Last updated: January 1, 2025
This Privacy Policy describes how FarmHQ ("FarmHQ," "we," "our," or "us"), operated by FarmHQ, Inc., located at Portland, OR, USA, collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal information when you use our irrigation monitoring and control hardware, mobile applications, web platform, and related services (collectively, the "Service"). By accessing or using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
FarmHQ provides cellular-connected hardware modules and a SaaS dashboard for remote irrigation pump monitoring and control. In the course of providing those services, we collect information about you, your farm operation, your devices, and the operation of your irrigation equipment. This policy explains exactly what we collect, why we collect it, and how it is handled.
When you create a FarmHQ account, we collect: your full name, email address, phone number (required for SMS alert delivery), mailing address (for hardware shipping), and a password. Passwords are hashed using bcrypt with a cost factor of 12 before storage — we do not store your plaintext password.
During device setup, you may provide: the name and physical location (GPS coordinates or address) of each pump station, the crop type and acreage associated with each station, your water right certificate numbers (voluntarily provided for reporting features), and notes about your pump or irrigation system configuration. This information is stored in association with your account and is used to provide location-specific services, display relevant alert context, and generate water use reports.
FarmHQ hardware modules transmit the following data to our servers via cellular connection: pump status (running or stopped), timestamps for all start and stop events (UTC precision to 1 second), pressure sensor readings (sampled every 60 seconds when running, every 5 minutes when idle), analog sensor readings from connected inputs (soil moisture probe VWC, current transformer readings, temperature sensor inputs), digital input states (fault relay, rain sensor, float switch), and cellular signal quality metrics (RSRP, RSRQ, SNR).
This telemetry data is the core operating data of the Service. It is stored in our database indexed by device identifier and timestamp. Telemetry data is retained for a period of 5 years from collection date, after which it is permanently deleted from our production systems. Aggregated, non-identifying statistics derived from telemetry data may be retained indefinitely for product improvement purposes.
The FarmHQ mobile application (iOS and Android) collects: device type and operating system version, app version number, screen interaction events (which features are used, navigation patterns), error reports and crash logs, and session duration data. This data is collected using Amplitude analytics and is used to identify usability problems and prioritize product improvements. We do not collect precise location data from your mobile device unless you explicitly grant location permission for the site-mapping feature.
The FarmHQ website (farmhq.org) uses Google Analytics 4 to collect: page views and session data, referring URLs, general geographic location (country and state level, derived from IP address), browser type and version, and device type. We use this data to understand how visitors find and use the website. See Section 8 for information about cookies and how to opt out.
Hardware purchases and SaaS subscription payments are processed by Stripe. FarmHQ does not store credit card numbers, CVV codes, or full payment account details on our servers. Stripe returns a payment token that we store and use for subsequent billing. Stripe's handling of your payment data is governed by the Stripe Privacy Policy, available at stripe.com/privacy.
When you contact FarmHQ support via email (support@farmhq.org), the contents of your communications, including any attached files or screenshots, are stored in our support ticket system (Help Scout) and retained for 3 years to provide context for future support requests. Support communications are accessible to FarmHQ support staff and engineering staff when needed to resolve technical issues.
FarmHQ may receive information about you from third parties in limited circumstances: agricultural retailers or dealers who refer you to FarmHQ (in which case we receive your name and contact information as provided to the dealer), and rural electric cooperatives or water districts that participate in FarmHQ's data-sharing programs (in which case the nature and scope of data shared is governed by separate agreements with those entities).
The primary use of your information is to provide the Service: routing remote commands to your FarmHQ hardware, delivering SMS and push notification alerts, displaying sensor data and pump status in the dashboard, generating irrigation reports and water use summaries, and operating automated schedules based on sensor thresholds you configure.
Your phone number is used to deliver SMS alert notifications when your FarmHQ hardware detects conditions you have configured as alert triggers (unexpected pump stops, pressure anomalies, sensor threshold breaches). SMS messages are sent via Twilio. You can disable SMS alerts at any time through the notification settings in your account dashboard. Standard message and data rates from your wireless carrier may apply.
Aggregated, anonymized telemetry data is used to improve FarmHQ hardware and software: identifying common failure patterns, calibrating default alert thresholds, optimizing cellular connection management, and validating firmware changes before broad release. Data used for this purpose is anonymized at the device level — it cannot be traced back to your specific account or operation.
If you use FarmHQ's water use reporting feature to generate reports for water district compliance (Oregon OWRD, Idaho IDWR, or other state agencies), your pump hour logs and the flow rate calibration values you provide are used to calculate estimated diversion volumes. The generated reports are yours — FarmHQ does not submit reports to water agencies on your behalf unless you explicitly request that service.
We use your email address to send: transaction confirmations (order receipts, shipping notifications), service-related notifications (planned maintenance, firmware updates available, account changes), and, with your explicit opt-in consent, occasional product updates and educational content about irrigation management. You can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email or by emailing support@farmhq.org.
We may use and disclose your information as required by law, in response to valid legal process (court orders, subpoenas), to protect the rights and safety of FarmHQ and its users, and to enforce our Terms of Service.
FarmHQ shares your information with third-party service providers who perform functions necessary to deliver the Service. These providers are contractually bound to handle your data only as directed by FarmHQ and only for the purpose of providing the specific service. Current service providers with access to personal data include:
If you purchase FarmHQ hardware through an authorized dealer, that dealer may have access to basic account information (your name, email address, device serial numbers) to support installation and service. Dealers do not have access to your telemetry data or sensor readings unless you explicitly grant them access through the account sharing feature.
In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or substantially all of FarmHQ's assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity. You will be notified via email of any such transfer and given the opportunity to delete your account before the transfer takes effect.
FarmHQ does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing or commercial purposes. Your farm operational data (pump telemetry, soil moisture readings, crop information) is not shared with agricultural commodity traders, crop insurance underwriters, or any other third party for commercial purposes without your explicit written consent.
All FarmHQ data is stored on AWS infrastructure in the US-West-2 (Oregon) and US-East-1 (Virginia) regions. No personal data or telemetry data is stored on servers outside the United States.
FarmHQ implements the following security measures to protect your data: TLS 1.2 or higher encryption for all data in transit between devices, mobile apps, and our servers; AES-256 encryption for data at rest in our databases; bcrypt password hashing with a cost factor of 12; API authentication via short-lived JWT tokens (4-hour expiry) with refresh token rotation; network segmentation between public-facing services and internal data systems; and regular security review of our infrastructure configuration. We conduct annual penetration tests on our API and dashboard infrastructure.
In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, FarmHQ will notify affected users within 72 hours of discovery by email to the address on your account, as required by applicable law. Notification will describe the nature of the breach, the categories of data affected, and the steps we are taking to address the incident.
FarmHQ retains your personal information for the following periods:
When you delete your FarmHQ account, your account registration information is deleted within 30 days. Telemetry data associated with your devices is deleted within 90 days of account deletion. Data that must be retained for legal or accounting compliance purposes is retained for the minimum required period and then permanently deleted.
You may request a copy of the personal information FarmHQ holds about you, including your account data and a CSV export of your device telemetry data for any date range. To submit an access request, email support@farmhq.org with the subject line "Data Access Request" from the email address associated with your account. We will fulfill access requests within 30 days.
You can update most account information directly through the account settings in the FarmHQ dashboard. For corrections to information you cannot update yourself, contact support@farmhq.org.
You may request deletion of your FarmHQ account and associated data by emailing support@farmhq.org with the subject line "Account Deletion Request." Account deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed. Prior to deletion, export any pump hour data or reports you need for water district compliance filings, as they will not be recoverable after deletion.
California residents have specific rights under the CCPA, including the right to know what personal information is collected, the right to request deletion, the right to opt out of the "sale" of personal information (FarmHQ does not sell personal information), and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising privacy rights. California residents may submit requests under the CCPA by emailing support@farmhq.org with "CCPA Request" in the subject line.
While FarmHQ's primary operations and user base are in the United States, users located in the European Economic Area (EEA) have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including the right to access, the right to rectification, the right to erasure, the right to restrict processing, the right to data portability, and the right to object to processing. To exercise these rights, contact support@farmhq.org. FarmHQ processes EEA user data under the legal basis of contractual necessity (to perform the Service) and legitimate interests (product improvement with anonymized data).
The FarmHQ Service is not directed to children under 13 years of age. FarmHQ does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will delete that information promptly. If you believe we may have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, contact support@farmhq.org.
The FarmHQ website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies. See our separate Cookie Policy at farmhq.org/legal/cookies.html for a detailed description of the cookies we use, their purposes, and how to manage or disable them. The FarmHQ mobile application does not use browser cookies; it uses device identifiers for analytics purposes as described in Section 1.4.
The FarmHQ website and dashboard may contain links to third-party websites (for example, links to agricultural extension resources, water district websites, or equipment manufacturer documentation). FarmHQ is not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.
FarmHQ may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email to the address on your account and by posting a notice on the FarmHQ dashboard for 30 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of the revised Privacy Policy constitutes acceptance of the changes. The date of the most recent revision appears at the top of this page.
For questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or FarmHQ's data practices, contact us at:
FarmHQ, Inc.
Portland, OR, USA
Email: support@farmhq.org
For data-related requests, please include "Privacy Request" in your subject line and identify the specific right or action you are requesting. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request.