FarmAro
FarmAro Privacy Policy
FarmAro ("we", "our", "the app") helps farmers rent, buy and sell tractors, equipment and animals with people nearby. This policy explains what data we collect and why.
Information We Collect
- Account and profile information: mobile number, name, profile photo, Firebase user identifier, login time, and a throttled timestamp showing when the signed-in app was last active, as needed to provide, measure, and secure the service. Your mobile number is sent to MSG91 to deliver and verify the one-time password used to sign in. FarmAro does not use this timestamp for continuous background tracking.
- Location information: when you search for a location, select a suggested place, or permit the app to use your device location, we may collect latitude and longitude, place name and address, a Google Place identifier, and address components returned automatically by location services, such as village or city, taluka or tehsil, district, state, and PIN code. Some components may be unavailable.
- Listings: listing mode, title, description, category, price, availability, contact details, listing location, photos, and other details you choose to provide.
- Local app data: language and recently selected marketplace location may be stored on your device to preserve your preferences.
- Diagnostics: if the app crashes or encounters a handled technical error, Firebase Crashlytics may collect crash logs, stack traces, app version, device model, operating-system version, installation identifiers, Firebase user identifier, and technical events related to the failure. We do not intentionally include listing content, phone numbers, or precise location in crash reports.
- App analytics: Firebase Analytics may collect app-install and app-open events, screen views, session and engagement information, app version, device type, operating-system version, approximate region, and an app installation identifier. We use this information in aggregate to understand active users and improve FarmAro. We do not intentionally send names, phone numbers, listing content, or precise location as Analytics event data.
- Advertising measurement: on Android, the Meta SDK may collect the Android advertising identifier, app-install and app-open information, device and app information, and a profile-completion event. We do not send your name, phone number, listing content, or precise location to Meta through this event. Meta processes this information to measure and optimize FarmAro advertising.
- Advertisements: Google Mobile Ads may process device and app information, advertising identifiers where available, approximate location derived from an IP address, ad interactions, and diagnostic information to select, deliver, measure, prevent fraud in, and improve advertisements. FarmAro requests non-personalized ads. Where legally required, Google's consent form is shown before ads are requested.
- Optional nearby-listing alerts: if enabled, we store your device push token, selected radius, listing modes and categories, and a geographic index derived from your saved profile location. This is used only to match and deliver alerts about new listings within your chosen distance. Alerts can be disabled at any time and do not continuously track device location.
- Agri Assistant questions: when you use the optional Agri Assistant, the farming question you enter, your selected app language, a limited recent conversation history, and your saved district/state may be sent through our Firebase Function to the Google Gemini API to generate an answer. Do not enter phone numbers, financial information, government identifiers, health records, or other sensitive personal information in the assistant.
- Safety reports and blocks: when you report a listing, we store your account identifier, the listing and owner identifiers, the selected reason, and the report time so administrators can review abuse. Users you block are stored on your device and their listings are hidden there.
Location is obtained only after you select or search for a place, or grant location permission and choose to use your current location. FarmAro uses Google Places on Android and Apple Maps/Core Location on iOS to obtain location and address information.
How We Use Information
- To authenticate users, maintain profiles, and operate and secure the marketplace.
- To save profile and listing locations, sort listings by distance, and show relevant nearby listings.
- To let signed-in users view listing information and contact listing owners.
- To moderate listings, prevent abuse, and provide account and data-deletion features.
- To detect, investigate, and fix crashes and technical failures.
- To understand app installations, active users, screen usage, and engagement so we can improve FarmAro.
- To measure app installs, app opens, and completed registrations and improve our advertising campaigns.
- To generate optional multilingual answers to farming questions and enforce assistant usage limits.
- To review reports, block abusive users, and keep marketplace content safe.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. Account, profile, listing, location, and image data may be stored using Google Firebase services, including Authentication, Firestore, and Storage.
Sharing
Listing information—including listing photos, owner name, contact number, and listing location—is available to other signed-in users so they can evaluate a listing and contact its owner. Profile location metadata is used by the app and is not intentionally displayed as separate profile fields.
Google Firebase—including Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics—Google Gemini, MSG91, Google Places, Apple Maps/Core Location, Google Mobile Ads, and Meta on Android process data as service providers where needed to operate the app. We may also disclose information when required by law or to protect users, the service, or the public.
Data Retention and Security
We retain account, profile, and listing information while the account or listing remains active, or as needed to operate and secure the service. Crash and diagnostic reports are retained according to Firebase Crashlytics retention practices. Agri Assistant requests are sent with Gemini interaction storage disabled by FarmAro, but Google may process and retain request data according to the Gemini API terms applicable to our account. We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards, but no electronic storage or transmission method is completely secure.
Your Choices
- You may deny device location permission and search for a location instead. Features that require a confirmed listing location cannot work without one.
- You can reset or limit use of the Android advertising identifier through your device's privacy settings.
- Where required, you can review or change advertising privacy choices from About & Legal → Ad privacy choices.
- You can delete listings anytime from the My Ads tab.
- You can permanently delete your account and associated profile, listing, and image data from My Profile → Delete Account in the app.
- If you cannot access the app, you can request full account/data deletion by emailing soniapp0091@gmail.com.
Shop Profiles and Subscriptions
When enabled, approved shops with active subscriptions publish their business name, photos, address/map location, products, brands, hours, and contact phone publicly. Profiles, moderation, and reports use PostgreSQL; photos use Firebase Storage or Cloudflare R2. Apple or Google handles payments; we do not receive card or banking details. RevenueCat processes your Firebase account identifier, purchase/transaction identifiers, subscription status and expiry, and purchase-related device information to verify and restore subscriptions and prevent fraud.
Store transaction identifiers and their account association may be retained after account deletion to prevent purchase reuse and meet payment/audit obligations. Contact us for retention/deletion requests. Deleting your shop or account does not cancel store renewal. Cancel in Apple or Google subscription settings.
Human Agri Expert Consultations
Experts may optionally save a practice location using place search or current location. We store the selected address, place identifier, geographic coordinates and available locality components with the expert profile. Only the applicant and authorized administrators can access the exact stored location. Farmers see locality and approximate straight-line distance calculated from the farmer's supplied location, not the expert's exact address or map pin. This is a saved location, not live tracking. Consultation access requests use the farmer's profile name and require no issue description; approval covers one 15-minute consultation.
Experts may optionally upload a public profile photo. It appears in the expert directory, profile and consultation screens and is stored separately from private qualification certificates using our marketplace image storage. A photo is not required for application or approval and is not proof of qualifications. Experts can replace or remove it from Manage expert profile.
When enabled, we store expert applications, account identifiers, qualifications, languages, experience, district/state, private verification references, consent and moderation status in PostgreSQL. Only approved profiles are public; verification references and moderation notes are private to the applicant and authorized administrators. New applicants upload 1-3 qualification certificates (PDF/JPG/PNG, up to 5 MB each), stored in a dedicated private Google Cloud Storage bucket and accessed only through authenticated applicant/admin requests, not public links. Do not upload government identity documents.
Existing appointment times and working hours are retained; new clients use consultation requests. We store request/booking status, consultation participants, farmer name and issue, consent version, private text messages, shared chat photos and reports. Participants access their own chat; authorized administrators review submitted reports. Chat photos are compressed, stripped of embedded metadata and stored privately in PostgreSQL with the consultation, not as public marketplace images. Only authenticated participants can retrieve them through the app; they remain readable in history and are removed with related consultation data on account deletion. Do not include unrelated sensitive information.
With microphone permission, Agora processes live audio, session channel/user identifiers and connection/device information for one-to-one calls. FarmAro does not enable recording or video. Agora processes technical data under its privacy policy. Supported new clients can continue explicitly initiated or answered calls while navigating or in the background, using system or in-app hang-up controls. Legacy clients remain foreground-only. Invitations alone do not publish microphone audio. Call status and timestamps are retained with history. Profile district/state orders local experts, not precise GPS distance. New clients use requests rather than new bookings; existing appointments remain stored.
If allowed, Firebase Cloud Messaging processes an account-linked device token for request/acceptance alerts. Incoming calls additionally use Android call notifications or Apple PushKit/CallKit, processing device/VoIP tokens, call/session identifiers and the caller's display name, not farm issue, messages or certificate contents. Delivery depends on device/OS settings and network availability. Revoke permission in device settings. Device registration is removed on sign-out.
Applications, certificates and consultation history are retained while needed to operate the service or review complaints, or until account deletion or an applicable deletion request is fulfilled. Account deletion removes private certificates, consultation device registrations, the expert application and related sessions/messages/reports, including the other participant's access. Unused uploaded certificates can be removed in the application form; contact soniapp0091@gmail.com to correct submitted documents or request deletion. No consultation payment or banking details are collected during the free pilot.
When paid consultations launch, payments are processed by our authorised payment gateway. We receive payment status, amount and transaction references, not your card, UPI PIN or bank login details. Experts who accept paid consultations provide PAN and bank account details for payouts and tax compliance; these are shared only with the payment gateway and authorities as required by law. See our Terms of Service and Refund & Cancellation Policy.
Children
FarmAro is intended for users 18 years and older.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected here with a new update date.
Contact
For privacy questions, email soniapp0091@gmail.com.