Privacy Policy
Effective date: September 2026
Shamba+ is developed and operated by samTama ("we", "us", "our"), an independent developer based in Kenya. The data controller and privacy contact is Samuel Ngigi, privacy@shambaplus.samtama.lol. This policy explains what data Shamba+ collects, why, where it is kept, and how you can control it.
What we collect
Account information (via Google Sign-In). When you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile picture URL from Google, plus a short-lived authentication token used once to verify your identity with our backend. We do not receive your Google password. We need your Google name and email to create an account; without them the app cannot sign you in. Google Sign-In is provided by Google LLC and is also subject to Google's Privacy Policy.
Profile information you provide. Your first and last name, farm name, farm location (a free-text field you type in; Shamba+ does not access your device's GPS or location services), and your fiscal year start month.
Farm and financial records you enter. The core purpose of Shamba+ is tracking your farm's operations and finances. Data you enter includes: land parcels, plants and crops, seasons, harvests, revenue, costs and cost categories, farm inputs, animals and herds, herd activity records, infrastructure records, and general farm activities.
Questions you send to Ask Us. If you use the Ask Us feature, the text of your question is stored with your account so you can see the answer later.
What we do not collect. Shamba+ does not request or collect your device's precise or approximate location, contacts, SMS or call logs, camera or microphone input, photos, or files. The app contains no advertising, analytics, or crash-reporting software of any kind.
How your Google data is used
We use your Google name, email address and profile picture only to create your account, show who is signed in, and contact you about your account if we ever need to. Your Google data is never used for advertising, never sold, and never shared with anyone else. Shamba+'s use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
Who else receives data
- Google LLC receives nothing from us; it provides Google Sign-In, through which we receive the account information described above.
- Anthropic, PBC receives the text of a question when you use Ask Us. Our server sends your question to Anthropic's Claude API to generate an answer. We do not send your name, email, or farm records with it. Do not include personal or financial details in a question. Anthropic states that it does not train its models on API data; see Anthropic's privacy policy.
- Our hosting provider, located in Germany (European Union), stores our database and encrypted backups on our behalf and does not access your data for any purpose of its own.
We do not sell your data. We do not share it with analytics providers, ad networks, or data brokers, because Shamba+ does not use any.
Where your data lives
- On your device: your session token and a cached copy of your profile are stored using your operating system's encrypted secure storage.
- On our server: your account and farm records, for as long as your account remains active. The server is located in Germany (European Union). Under Kenya's Data Protection Act 2019 this is a transfer of personal data outside Kenya. We rely on the necessity of hosting on secure cloud infrastructure to operate the service, keep your data encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest, and hold a data-processing agreement with the hosting provider. The app does not permit unencrypted connections in production.
Retention and backups
- Your records are kept while your account is active.
- Encrypted backups are kept for 30 days and then deleted.
- Sync event logs are purged after 90 days.
- Records you delete are permanently removed from our server within 30 days; account deletion removes your account and records immediately and they leave backups within the 30-day backup window.
Deleting your account
You can delete your account and all associated data at any time by:
- Opening the app and going to Settings → Danger Zone → Delete Account, or
- Visiting our account deletion page, or
- Emailing privacy@shambaplus.samtama.lol from the address on your account.
We will delete your account and farm data within a reasonable time of a verified request, except where we are required to retain certain records by law.
Your rights
Under Kenya's Data Protection Act 2019 (section 26) and, depending on where you live, other laws, you have the right to be told how your data is used, to access it, to correct or delete it, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to receive a copy of the data you provided. To exercise any of these rights, contact privacy@shambaplus.samtama.lol. We respond within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, Kenya, at https://www.odpc.go.ke/.
Children's privacy
Shamba+ is not directed at children under 18, and we do not knowingly collect data from children. Signing in requires a qualifying Google Account.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the app evolves. The effective date above reflects the most recent version.
Contact us
samTama
Samuel Ngigi, Kenya
Email: privacy@shambaplus.samtama.lol