Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 4, 2026

Bonsai Journal ("the app") is operated by Nebari Consulting LLC ("we", "us"). This policy describes what information the app collects, how it is used, and how it is protected.

What we collect

  • Account information. When you create an account with an email address and password, or sign in with Google, we receive the email address and account identifier needed to identify your account and associate your data with it.
  • Journal content. Tree profiles, text entries, dates, care actions, and milestones you create in the app are stored in a cloud database (Google Firebase Firestore) under your account. This data belongs to you.
  • Photos. Photos you add are compressed on your device and uploaded to cloud storage (Google Firebase Storage) under your account. Photos keep the metadata your camera embedded in them, which can include the location where the photo was taken. If you share your bench publicly (see "Share links" below), that metadata travels with the shared photos.

What we do not collect

  • Device location (the app never requests location permission)
  • Contacts or address book data
  • Browsing or search history
  • Data from other apps on your device

AI features

Several features use Google's Gemini models through Firebase AI Logic (Vertex AI):

  • Species identification. A photo you choose is sent to the model to suggest a species.
  • Care guides. The app generates a species-level care card (light, water, soil, seasonal rhythm, styling notes). Care cards contain no personal information and are cached in a shared library so other users of the same species benefit from them.
  • Future Vision. A photo of your tree is sent to an image-generation model to render a styled projection of how it could look in future years. The result is saved to your journal and labeled as AI-generated.

Photos sent to these features are processed by Google under the Google Cloud service terms. We do not use your photos to train models, and we do not store identification photos beyond what you save in your journal.

Share links

You can create an optional public link to a read-only web view of your bench and tree journals. Anyone who has the link can view that content without signing in, so share it only with people you want to see it. You can revoke the link at any time in the app, which disables the page. Copies of photos that someone saved while the link was active, or direct photo addresses they recorded, may remain reachable after revocation.

How we use your data

Your data is used only to provide the app's features to you. We do not sell your personal information, we do not share it for advertising, and the app contains no third-party ad or tracking SDKs.

Payment

Bonsai Journal is sold as a subscription or lifetime unlock. Payments are processed entirely by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play). We never receive or store your payment details; we only receive confirmation of your entitlement.

Third-party services

Data retention and deletion

Your data stays in your account for as long as you keep the account. You can delete individual trees, journal entries, and photos in the app at any time. To delete your account and everything in it, email solutions@nebari.cc from the address on your account and we will complete the deletion within 30 days.

Security

Data is stored in Google Firebase with encryption in transit and at rest. Database and storage access rules restrict your journal to your authenticated account.

Children

Bonsai Journal is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.

Changes to this policy

When we update this policy we will change the date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Email solutions@nebari.cc.