Privacy Policy
This policy explains how EMM Software ("we", "us") handles personal information when you use the Probes web app (probes.emmsoftware.co.za), the Probes mobile app, and this website. We process personal information in line with South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).
Who is responsible
EMM Software is the responsible party for the personal information described here. For any privacy question or request, email info@emmsoftware.co.za.
What we collect
- Account details: your username, email address and password. Passwords are stored only as a one-way hash; we can't read them.
- Company details: when you set up a company, its name, a contact person and a phone number.
- Farm and field data: farm names and locations, probe locations, block outlines, block information (crop, area, trees, rows), irrigation setup, irrigation schedules, and the soil moisture readings from your probes or that you enter by hand.
- Your device's location: only when you tap "Use my location" while placing a farm or probe. The app uses it once to move the map; we store only the point you save, not your location history.
- Contact form: the name, email, phone number, role and message you send us from this website.
- Technical logs: error reports from the apps and failed sign-in attempts (with the username that was tried), so we can fix problems and spot misuse. These go to our own log server.
What stays on your device
- Face ID, Touch ID or fingerprint: checked by your phone's operating system. We never receive your biometric data; the app only learns whether the check passed.
- Sign-in tokens: kept in your phone's secure keychain, or in your browser's storage on the web, so you stay signed in. The web app also caches data in your browser so pages load faster. We don't use advertising or tracking cookies.
How we use it
- To run the service: show your probes, readings, weather and irrigation schedules to you and your colleagues.
- To calculate crop water demand from weather data at your farm's location.
- To send account emails: a welcome email, password reset links, and notices you ask for.
- To tell our team when a new user registers or sets up a company, so we can help you get started.
- To keep the service secure and working, and to answer your questions.
We don't sell your personal information, and we don't use it for advertising.
Who can see it
Other members of your company can see the company's farms, probes and readings. EMM Software staff can see your data to support you and run the service.
Services we use
Some features send limited data to other providers:
- Weather: your farm's coordinates are sent to Open-Meteo and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (Yr, api.met.no) to fetch forecasts and weather history. Some companies also use iLeaf weather stations.
- Satellite imagery: block outlines are sent to Google Earth Engine to produce vegetation imagery for your blocks.
- Maps: map tiles come from Google Maps (web app and Android) and Apple Maps (iPhone). Those providers see the area of the map you're viewing, under their own privacy policies.
- Email: account emails are sent through our email hosting provider.
- Fonts: this website loads fonts from Google Fonts.
Some of these providers are outside South Africa. We only share what each feature needs, and none of them receive your name, email or password from us.
How long we keep it
- Your account is kept until you delete it or ask us to. Email requests are handled within 30 days.
- Farm, probe and reading data belongs to your company and is kept while the company uses the service, or until the company asks us to delete it (within 30 days of the request). Deleted probes are kept so they can be restored if deleted by mistake, until the company's data is deleted.
- Logs (error reports and failed sign-in attempts) are deleted after 90 days.
Deleting your account
In the mobile app, go to Settings → Delete account and confirm with your password. This deletes your account, sign-in tokens and company memberships straight away and signs you out. Without the app, email info@emmsoftware.co.za from your account's email address and we'll delete it within 30 days. Your company's farms, probes and readings stay available to your colleagues; ask us if you want those removed too. Logs are deleted after 90 days. Full steps are on the delete your account page.
Your rights
Under POPIA you may:
- ask what personal information we hold about you, and get a copy;
- ask us to correct or delete it;
- object to how we process it;
- complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa (inforegulator.org.za) if you're unhappy with how we handled your information.
Email info@emmsoftware.co.za to make a request.
Security
Data travels over encrypted connections (HTTPS). Passwords are hashed, sign-in tokens expire, and access to your company's data is limited to its members and our support staff.
Children
Probes is a business service for farms and isn't intended for children.
Changes
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. For significant changes we'll let registered users know by email.