This policy explains what personal data SeedBattle (seedbattle.com) collects, why, who helps us process it, and the choices you have. SeedBattle is run by Shah Fahad, who is responsible for your data here. You can reach us about privacy at hello@seedbattle.com.
When you browse
You can read the whole encyclopedia without an account. We don’t use advertising cookies or show ads. We use Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages help gardeners; see Cookies below for how to turn it off.
Like any website, our servers record technical details of each request (your IP address, your browser and the page you asked for) so we can keep the site running and protect it from abuse. These logs are deleted after 14 days.
Seed photos are served from our file storage at Amazon Web Services, which sees your IP address when your browser loads an image, as with any web request.
When you create an account
We collect:
- your email address
- the name you choose and your username
- your password, stored only as a one-way hash. We can’t read it, and it’s never written down in plain text
- whether you’ve confirmed your email address
You can also add a profile photo, a short bio, your country, your preferred units and your hardiness zone. All of these are optional. When you upload a profile photo, we re-encode it and remove the location and camera details stored inside the file.
When you sign up, you confirm you’re 16 or older, and we record when you did. We also record the IP address you signed up from (see “How long we keep data”).
When you post in the community
If you use the community or Battles, we store what you add: your posts and their photos, comments, likes and “helpful” votes, who you follow, the Battles you join and your entries, and any reports you send. Public posts, comments, your profile and Battle results can be seen by anyone. Private posts are visible only to you.
When you upload a photo, we re-encode it and remove the location and camera details stored inside the file. Before others can see it, a copy is checked automatically for content that isn’t allowed, using Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic. Anthropic processes the photo only to give us the result and doesn’t use it to train its models. If the check can’t run, a moderator looks at the photo instead. Until a photo is approved, it’s stored privately and only you and our moderators can see it.
We also record the IP address each post, comment, photo upload and report came from. Only SeedBattle admins can see it, never other members, and it’s never sent to the AI. We keep it for 12 months, to prevent abuse and to respond to lawful requests from authorities.
When you suggest a seed
Signed-in members with a confirmed email can suggest a new seed or a correction to a seed page. We store what you send (names, description, growing facts, source links, photos and notes), when you sent it and the IP address it came from. Before an admin reviews it, the text is checked automatically for problems such as spam, unsafe advice or personal data, using Claude by Anthropic. Only the text of your suggestion is sent, never your name, email address or IP address. Anthropic doesn’t use it to train its models.
Nothing you suggest is shown publicly until an admin approves it and publishes the seed page. If we use your suggestion, the page’s editing history notes your username. If we decline it, you’ll see why on your account page. Photos sent with a suggestion are never shown publicly and are deleted if the suggestion is declined.
When you use the AI assistant or buy credits
AI assistant: your questions, and any photo you attach, are sent to Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic, to produce the answer. Anthropic doesn’t use them to train its models. We store your conversations so you can see your history, and they’re deleted with your account.
Credit purchases: for each purchase we store the pack, the amount, the coin and network, the payment address we showed you, the transaction IDs, the status, the times, and the IP address the purchase was started from. Crypto payments go through CryptAPI, which forwards them to our wallet. Blockchain transactions are public by nature and can’t be deleted, by us or anyone else.
When you’re signed in
Each time you sign in, we record the browser and device you used and your IP address. This lets you see where your account is signed in and sign out of other devices. A sign-in lasts up to 30 days, or until you sign out.
Keeping accounts secure
To stop people guessing passwords and flooding the site, we count sign-in and sign-up attempts per IP address and per email address, and posts, comments, uploads and similar actions per account. These counters store a scrambled code, not the address or account itself, and each one covers a period of a day or less.
When staff edit or publish pages, change someone’s role or suspend an account, we record who did it, what changed, when, and the IP address it came from.
Cookies
Signing in sets a cookie that keeps you signed in (__Secure-seedbattle.session_token). The site can’t work without it, so we don’t ask for consent, and it’s removed when you sign out or the sign-in expires.
Analytics cookies. We use Google Analytics (cookies named _ga and _ga_…, kept up to 14 months) to measure which pages are visited and how people find SeedBattle. Google processes this data for us; IP addresses are not stored by Google Analytics 4. If you’re in the European Economic Area, the UK or Switzerland, analytics stays off until you click Accept on the cookie banner. Elsewhere it’s on by default, and you can click Decline to turn it off. Your choice is remembered in your browser’s local storage (seedbattle.consent); clear it to choose again. We never use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.
When you switch between metric and imperial units, your browser remembers the choice in its local storage (seedbattle.units), so pages show the same units next time. It stays on your device and is never sent to us. Clearing your browser’s data for SeedBattle removes it.
How we use your data
- to run your account and keep you signed in
- to send emails about your account, such as a link to confirm your address or reset your password. We don’t send marketing emails
- to show your posts, comments and Battle entries to others, as you choose
- to run Battles: judging, leaderboards and results
- to answer your questions with the AI assistant, and to process the credits you buy
- to review the seeds and corrections you suggest
- to keep SeedBattle secure and prevent abuse, including checking uploaded photos and suggestions, and handling reports
We don’t sell personal data, and we don’t use it for advertising.
We publish our own content (seed guides and their images) to SeedBattle’s Pinterest account. No visitor data is shared with Pinterest.
Where data protection law asks us to name a legal basis, we rely on providing the service you signed up for (your account and sign-in), and on our legitimate interest in keeping the site secure (logs, security records and attempt counters).
Who processes data for us
These companies store or process data on our behalf, only to provide their service to us:
- Our database provider: stores account and community data
- Amazon Web Services: stores photos
- Amazon Web Services (Amazon SES): sends account emails
- Our hosting provider: runs the website
- Google (Google Analytics): measures visits to the site
- Anthropic: checks uploaded community photos and seed suggestions for content that isn’t allowed, and answers your questions in the AI assistant (see above)
- CryptAPI: forwards crypto payments for credit purchases to our wallet
Data stored in other countries
Your data may be stored and processed outside your country, including in the United States. Where the law requires it, we rely on safeguards our providers offer for international transfers, such as standard contractual clauses.
How long we keep data
- Account, profile, posts, photos and comments: until you delete them or your account
- Sign-ins: up to 30 days each
- IP addresses: We keep the IP address used to create each account, post, comment, upload and payment for 12 months, to prevent abuse and to respond to lawful requests from authorities.
- Seed suggestions: until you delete your account
- AI assistant conversations: until you delete them or your account
- Credit purchases: purchase records are kept for 7 years for accounting, also after you delete your account (they then no longer link to you). The credit ledger entries for a purchase are kept with the purchase record
- Email confirmation links: expire after 24 hours. Password reset links: after 1 hour
- Attempt counters: a scrambled code and a count, reused for each new period
- Server logs: 14 days
- Staff action records: 2 years
- Database backups: up to 30 days, after which deleted data is gone from backups too
Your choices and rights
- Get a copy of your data: download it from your account settings as a file.
- Correct it: edit your profile at any time.
- Delete it: delete your account from your settings. We ask for your password again, then remove your personal data. Records of staff actions are kept, but they no longer link to you.
- Anything else: for example, to object to how we use your data or to ask what we hold, write to hello@seedbattle.com. We reply within 30 days.
If you think we’ve handled your data wrongly, you can also complain to the data protection authority where you live.
Children
SeedBattle isn’t aimed at children. You must be at least 16 years old to create an account. If we learn that someone younger has an account, we delete it.
Changes to this policy
When we change this policy, we update the date at the top. If a change affects how we use your data, we’ll also email account holders before it takes effect.
