Who is responsible
Foragers Friend, operated by Shroomify developer Simon Grogan, is responsible for the personal information described in this policy. Privacy questions and requests can be sent to info@foragers-friend.com.
The short version
- Photograph analysis takes place on your device. A photograph is only sent to Shroomify if you choose to share it.
- There is no advertising, third-party analytics or behavioural tracking in the app or on this website.
- We do not sell personal information.
Using the app
Shroomify does not require an account. The field guide and photograph tools can be used without giving us your name, email address or precise location. Photographs selected for analysis are processed on your device. Favourites and logbook entries are also stored on your device.
Sharing a photograph
After using the photograph tool, you can choose to share a photograph with the Shroomify research project. This is optional and nothing is sent unless you tap the share button. If you do share a photograph, we receive:
- the photograph you selected;
- whether you gave permission for it to help improve the photograph tool, appear as an example in the app, or both;
- a name for the photograph credit, if you choose to provide one;
- limited context, including the country selected in the app, the month, the app's suggestions and the characteristics shown on screen; and
- an app-specific device identifier, which helps us manage submissions and respond to removal requests.
The app re-encodes the photograph before sending it, which removes embedded camera and location metadata such as precise GPS coordinates. The receiving service stores a one-way hashed version of your IP address to help prevent misuse. Shared photographs are used only for the purposes you selected. If you provided a credit name, it may appear beside the photograph in the app.
We rely on your consent to use a shared photograph. You can withdraw that consent by contacting us. We will stop using the source photograph and remove it from future datasets or app updates. A photograph that has already contributed to a trained model cannot be extracted from that model, although the original photograph can still be removed.
Contacting us
If you use the contact form or email us, we receive the name, email address and message you provide. We use that information because we have a legitimate interest in answering enquiries, supporting the app and keeping suitable records. Mailgun, a service operated by Sinch, processes contact-form messages so they can be delivered to us.
Forecast and regional outlooks
Forecast is an optional online feature. When you open an outlook or a supported mushroom page, the app requests a shared forecast for the broad area selected in the app. The request does not include your photographs, logbook or precise location. Our host receives the request and ordinary connection details, including your IP address, in its technical logs. Open-Meteo supplies weather to our server, not directly to your phone. The field guide and photograph analysis still work offline.
Forecast feedback
If you submit the Forecast feedback form, we receive your comments, the broad area selected in the app, app version and platform, and an email address only if you choose to provide one. Your draft is saved on your device until you send it or tap Discard draft. Nothing is submitted just by opening or closing the form.
Submitted feedback is stored in a private directory on our server and sent by our hosting mail service to Simon's Gmail inbox, where Google processes the email. A submission identifier prevents duplicate delivery, and a daily-changing hash of the submitting IP address helps limit misuse. We use feedback because we have a legitimate interest in supporting and improving Shroomify. It is not published as an app-store review, used for advertising, or used to decide who may leave a review.
Feedback and its private server copy are kept until the issue is resolved and for as long as reasonably needed for support and product improvement. You can request access or deletion at info@foragers-friend.com. If you did not provide an email address, include the approximate date and enough detail to help us locate your message. Removing a draft from your device does not withdraw feedback already submitted.
Purchases
Any in-app purchase is handled by the Apple App Store or Google Play under that service's own terms and privacy policy. Shroomify does not receive or store your card details. The store may tell the app whether a purchase has been completed or restored so that the paid features can be unlocked.
This website and server logs
This website does not set advertising cookies or include third-party analytics. Like most websites, the hosting provider keeps standard technical logs, which may include an IP address, date, browser information and the page requested. These logs are used for security, fault finding and reliable operation.
The mushroom guide may use a country code inferred by the hosting server from your IP address, or a regional setting supplied by your browser, to place seasonally relevant species nearer the top. It does not request precise location, send your IP address to a third-party location service or create a separate location profile.
The app and website link to services run by other organisations, including Apple, Google and mushroom reference websites. Their own privacy policies apply when you visit them.
Who receives information
Information is shared only where it is needed to run Shroomify. This can include the website and app-service hosting provider, Mailgun for contact-form delivery, and Apple or Google for purchases and store services. These providers handle information under their own terms and data-protection commitments. We do not share information with advertisers or data brokers.
Processing outside the UK
Some service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where UK data-protection law requires it, we use providers that rely on recognised safeguards for international transfers. You can contact us if you would like more information about the safeguards that apply.
How long information is kept
- Shared photographs and their context are kept while they are useful for the purposes you selected, or until you withdraw consent.
- Contact messages are kept until the enquiry has been resolved and for as long as reasonably needed for support and record keeping.
- Technical logs are kept according to the hosting provider's security and reliability schedule and are not kept longer than reasonably necessary.
Automated suggestions
The photograph tool can suggest visible characteristics to help you use the field guide. This happens on your device. It does not make a legally significant decision about you, and it does not determine whether a mushroom is safe to eat.
Children
Shroomify is a general-interest field guide and is not directed specifically at children. We do not knowingly ask children to provide personal information.
Your choices and rights
Depending on the circumstances, UK data-protection law may give you the right to ask for access to personal information, have it corrected or deleted, restrict its use, object to its use, or receive a portable copy. Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw consent at any time without affecting earlier lawful use.
- You decide whether to share a photograph. The default is to share nothing.
- You can make a privacy request by emailing info@foragers-friend.com. For a photograph shared without a credit name, details such as the approximate submission date and selected country may be needed to find it.
You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as Shroomify develops. The date on this page will change when the policy is revised. Last updated 10 September 2026.