Privacy Policy
Last updated November 4, 2026
Takaki Takemura, an individual developer in Japan ("we"), makes Crayon Plants (クレヨンプランツ, "the app"), a houseplant watering reminder for iPhone and Apple Watch. This policy explains what information the app handles, and why.
What stays on your device
Your plants, your waterings, your care logs, your albums' photos, your rooms and your settings are kept on your device (and in your device's own backup). They are not sent to us. There is nothing to sign up for.
Make it from a photo
- When you make a plant from a photo, the photo you choose is sent through our server (Google Cloud / Firebase, Tokyo) to Claude, an AI service by Anthropic. Claude answers with the plant's name and how to draw it, chosen from a fixed list, and the app draws it in crayon. Before your first photo, the app tells you this and asks for your agreement.
- We do not store the photo. Our server's logs keep only the type of result, the kind of plant, the language, the reason chosen when a photo is drawn again and whether a plant's name was typed (not the name itself), and the amount of the AI service used (token counts) and its cost.
- To limit how many photos can be looked at in a day, the app makes a random device ID. Our server keeps only a hash of it, with that day's count, and deletes it automatically after 3 days. It also keeps a total for each day over everyone, for 90 days.
- Anthropic does not train its models on data sent through its API, and deletes it after a set period, under its own policies.
- This feature is not offered in mainland China.
Friends
- When you use Friends, the app makes a random key on your device. Our server keeps only a hash of it; the key itself stays on your device.
- Our server (Google Cloud / Firebase, Tokyo) stores: the nickname you choose (up to 12 characters); your friend code; your list of friends; your home as the app sends it (your rooms, their furniture and where things stand, and for each plant its name, its kind and drawing, and its mood today); and visits, with the stamp left (one of four fixed stamps; nothing can be written freely). Visits are deleted after 30 days.
- Your waterings, photos and care logs are not sent.
- Only your friends, who became friends with you by friend code, can see your home.
- "Leave friends" in the app deletes all of this from our server, the visits you paid to friends' homes included. You can also write to us (see Account deletion).
Apple Watch
If you use the Apple Watch app, your plants' names, watering days and pictures go from your iPhone straight to your own Apple Watch (WatchConnectivity), not through us.
The weather in the sky
If you choose a place for the weather in the settings, the sky in your rooms' windows and over your gardens shows the weather there now. To get it, the app sends the latitude and longitude of a fixed point of that place (its prefectural office or the middle of the city) to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET Norway). It does not use your device's location, and sends nothing that tells who you are or which device you use. If you choose no place, nothing is sent.
Ads
The free version shows banner ads by Google AdMob. Where it is required, Google's consent message asks for your choice first. The app does not ask for permission to track you (App Tracking Transparency). Pro removes the ads.
Purchases
Purchases are handled by Apple. We receive only that a purchase was made.
Usage statistics and crash reports
The app may send anonymous usage counts to TelemetryDeck (without the names of users or plants), and crash reports to Sentry (without personal data).
Third-party services
- Google Cloud / Firebase (Tokyo) — our server, for Make it from a photo and Friends
- Anthropic (Claude) — looking at the photos for Make it from a photo
- The Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET Norway) — the weather where you choose
- Google AdMob — ads in the free version
- Apple App Store — purchases
- TelemetryDeck — anonymous usage counts
- Sentry — crash reports
Each runs under its own privacy policy.
Server records
Like any website, our server and Google Cloud keep records of the requests the app makes (such as the time, the IP address and the device's kind) for a limited time, to run the service and keep it safe. We use them for nothing else.
Providers outside Japan
We are in Japan. Some of the services above are run from other countries: Anthropic and Google in the United States, Sentry in the United States, TelemetryDeck in Germany, and MET Norway in Norway. They handle what they receive under their own privacy policies and the laws of those countries. Our server itself is in Tokyo.
Your requests
You can ask us to tell you about, correct or delete what we keep about you, or to stop using it, by writing to the address below. Most of it can also be deleted in the app ("Leave friends").
Children's privacy
The app is for everyone (rated 4+). Parents and guardians can help children with Friends and with photos. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Changes
Changes to this policy are posted on this page, with the date.
Contact
Takaki Takemura, Japan