Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Harit (हरित). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application (available on Google Play Store) and website (collectively, the “Service”).

Harit is a tree planting and environmental conservation platform that helps teams and organizations plant, track, and monitor trees across multiple sites with features including photo documentation, GPS tracking, growth analytics, and QR code identification.

By downloading, installing, or using Harit, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use our Service.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Personal Information

When you register for an account, we may collect:

• Full name
• Email address
• Password (stored in encrypted form using bcrypt hashing)
• Designation and organization (optional)
• Gender (optional)
• Profile information

2.2 Tree and Site Data

We collect information related to tree planting activities:

• Tree location (GPS coordinates - latitude and longitude)
• Tree species and common names
• Tree characteristics (height, health status, condition)
• Planting dates and growth records
• Site information, names, and descriptions
• Photos and images of trees
• QR code data for tree identification
• Notes and observations about trees

2.3 Usage Data

We automatically collect certain information about your device and usage:

• Device type, model, and operating system version
• IP address
• Browser type and version (for web access)
• Pages visited and time spent on pages
• App usage statistics and feature interactions
• Crash logs and error reports
• Date and time of access

2.4 Location Data

With your permission, we collect precise location data to:

• Record the exact GPS coordinates of planted trees
• Enable location-based site management
• Provide mapping and navigation features
• Generate location analytics for tree distribution

You can disable location access through your device settings, but this may limit certain functionality of the app.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for various purposes:

• To provide, operate, and maintain our Service
• To authenticate users and manage user accounts
• To track tree planting activities and generate analytics
• To generate unique QR codes for tree identification
• To send email notifications, updates, and service communications
• To improve our Service and user experience
• To provide customer support and respond to inquiries
• To detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, and security issues
• To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms
• To generate environmental impact reports and statistics

4. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties.We may share your information only in the following circumstances:

4.1 With Your Consent

We may share your information when you give us explicit permission to do so.

4.2 Public Tree Information

Tree data accessed via QR codes is publicly viewable, including tree species, location coordinates, planting date, and photos. Personal information of the user who planted the tree is not shared publicly.

4.3 Service Providers

We may share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our Service:

• Cloud hosting services (Vercel for web hosting)
• Database services (MongoDB Atlas for data storage)
• Email service providers (Resend for transactional emails)
• Analytics services for app performance monitoring

These service providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and use it only for the purposes we specify.

4.4 Team and Organization Sharing

Within our platform, team administrators can view information about trees planted by team members at their assigned sites. This is essential for collaborative tree management.

4.5 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law or in response to valid legal requests from public authorities.

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information:

• Passwords are encrypted using bcrypt hashing algorithm
• All data transmission uses secure HTTPS/TLS encryption
• Authentication implemented using secure JWT (JSON Web Tokens)
• Role-based access control (Admin, Team Admin, User roles)
• Regular security updates and vulnerability monitoring
• Secure cloud infrastructure with MongoDB Atlas
• Input validation and sanitization to prevent injection attacks

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but continuously work to enhance our security measures.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to:

• Provide our Service to you
• Comply with legal obligations
• Resolve disputes and enforce agreements
• Maintain environmental records and impact tracking

Tree planting records: These may be retained indefinitely for environmental tracking, historical documentation, and conservation purposes, as they serve important ecological and scientific value.

Account data: If you delete your account, we will delete your personal information within 30 days, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

7. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your data:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal information we hold
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information
• Data Portability: Request transfer of your data in a machine-readable format
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for data processing at any time
• Opt-out: Opt out of marketing communications
• Restrict Processing: Request limitation of how we use your data

To exercise these rights, please contact us at the email address provided below. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

8. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for children under 13 years of age (or the applicable age of consent in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately. If we discover that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will delete such information from our servers promptly.

9. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence, including the United States where our service providers operate. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from your jurisdiction.

By using our Service, you consent to such transfers. We ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

10. Third-Party Links and Services

Our Service may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party services you access through our platform.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal, operational, or regulatory reasons. We will:

• Post the updated Privacy Policy on this page
• Update the “Last Updated” date at the top
• Notify you via email or in-app notification for significant changes

Your continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at: