Your data, your choice

Our promises

• Your records stay on your device. There's no Lineage Tracker server holding your data.
• No account, no ads and no tracking in the app. (The website has an optional account for the community tools. The app never needs it.) The app doesn't collect analytics or follow what you do.
• You can take everything with you. Backups include every record and photo, plus spreadsheet copies, in an open, documented format.
• Sync uses your own Google Drive or Dropbox, and can only see the files Lineage Tracker creates. Add a passphrase and everything is encrypted before it leaves your device.
• Smart features are off unless you turn them on, and the app tells you exactly what will be sent.
• You share only what you choose. Sharing, gift files and listings contain only what you pick, and never payment details or personal information you didn't type.
• Anything online in future will be opt-in, item by item. See how sharing is planned to work.
• The "Stay in touch" list is optional and never sold. If you join, we keep your email address to tell you when community pages open. One click removes you.
• The app is free forever, and we don't sell your data. There are no paid tiers and no ads in the app. If you never log in to the website, nothing on it affects you. If the website's funding ever has to change, we'll say so here first, and it will never appear in the app. Your records stay on your device and can be exported.

Privacy policy

Last updated 15 October 2026.

What the app collects

Nothing. The app has no accounts, no analytics and no advertising. Everything you record is stored in your browser's storage on your device.

When information leaves your device

Only when you use a feature that needs it:

• Sync (optional): your records and photos are copied to your own Google Drive or Dropbox, using permission that only covers files Lineage Tracker creates. With a passphrase, they're encrypted first.
• Smart features (optional): if you add a Google Gemini or Claude key, a packet or label photo, or a question you ask, is sent to that company to be answered. Their terms apply. On Google's free tier, Google may use what's sent to improve its products.
• Weather (optional): the location of a site you add is sent to Open-Meteo to fetch weather.
• Sharing: pictures, messages, gift files and offers go only where you send them, using your own apps.
• Feedback: what you type in the feedback form is sent through Web3Forms, which emails it to us. Emails to feedback@lineagetracker.org come straight to us.
• Fonts: the app and website load their fonts from Google Fonts, so Google sees your device's internet address, as with most websites.
• Website visits: lineagetracker.org (the website, not the app) uses Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages are read. It records the pages you view, the site you came from, your browser and device type, and your approximate location (worked out from your internet address, which Google Analytics does not store). It uses cookies to tell one visit from another. Google's advertising features and ad personalisation are switched off, and the data is processed by Google, which may be outside Australia. The app, and the confirm and unsubscribe pages for the "Stay in touch" list, do not use it. You can block it with your browser's privacy settings or an ad blocker. The pages you reach from a private email link (confirm and manage), and the account pages, do not use Google Analytics at all.
• Hosting: the app and website are hosted on GitHub Pages, which may keep basic visit logs for security.
• Partner versions: if you use a version offered by a club, seed library or business, its logo and any variety list load from their website. They can't see your records.

The "Stay in touch" list (website only)

The website has an optional sign-up so we can tell you when the community pages open and when there is news about the app. The app itself never asks for it, and you don't need to join to use anything.

• What we collect: your email address (required). You can also choose your country or region, which plants and animals you grow or keep (ticked from a list of common names), and which kinds of update you'd like. There are no names and no free-text boxes.
• Why: only to send you the updates you picked. We don't sell or rent it, and we don't share it with advertisers. If you tick the separate, optional globe box, your country and picks may later be counted in anonymous totals on the community globe (for example, how many members in a country grow tomatoes), with no names or email addresses. It is off unless you tick it, and you can turn it off at any time on your manage page or by emailing us.
• Confirmation: we email you a link to confirm it's really you. Until you click it you are not on the list and we send nothing else. Unconfirmed sign-ups expire after about 7 days and the entry is deleted. Once you confirm, we send one welcome email with a private link to manage your choices.
• Change your mind: the welcome email, and every update email after it, has a private “Manage my choices” link. On that page you can change your choices, turn the globe box off, or remove yourself completely. Removing yourself deletes your email address and choices, not just hides them. You can also email feedback@lineagetracker.org and we'll remove you or send you a copy of what we hold.
• Where it's stored: in a Supabase database hosted in Sydney, Australia. Emails are sent through Resend, which handles delivery for us. Both act on our behalf and their own terms apply.
• Spam protection: the form uses Cloudflare Turnstile to tell people from bots. It checks your browser and may set a small token for that purpose only.
• Age: you must be 18 or over to join.
• Your choice: joining is based on your consent, given by ticking the box. You can withdraw it at any time using your manage link or by emailing us.

Website accounts (optional, website only)

The website can also give you an account, so you can sign in to the community tools when they open. The app never needs one. Right now an account holds only the details below and does nothing else.

• What we keep: your email address; your password, which is kept only as a salted one-way hash by our sign-in provider (your password travels over a secure connection to our sign-in provider and our servers while you set it, and is checked on the way, but we never store it or write it to any log); an alias made for you (no real name is asked for); optionally your country and region; the emails and the plants and animals you chose to tick (all off until you tick them); that you confirmed you are 18 or over; which version of the terms you accepted and when; when the account was made and confirmed; and a level, which starts at “New” and is not used for anything yet.
• Sign-in records: our sign-in provider (Supabase Auth) records when you sign in, and technical details such as the browser and internet address, for security.
• Why: to let you sign in, to keep the community safe, and to send the account emails you need (confirming your address, resetting your password, security notices) plus anything you ticked. Account emails are not marketing. We do not sell or rent your details or share them with advertisers.
• Aliases: your alias is the only name other members will ever see by default. Staff can see your alias, email address, country and region, status and level, when you last signed in and confirmed, which terms you accepted, and the choices you ticked. Each time staff open a member’s details, or look someone up by their exact email address, it is written to a log.
• The community globe: if you tick the globe box, your country and the plants and animals you picked are counted in anonymous totals. Never your name, alias or email. You can untick it any time from your account page.
• If you are on the Stay in touch list too: once your account is confirmed it takes over from the list for the same email address, so choose what you want to hear about in your account. Leaving the list is not needed.
• Choosing a password: we check it against a list of passwords that have appeared in data breaches (the Have I Been Pwned service). Only the first five characters of a one-way fingerprint of the password are sent, never the password or your email address. If that service cannot be reached, the check is skipped and your password is still checked against our own rules.
• Staying signed in: signing in puts a token in your browser tab’s session storage; it is gone when you close the tab. If you tick “keep me signed in on this device”, it is kept in local storage instead until you sign out. Staff are always tab-only and are signed out after 30 minutes of doing nothing. Signing out removes it. You can turn on two-step sign-in (an authenticator app) from your account page, and staff must use it.
• Spam and abuse protection: sign-up, sign-in and reset use Cloudflare Turnstile. We also keep short-lived counters, stored as one-way fingerprints with no email or address, to slow down repeated attempts. They are deleted within about two days.
• Invitations: if you joined the Stay in touch list and ticked the community pages or the globe, we may send you a one-off email inviting you to create an account. It says why you are getting it, and it links to your manage page, where you can leave the list. People who did not tick one of those are never invited.
• Download or delete: from your account page you can download everything we hold about you, or delete your account. Deleting removes your login, alias, country and choices straight away. You can also remove your email from the Stay in touch list at the same time. We keep only a note that an account existed and a record of any action staff took about it (including each time staff opened its details), filed under an internal reference number with no email address or alias, so we can deal with abuse and show staff are accountable. Your own sign-up, confirmation and password entries are removed. Accounts that are never confirmed are deleted after about 7 days.
• Where it is stored: in the same Supabase database in Sydney, Australia as the Stay in touch list. Emails are sent through Resend, which keeps a copy of each email it sends (including the link inside it, which stops working after it is used or expires) for a limited time. Both act on our behalf and their own terms apply.
• No Google Analytics: the account pages (create account, sign in, reset, confirm, your account and staff) do not use Google Analytics, and tell your browser not to pass on where you came from.
• Blog posts (when the blog opens): what you write, the photos you add, the kinds and plants or animals you pick, and the name you choose to show (your alias unless you choose another) are kept with your account. Photos are shrunk and re-saved on your device before they are sent, which removes location and camera details. A post is private until our staff approve it, and then anyone can read it. Staff can see who wrote each post. Likes and share links record which member did them, so that they count once; readers only see totals. We email you when staff publish your post, ask for changes or cannot accept it, and we email staff (without your details) when posts are waiting. Deleting a post deletes its photos; deleting your account deletes all your posts.
• LT tools (LT-Print): the tools at tools.lineagetracker.org use this same account. Your designs, and any records you load into them, stay on your device or go to your own Google Drive or Dropbox if you choose; we never receive them. We keep only which tool you opened, when you first and last opened it, and roughly how often (counted at most once an hour). Once you have signed in on a device, the tool remembers for 30 days that you are a member, so it opens without a connection. This record is included when you download your data and is deleted with your account.
• Age: you must be 18 or over. The terms of use apply to accounts.

Children

Lineage Tracker doesn't collect personal information from anyone, including children. The "Stay in touch" list is for people aged 18 and over. Ticking the box confirms you are 18 or over, and if we learn someone under 18 has joined, we delete their details.

Changes and contact

If this policy changes, this page will be updated with a new date. Questions are welcome through the feedback form or by email to feedback@lineagetracker.org.