Privacy Policy

backyard.bio is operated by Qoined LLC ("we," "us," "our"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what rights you have over it.

The short version: we collect what we need to run the platform, we don't sell your personal information, and you can ask us to delete your data at any time.

1. What we collect

Information you give us directly:

• Account information — your name, email address, and password when you create an account
• Yard information — your zip code, space type, and yard photos you upload
• Score data — the results of your biodiversity score assessments
• Newsletter subscription — your email address and zip code
• Ranger profiles — your child's name and mission activity (managed by a parent account)
• Communications — anything you send us by email

Information we collect automatically:

• Usage data — pages you visit, features you use, how long you spend on the platform
• Device information — browser type, operating system, screen size
• IP address — used to approximate your general region, not stored long-term
• Cookies — small files that keep you logged in and help us understand how people use the platform

Information from third parties:

• Clerk — our authentication provider. When you sign in with Google, we receive your name and email from Google via Clerk.
• Sanity — our content management system stores your yard data and score history.

2. How we use it

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and manage your account
• Calculate and display your biodiversity score
• Personalize your dashboard and product recommendations
• Send The Weekly Yard newsletter (only if you subscribed)
• Send transactional emails — account confirmation, score updates, important notices
• Operate the Backyard Rangers program and connect Ranger activity to family accounts
• Calculate and display collective impact data (always aggregated, never individual)
• Improve the scoring model and platform over time
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not use your information to serve you ads. We do not sell your personal information to anyone. Ever.

3. Affiliate tracking

When you click an affiliate link on backyard.bio and make a purchase, the retailer (Amazon, Bookshop.org, etc.) may set a cookie on your device to track the sale for commission purposes. This is standard affiliate tracking. The retailer's privacy policy governs how they handle that data — we only receive confirmation that a qualifying purchase was made and the commission amount.

4. Yard photos

Photos you upload for your biodiversity score are used to analyze your yard's habitat characteristics. They are stored securely and associated with your account. We may use anonymized, aggregated insights from across all yard photos to improve our scoring model, but we will never display your individual photos publicly without your explicit permission.

If you become a Backyarder and choose to share yard content publicly, that content is governed by the Backyarder Revenue Share Agreement.

5. Children's privacy

Backyard Rangers is designed for children ages 6-12. Ranger profiles are created and managed by a parent or guardian. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13.

The parent or guardian account holder is responsible for all activity on linked Ranger profiles. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account without parental consent, contact us at hello@backyard.bio and we will delete it promptly.

We comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

6. How we share information

We share your information only in these circumstances:

Service providers: We use third-party services to operate the platform — Clerk for authentication, Sanity for content management, Vercel for hosting, Buttondown for newsletter delivery, Mux for video hosting. These providers access your data only to perform services for us and are bound by confidentiality agreements.

Affiliate retailers: When you click an affiliate link, standard tracking cookies may be set by the retailer. We share no personal information with retailers directly.

Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of our users or the public.

Business transfers: If Qoined LLC is acquired or merges with another company, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We'll notify you if this happens.

We do not share, sell, or rent your personal information to advertisers, data brokers, or any third party for their own marketing purposes.

7. Data retention

We keep your account information and yard data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account we will delete your personal information within 30 days, except where we're required by law to retain certain records.

Newsletter subscription data is retained until you unsubscribe.

8. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the following rights:

Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

Correction: Ask us to correct inaccurate information.

Deletion: Ask us to delete your personal information. We'll comply within 30 days except where legally required to retain data.

Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format.

Opt out of newsletter: Unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email we send. We will never send marketing emails to people who haven't subscribed.

California residents (CCPA): You have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion, and to opt out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information.

European residents (GDPR): You have the rights listed above plus the right to restrict processing and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Our legal basis for processing your data is legitimate interest (operating the platform) and consent (newsletter subscription).

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@backyard.bio with the subject line "Privacy Request."

9. Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information from unauthorized access, disclosure, or loss. These include encrypted connections (HTTPS), secure authentication via Clerk, and restricted access to production systems.

No system is perfectly secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at hello@backyard.bio.

10. Cookies

We use cookies to:

• Keep you logged in
• Remember your preferences
• Understand how people use the platform (analytics)

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect certain platform features, including staying logged in.

We do not use third-party advertising cookies.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do we'll update the date at the top of this page. For significant changes we'll notify you by email. Your continued use of the platform after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy.

12. Contact

Privacy questions or requests:

hello@backyard.bio

Qoined LLC

backyard.bio