in; or
- using the "unsubscribe" link included in marketing emails you may receive from us.
We will always treat your personal data with the utmost respect and never sell or share it with other organisations for marketing purposes.
For more information on your right to object at any time to your personal data being used for marketing purposes, see Your rights below.
Who we share your personal data with
We routinely share personal data with service providers we use to help us run our business or provide the services or functionalities in the Services.
We only allow service providers to handle your personal data if we are satisfied they take appropriate measures to protect your personal data. We also impose contractual obligations on service providers to ensure they can only use your personal data to provide services to us and to you.
The table below outlines who we share your data with:
| Name of third party processor | Purposes for carrying out processing | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Clerk | Account login, user accounts, and organisation (workspace) management | clerk.com/legal/privacy |
| Supabase | Primary database and file storage for workspace data | supabase.com/privacy |
| Stripe | Payment processing for subscriptions | stripe.com/gb/privacy |
| Vercel | Application hosting | vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy |
| MapTiler | Maps, geocoding, and weather-related map services | maptiler.com/privacy-policy |
| OpenWeather | Optional weather data where configured | openweather.co.uk/privacy-policy |
| Sanity | Content management for articles and marketing pages | sanity.io/legal/privacy |
| Resend | Transactional email (for example contact form and service notifications) | resend.com/legal/privacy-policy |
We may also share personal data:
- with other members of your workspace, according to your plan and permissions;
- with visitors to a public map you publish, limited to what you choose to show;
- with external auditors, e.g. in relation to the audit of our accounts and our company — the recipient of the information will be bound by confidentiality obligations;
- with professional advisors (such as lawyers and other advisors) — the recipient of the information will be bound by confidentiality obligations;
- with law enforcement agencies, courts or tribunals and regulatory bodies to comply with legal and regulatory obligations;
- with other parties in connection with a significant corporate transaction or restructuring, including a merger, acquisition, asset sale, initial public offering or in the event of our insolvency — usually, information will be anonymised but this may not always be possible; however, the recipient of the information will be bound by confidentiality obligations.
If you would like more information about who we share our data with and why, please contact us (see How to contact us below).
We will not sell your personal data or share it with other organisations for their marketing purposes.
Public maps and published content
On eligible plans you may publish a public map with a shareable link (for example /p/your-map). You control what information is shown to visitors. Do not publish personal data about others without a lawful basis and their permission where required.
Photos and records you mark as private or keep out of the public map configuration should not be exposed to visitors. You are responsible for checking what you publish.
How long your personal data will be kept
We will keep your personal data for as long as you have an active account with us and for a period of up to 6 years thereafter to comply with any accounting or legal obligations including in the event of the pursuit or defence of legal claims. Once you have closed your account with us, we will move your personal data to a separate database so that only key stakeholders in our business on a "need to know" basis have access to such data.
Following the end of the aforementioned retention period, we will delete or anonymise your personal data.
Free workspaces and inactivity
If you have a Free-tier workspace and it has been inactive for 6 months (meaning it has not been accessed in the app), we may delete that workspace and its content (including photos). We will normally try to give advance notice by email (typically around 30 days and 7 days before deletion). Accessing the workspace again before the deadline resets the inactivity timer.
When you close your account or delete a workspace, we delete or anonymise data in line with our product processes, subject to lawful retention needs.
De-identified information
The personal data we collect may have analytical, educational, or commercial value to us. Where we have de-identified the information we have collected, we reserve the right to process and distribute such information.
Transferring your personal data out of the UK
At this point in time, we do not transfer your personal data outside of the UK. If this changes, we would comply with applicable UK laws designed to ensure the continued protection and privacy of your personal data. Any updated destinations to which we send your personal data would be indicated in the present section and notified to you in accordance with Changes to this privacy policy below.
Furthermore, under UK data protection laws, we can only transfer your personal data to a country outside the UK where: the UK government has decided the particular country ensures an adequate level of protection of personal data (known as an "adequacy regulation") further to Article 45 of the UK GDPR; there are appropriate safeguards in place, together with enforceable rights and effective legal remedies for you; or a specific exception applies under relevant data protection law. Accordingly, if we were to start transferring your personal data from the UK to:
- The EEA: we would rely on the adequacy finding granted by the UK to the EU under the Withdrawal Agreement to do so; for any transfers from the EU to the UK, we would rely on the adequacy regulation granted to the UK under the Adequacy Decision.
- Any country located outside the UK/EEA: we would rely on appropriate safeguards under the UK GDPR, such as by including the relevant Standard Contractual Clauses in our data processing agreements.
In the event we could not or choose not to continue to rely on either of those mechanisms at any time we would not transfer your personal data outside the UK unless we could do so on the basis of an alternative mechanism or exception provided by UK data protection law.
Your rights
You generally have the following rights, which you can usually exercise free of charge. For more information regarding these rights, please visit the ICO website here.
| Right | Summary |
|---|---|
| Access to a copy of your personal data | The right to be provided with a copy of your personal data. |
| Correction (also known as rectification) | The right to require us to correct any mistakes in your personal data. |
| Erasure (also known as the right to be forgotten) | The right to require us to delete your personal data — in certain situations. |
| Restriction of use | The right to require us to restrict use of your personal data in certain circumstances, e.g. if you contest the accuracy of the data. |
| Data portability | The right to receive the personal data you provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and/or transmit that data to a third party — in certain situations. |
| To object to use | The right to object at any time to your personal data being used for direct marketing (including profiling), and in certain other situations to our continued use of your personal data, e.g. where we use your personal data for our legitimate interests. |
| Not to be subject to decisions without human involvement | The right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (including profiling) that produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you. We do not make any such decisions based on data collected by the Services. |
For further information on each of those rights, including the circumstances in which they do and do not apply, please contact us (see How to contact us below). You may also find it helpful to refer to the guidance from the UK's Information Commissioner on your rights under the UK GDPR.
If you would like to exercise any of those rights, please email info@botanicalmapper.com or contact us using our contact form. When contacting us please:
- provide enough information to identify yourself (e.g. your full name and email address associated with your account) and any additional identity information we may reasonably request from you; and
- let us know which right(s) you want to exercise and the information to which your request relates.
Keeping your personal data secure
We have appropriate security measures to prevent personal data from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed unlawfully. We limit access to your personal data to those who have a genuine business need to access it.
We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.
If you want detailed information from Get Safe Online on how to protect your information and your computers and devices against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other online problems, please visit getsafeonline.org. Get Safe Online is supported by HM Government and leading businesses.
How to complain
Please contact us if you have any queries or concerns about our use of your information (see How to contact us below). We hope we will be able to resolve any issues you may have.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or telephone: 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this privacy policy
We may change this privacy policy from time to time. When we make significant changes we will take steps to inform you, for example via the Services or by other means, such as email.
We will also post an updated copy on this page and change the "Last updated" date above.
How to contact us
For further information about our privacy policy or practices, or to access or correct your personal data, or make a complaint, please contact us using the details set out below:
- Name: Tom Gregory
- Email: info@botanicalmapper.com
We encourage you to check this page regularly to ensure that you are aware of our most current privacy policy.