1. Our Promise to You (The Farmer)
At Gielix, we believe in the principle of “Farmer Data Sovereignty.” We understand that agricultural data is valuable—whether it represents your yield records, crop inputs, soil maps, or financial logs. Unlike many cloud-based competitors, we do not store this sensitive farm business data on our servers.
Our mission was born from real-world farming struggles to create technology for farmers, built by understanding the reality of their work: connection is vital, but privacy must be prioritized so that you can manage your land without fear. Your data lives in your phone; it belongs to you and your business.
2. What Data Do We Collect?
We only collect information necessary for the application to function on your device or when you choose to sync specific features manually:
A. Local Farm Business Data (Stored Only on Your Device)
If you have purchased a subscription, entered yields, logged expenses, tracked irrigation schedules, or recorded harvest quantities via [Farm Manager] or our Operational Solution, this data remains encrypted and stored directly in your device. We do not upload these logs to any central database without your explicit action.
B. Device & Technical Information
To ensure app stability and crash reporting, we may collect minimal technical identifiers:
- App version number.
- Internet connection quality status.
- Operating system details (iOS/Android version).
- Note: We do not track your specific GPS location history beyond what is necessary to calculate field boundaries or route maps while the app is active, and even this data remains on-device unless you opt-in for map updates.
C. User Input & Communication
We collect standard contact information (email address) only when used for account registration or technical support requests. This allows us to send software updates and critical security alerts relevant to your farm’s device health. We do not scan the content of emails sent to our support team unless a specific ticket requires review, in which case we delete them after resolution.
3. How Do We Store Your Data?
We operate on a “Local-First” architecture:
- Encryption: All sensitive farm data stored locally is encrypted using industry-standard encryption protocols (AES) at rest and during local transmission between the app modules, even when you are offline in the fields without signal.
- No Cloud Backups by Default: While we do not host your backups on our servers to protect against leaks, please note that if a user manually enables an iCloud/Google Photos backup for “Files,” [Company Name] does not have access to those files unless you explicitly configure them as such in the settings of your personal account.
- Your Responsibility: By using [Farm Manager], you understand that you are responsible for securing your device (lock screen, password protection) and managing third-party cloud backups if enabled by other services on your phone.
4. How Do We Use Your Data?
We strictly adhere to the principle of “Least Privilege.”
- For App Functionality: To calculate yields from photos taken in specific fields (where offline AI processing occurs).
- To Prevent Leaks: If you encounter a security vulnerability on our device side, we patch it immediately so your local database remains secure.
- No Marketing Usage: We never use farmer names, plot numbers, or yield data to sell insights to insurance companies, seed manufacturers, or third-party brokers without explicit written consent and compensation agreements signed by the user (where legally permitted).
5. Do We Share Your Data?
The Short Answer: No.
- We do not share your raw farm records: This includes yield maps, soil test data, input costs, etc., with advertisers or partners.
- Aggregated Anonymized Insights (Optional): If you choose to enable industry insights features within the app to track market averages in your region, we only process this after removing all unique identifiers (like name and location) so that individual farmers cannot be identified from any statistical report.
6. Third-Party Tools & SDKs
Some mobile apps require third-party services for specific functions (e.g., Maps APIs or Font loading). If these are used, we only use the minimal permissions required to function offline where possible:
- Map Providers: We utilize map tile providers that may cache locations; however, your farm plot coordinates do not leave your device unless an internet connection is actively established and authorized.
7. Security Measures & Incident Response
Because our data never leaves a user’s device in its raw state, the primary security focus for us is local integrity. However:
- We perform regular code audits to ensure that no “backdoors” exist on your phone where we could access unauthorized data without you knowing.
- In the unlikely event of an App Store or Play Store account breach affecting a specific device’s token, we provide tools within [Farm Manager] for you to wipe local logs if necessary.
8. Your Rights and Control
As a farmer who owns your land, you should own your data too:
- Export: You can request an export of all farm records in standard CSV or JSON format at any time directly from the App Settings > Data Management. We do not “lock” this information inside our proprietary server walls.
- Delete/Reset: If you uninstall the application and clear your device data, we cannot restore that farm history to a new phone automatically without re-entry (this prevents accidental exposure upon reinstall).
9. Children’s Privacy (Farming Context)
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of consent or who work alone on farms. Our tools are designed for adults managing agricultural operations, family units as defined by local law in your country.
10. Contact Us & Updates
If you have concerns about our data privacy practices regarding [Farm Manager], please contact us directly at [Email Address] or through the Support section within the App settings menu where a direct line to Data Protection leads is available for farmers who cannot use email securely.
We will not change this policy without clear notice on your device and via an in-app alert if you are connected online. We respect that many farmers manage their land offline; our app ensures you can see what permissions we ask before they connect, so you never hand over data blindly.