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Terms and Conditions

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These Terms and Conditions (the "Terms") are between you and Seamless Logic, a trading name of Tom Dudfield, an individual trading as a sole trader based in the United Kingdom, who publishes the Pocket Botanist mobile application (the "App") and this website. We will give you our service address if you ask for it by emailing support@pocketbotanist.app. In these Terms, Seamless Logic is called "we", "us" or "our".

Please read these Terms carefully before using the App. By downloading, installing, or using the App, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree with these Terms, please do not access or use the App. You can contact us at hello@pocketbotanist.app, or for account, billing and subscription matters at support@pocketbotanist.app.

1. Acceptance of terms

By accessing or using Pocket Botanist, you confirm that you are at least 13 years of age (or the minimum age required in your jurisdiction), that you have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement, and that you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

If you are using the App on behalf of an organization, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

2. Description of service

Pocket Botanist is a mobile application that provides plant identification, diagnosis, and care information powered by Google's Gemini AI. The App offers the following features, which may vary depending on your account type:

  • Plant Identification: Submit photos of plants to receive identification results, care tips, and related information.
  • Plant Text Search: Look up any plant by common or scientific name and receive the same kind of result as a photo identification.
  • Plant Diagnosis: Submit photos to identify potential diseases, pests, or deficiencies affecting your plants and receive treatment suggestions.
  • Light Meter: Use your device's camera to read the light level in a spot, so you can see whether it suits a given plant. Free, with no account required.
  • AI Chat: Hold a per-plant conversation with the AI that draws on the plant's care history and botanical profile, with a separate chat thread available for diagnosis follow-ups. Chat requires you to be signed in, so guests cannot use it. Free members currently get 1 message per day; Premium members currently get 20 messages per day.
  • Companion Planting: On Premium, receive suggestions for plants that grow well together.
  • Regional Care Advice: On Premium, the App uses your USDA hardiness zone (derived from your device location, with permission) to tailor care notes for your climate.
  • Detailed Plant Guide: On Premium, receive an in-depth care guide for a plant, going beyond the standard result into topics such as propagation and common failure modes for that species.
  • Monthly Planting Guide: On Premium, see what suits the ground this month based on your region.
  • Identification & Health-Check History: The App keeps a local, device-only record of your recent identifications and health checks, capped at 50 entries and cleared when you sign out.
  • Your Collection: Save and manage a personal collection of plants, with notes, reminders, photos, care logs, and location tags. Saving a plant requires a free account, so guests cannot save to a collection. Saved plants sync to the cloud while you are signed in. A free account can hold up to 10 saved plants; Premium removes that limit.
  • Wishlist: Keep a list of plants you would like to add to your collection later. You can save up to 10 wishlist items without an account or on a free account; Premium removes the limit.
  • Collection Import: Import an existing plant collection from a supported file, free with an account.
  • Plant Care Reminders: Set local push notifications to remind you to water, fertilize, repot, prune, or mist your plants.
  • Garden Zones and Rooms: Organize your collection into zones or rooms, such as different areas of your home or garden, free with an account. On Premium, you can also set per-zone care settings and mute notifications for a zone.
  • Care Streak: The App tracks consecutive days you have logged at least one care action and displays your current streak.
  • Growth Journal: On Premium, keep a dated log of your own notes and progress photos to track how a plant grows over time.
  • Map View: On Premium, view a map of locations where you have identified plants.
  • Collection Export: Export your plant collection as a PDF, CSV, or GeoJSON file (a Premium feature). The CSV file includes a place label and country code for each plant with a saved location; the PDF file includes the place label only. The GeoJSON file includes the same place details as well as the raw coordinates.
  • Weather-Based Tips: Receive gardening tips based on current local weather conditions.
  • Achievements: Earn achievements based on your plant collection and care activity.

3. Accounts and registration

Guest Use

You may use the App without creating a named account. As a guest, your usage is tracked using a random credential that our server issues and signs, stored securely on your device, with your device's Firebase Installation ID used as a fallback identifier. This lets you access core features subject to the usage limits described in Section 4.

Named Accounts

You may create a named account by signing in with Sign in with Apple (on iPhone and iPad), a Google account, or an email magic link. By creating an account, you agree to:

  • Provide accurate and truthful information.
  • Keep your sign-in credentials secure and not share them with others.
  • Notify us immediately at support@pocketbotanist.app if you suspect any unauthorized access to your account.
  • Be responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.

Account Linking

If you sign in to a named account after previously using the App as a guest, or link multiple sign-in methods (e.g., email, Apple, and Google), your prior guest usage data carries over to your named account.

4. Usage limits and fair use

To ensure fair access for all users, the App enforces the following daily limits for AI requests. Plant identification, plant text search, and plant diagnosis share a single daily counter:

  • Guest users: 3 requests per day (combined identification, text search, and diagnosis).
  • Free members: 5 requests per day (combined identification, text search, and diagnosis).
  • Premium members: up to 200 requests per day (combined identification, text search, and diagnosis). We describe this as unlimited because it sits far above what personal use reaches. The ceiling exists to stop automated abuse and runaway third-party costs, not to ration normal use. If you ever reach it, contact us at support@pocketbotanist.app.

AI chat and diagnosis chat require you to be signed in and share a single daily counter, separate from the counter above. Guests have no chat allowance. Free members currently get 1 message per day, and Premium members currently get 20 messages per day. We may adjust these allowances to manage cost and service quality. If we reduce the Premium allowance we will give you notice under Section 12, and you may cancel.

Daily counters reset at midnight in the timezone recorded for your account when you first used the App, not your device's current timezone, so traveling does not immediately move your reset time. If that recorded timezone is unavailable, we fall back to UTC. Usage is tracked locally on your device and, for signed-in users, in the cloud to prevent circumvention across multiple devices or app reinstalls. For guest users, usage is tracked against a random credential issued and signed by our server, stored securely on your device, with your device's Firebase Installation ID used as a fallback identifier.

Fair Use (Premium)

While Premium is marketed as "unlimited", this means unlimited for normal personal use. To protect service quality and prevent abuse, the following technical limits apply to all users including Premium subscribers:

  • Burst rate limit: A maximum of 3 AI requests per 10-second window. Requests that exceed this rate will be temporarily rejected and may be retried after a short delay. This limit is enforced server-side and cannot be bypassed.
  • Daily hard cap: A daily ceiling exists for all tiers to prevent runaway usage that could affect other users or result in unreasonable third-party API costs. For Premium members that ceiling is 200 requests per day, which is set well above what any individual user would reasonably reach during normal use.

You must not use the App in any automated, scripted, or batch manner that would generate AI requests at a volume inconsistent with normal personal use. Such use may result in your account being suspended under Section 6 (Acceptable Use) regardless of your subscription tier.

We may adjust these limits from time to time. Where a change materially reduces an allowance you pay for as part of Premium, we will give you the notice set out in Section 12 (Changes to the App and to these Terms) before it takes effect.

5. AI-powered features and accuracy disclaimer

Plant identification, plant text search, diagnosis, companion planting, regional care advice, in-app chat, and other care guidance are all powered by Google's Gemini AI. By using these features, you acknowledge and agree that:

  • Results are not guaranteed to be accurate. AI-generated plant identifications, chat replies, and care recommendations may contain errors, omissions, or inaccuracies. Results should be treated as a helpful guide only, not as definitive expert advice.
  • Not a substitute for professional advice. The App is not a substitute for advice from a qualified botanist, horticulturist, veterinarian, physician, or other professional. Always consult a qualified expert before making decisions based on App output, particularly where plant safety or human/animal health is concerned.
  • Plant toxicity information. Any information provided about plant toxicity (to humans, children, or pets) is for general informational purposes only and may be incomplete. Do not rely solely on the App to determine whether a plant is safe. If you suspect poisoning, contact emergency services or a poison control center immediately.
  • Your inputs are sent to Google. When you use AI-powered features, your plant photos, text queries, and chat messages are sent to Google's Gemini API for processing. For the Premium regional care advice feature, your USDA hardiness zone (not your coordinates or a place name) is also sent. See our Privacy Policy for details.

6. Acceptable use

You agree to use the App only for lawful purposes and in a manner that does not infringe the rights of others. You must not:

  • Submit images or content that is unlawful, harmful, offensive, or that violates any third-party rights.
  • Attempt to circumvent usage limits through technical means, multiple accounts, or any other method.
  • Reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code of the App.
  • Use the App for any automated, scraping, or data harvesting purpose.
  • Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the App or any related services.
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the App or its underlying systems.
  • Use the App in any way that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair our servers or networks.

7. Intellectual property

The App, including its design, graphics, text, features, and functionality, is owned by us and is protected by intellectual property laws. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the App for personal, non-commercial purposes in accordance with these Terms.

You retain ownership of any content you create within the App (such as notes and exported files). By using the App, you grant us a limited license to store and process your content solely as necessary to provide the App's features (e.g., syncing your saved plant collection to the cloud when you are signed in).

You must not use our name, logo, or branding without our prior written consent.

8. Third-party services

The App integrates with third-party services including but not limited to:

We are not responsible for the content, policies, or practices of any third-party services. Your use of those services is governed by their respective terms and privacy policies.

9. What we promise, and what we do not

We will supply the App with reasonable care and skill. Because Pocket Botanist gives information and suggestions rather than a professional opinion, we do not promise that every identification, diagnosis, care recommendation or toxicity note will be accurate or complete, and Section 5 sets out how those results should be treated.

Beyond that, and except as set out below, we do not give any other warranties, and we do not promise that the App will always be available, uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components.

Your legal rights are not affected. If you are a consumer, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you rights that we cannot exclude or limit. Digital content we supply to you must be of satisfactory quality, fit for any purpose you told us about before you bought, and as described. If it is not, you are entitled to a repair or replacement, and if that is not possible or does not fix the problem, to a price reduction of up to the full amount you paid. Nothing in these Terms, including Section 10, takes those rights away. For more information, contact your local Citizens Advice or Trading Standards office.

If you live outside the United Kingdom, nothing in this Section limits the mandatory consumer rights you have under the law of the country where you live.

10. Limitation of liability

What we are always responsible for. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for any of the following:

  • Death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
  • Breach of the terms implied by sections 34, 35 and 36 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (digital content that is of satisfactory quality, fit for a particular purpose, and as described), or of the remedies for those breaches in sections 42 to 45 of that Act.
  • Damage to your device or to your other digital content under section 46 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, where that damage would not have happened if we had used reasonable care and skill.
  • Any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including under the mandatory consumer law of the country where you live.

What we are not responsible for. Subject to the paragraph above, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive losses, for loss of profits or revenue, or for loss of data, use, goodwill or other intangible losses, arising out of or in connection with:

  • Your use of or inability to use the App.
  • Any reliance on AI-generated plant identification, diagnosis, or care information provided by the App.
  • Any unauthorized access to or use of our servers, or any personal information stored on them.
  • Any interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the App.
  • Any bugs, viruses, or other harmful code that may be transmitted through the App by any third party.

We are also not liable for losses that were not foreseeable to both of us when you started using the App, or for any loss you suffer because you used the App for a business purpose. The App is supplied for personal, non-commercial use.

Our overall limit. Subject to the paragraph headed What we are always responsible for above, our total liability to you for all other claims arising from or relating to these Terms or your use of the App is limited to the greater of £50 (fifty pounds sterling) or the total amount paid for Premium in the twelve (12) months before the claim arose. It does not matter whether that amount was paid to us, to Apple, or to Google: money you paid for Premium through the App Store or Google Play counts towards this limit.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain warranties or liability, so the limitations above may not apply to you in full.

Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, including the rights that apply to digital content, or any mandatory consumer rights you have under the law of the country where you live.

11. If you cause us a loss

If you break these Terms deliberately or carelessly, or use the App unlawfully or in a way that infringes someone else's rights, you are responsible for the losses and reasonable costs we suffer as a direct result, provided those losses were a foreseeable consequence of what you did.

You are not responsible for any loss that was not caused by your own act or omission, for losses we could reasonably have avoided, or for anything arising from our own breach or negligence. This Section does not apply to anything you do as a consumer in the ordinary, permitted use of the App, and it does not affect your statutory rights.

12. Changes to the App and to these Terms

Changes to the App. We improve the App continuously, and we may add, change or remove features. Where a change materially reduces a feature or allowance you pay for as part of Premium, we will give you at least 30 days of notice in the App or by email. You may then cancel your subscription and, if you have paid in advance for a period you will not receive, ask for a proportionate refund of that period through the App Store or Google Play. We may make a change without that notice only where we reasonably need to for security, for legal compliance, or to fix a fault.

Changes to these Terms. We may update these Terms where we have a valid reason to do so: to reflect a change in the App, in the law, in the rules of the App Store or Google Play, in our costs, or in the third-party services we rely on. We will always update the Last updated date at the top of this page. Where a change materially affects your rights, we will tell you in the App or by email at least 30 days before it takes effect, and you may end your agreement with us at any time before then without charge, by canceling your subscription and deleting the App. Changes will not apply retrospectively to anything that happened before they took effect.

13. Subscriptions and billing

The App offers a free tier and a Premium tier. Premium is sold as a monthly subscription, an annual subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions and the lifetime purchase are billed through the Apple App Store or Google Play and are governed by that store's terms. Depending on the store and on where you live, the store itself may be the seller of the purchase, or we may be, with the store acting only as payment processor; see below for how that works for each store. Prices are shown in the App and vary by region.

The monthly and annual subscriptions include a 7-day free trial for eligible new subscribers (one trial per person across the App, not one per plan). Unless you cancel before the trial ends, it converts into a paid subscription at the plan's regular price. If you start a free trial and then buy a subscription before the trial ends, any unused part of the trial is forfeited.

Both subscriptions then renew automatically unless you turn off auto-renewal at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your store account is charged for the renewal within the 24 hours before the current period ends, at the price of the plan you chose. Turning auto-renewal off later than that may not stop the next renewal charge.

Your 14-day right to change your mind. As a consumer buying at a distance, you normally have 14 days to cancel a purchase of digital content and get your money back. Because Premium gives you immediate access to paid features as soon as your purchase or trial starts, by starting a subscription, a free trial, or the lifetime purchase you are asking us to begin supplying that digital content straight away, and you acknowledge that you will lose your 14-day right to cancel once supply has begun. If you would rather keep the 14-day right, do not use any Premium feature, and contact us at support@pocketbotanist.app before you do.

Your payment is always taken by the Apple App Store or Google Play, so any refund is issued through the store. Who is legally the seller of your purchase, the store or us, depends on the store and on where you live.

Google Play. Google is the seller of record for Pocket Botanist purchases only in the territories listed at support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/7645364, which currently covers the EU and EEA member states, the UK, and a small number of neighboring territories. Where Google is the seller, Google is responsible for the pre-contract and cancellation duties under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and equivalent local law, and for the refunds that follow from them. Everywhere else, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and most of Asia, Latin America, and Africa, we are the seller and Google Play acts only as our payment processor, so those duties sit with us.

Apple App Store. Under Apple's Paid Applications Agreement, whether Apple or we are the seller of your purchase also varies by territory. We have not been able to confirm which territories fall on which side for Apple. Either way, Apple's own refund process, described in Section 14, works the same way regardless of who is the seller.

None of this changes the rights described above, and Section 14 explains how to ask for a refund and what we will do to help.

You can view, manage, or cancel a subscription at any time. On iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap your name, then tap Subscriptions. On Android, open the Google Play app, tap your profile icon, then tap Payments and subscriptions, then Subscriptions. Canceling stops future renewals; it does not end your access early, so you keep the subscription until the end of the period you have already paid for.

The lifetime option is a one-time purchase. It does not renew and is not eligible for the free trial.

We may introduce new paid tiers, change pricing, or alter feature availability. Where we do, Section 12 (Changes to the App and to these Terms) sets out the notice we will give you and what you can do about it. A price change never applies to a period you have already paid for.

14. Refunds

All purchases, including subscriptions and the lifetime purchase, are processed by the Apple App Store or Google Play, not by us directly, so we do not have the technical ability to issue a refund ourselves. Where the store is the seller of your purchase (see Section 13), the store handles the refund under its own policies. Where we are the seller because the store acted only as our payment processor, the store still carries out the refund on our behalf, and your rights against us as the seller are not reduced by that.

To request a refund on iOS, submit a request at reportaproblem.apple.com. To request a refund on Android, open the Google Play app, go to your order history, and select the purchase you want refunded. Google offers a limited self-service refund window for recent purchases; requests made after that window are reviewed by Google Play support instead.

If you are having trouble with your account or your Premium entitlement is not reflecting a purchase you made, contact us at support@pocketbotanist.app and we will help where we can, even though we cannot issue a refund ourselves.

Where your statutory rights sit. Your purchase is made through the Apple App Store or Google Play, who always process the payment and carry out any refund. Depending on the store and your territory, the store may also be the seller of your purchase, as Section 13 explains. Either way, that does not remove your rights against us under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for the digital content we supply. If Premium does not work as described, is not of satisfactory quality, or is not fit for a purpose you told us about, contact us at support@pocketbotanist.app. We will put it right, and where we cannot, we will work with you and, where the store requires it, with Apple or Google, to get you an appropriate refund or price reduction. Please tell us before you go to the store, so we have the chance to fix it.

Section 13 explains your 14-day right to change your mind and how starting Premium affects it. Nothing in this Section affects your statutory rights as a consumer.

15. Termination

We may terminate or suspend your access to the App immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason, including if you breach these Terms. Upon termination, your right to use the App will cease immediately.

You may stop using the App at any time. You can delete your account and associated cloud data at any time from the App's Settings. If you cannot access the App, you can instead request deletion by contacting us at support@pocketbotanist.app. Deleting your account permanently removes your Firestore data, chat usage records, and Storage files, and deletes your Firebase Auth account. For abuse-prevention purposes, we keep a separate record with no expiry: your subscription entitlement status and a link between your account and your device's Firebase Installation ID, plus a copy of your daily usage counts under a device-keyed record. See our Privacy Policy for details.

16. Governing law and where disputes are heard

These Terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.

If you are a consumer, this choice of law does not take away any protection you have under the mandatory consumer law of the country where you live. So if you live in Scotland, Northern Ireland, an EU or EEA country, or anywhere else whose law gives you rights that cannot be contracted out of, you keep those rights in full.

Where you can bring a claim. You can bring a claim against us in the courts of England and Wales, or in the courts of the country where you live. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring proceedings in the courts there. We will only bring proceedings against you in the courts of the country where you live.

Before going to court. Please contact us first at support@pocketbotanist.app. We will try to resolve any complaint within 14 days.

Alternative dispute resolution. We are not obliged to use an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider, and we do not currently take part in any ADR scheme. If you are a consumer resident in the EU, you can find your national ADR body on the European Commission's list at consumer-redress.ec.europa.eu/dispute-resolution-bodies. Nothing in this Section affects your right to bring a claim in the courts described above.

17. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid under applicable law, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms will otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable.

18. Entire agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding your use of the App and supersede any prior agreements or understandings.

19. Additional terms for Apple App Store users

This Section applies if you obtained the App from the Apple App Store.

These Terms are between you and us only, and not with Apple. We, not Apple, are solely responsible for the App and its content. Apple has no obligation to provide any maintenance or support services for the App.

If the App fails to conform to any warranty we give, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price of the App to you. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Apple has no other warranty obligation to you in respect of the App.

We, not Apple, are responsible for addressing any claim by you or by a third party relating to the App, including product liability claims, any claim that the App fails to meet a legal or regulatory requirement, any claim arising under consumer protection or similar legislation, and any claim that the App infringes a third party's intellectual property rights.

By using the App you confirm that you are not located in a country that is subject to a United States Government embargo or that the United States Government has designated as a terrorist supporting country, and that you are not listed on any United States Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.

Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms, and Apple has the right to enforce these Terms against you as a third-party beneficiary.

Nothing in this Section limits your rights under Sections 9, 10 or 14, or the statutory rights you have as a consumer.

20. Contact us

If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions, please contact us.

General questions: hello@pocketbotanist.app

Account, billing, or subscription help: support@pocketbotanist.app