M-Velanmai ("the App") is built by Farmwise AI Private Limited for Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). It allows farmers to identify crop pests and diseases from a photograph and to receive advice from agricultural scientists at TNAU's affiliated institutions. This policy explains what data we handle — including the photographs and location you submit with an enquiry — and how we protect it.
1. Overview
This Privacy Policy applies to the M-Velanmai Android application
(com.cropspot1) and the services delivered through it. By installing or using the
App you agree to the practices described here.
The App serves three kinds of user: farmers, who raise enquiries about their crops; agricultural scientists, who respond with advisories; and institution staff, who administer their region. The information collected differs by role, and is set out below.
2. Information We Collect
We collect only the information needed to sign you in, route your enquiry to the right institution, and produce a useful diagnosis of your crop.
Account & profile
- Name and mobile number — used for OTP-based sign-in and to identify your account.
- Gender — recorded during registration.
- Village, block and district — used to route your enquiry to the institution serving your area.
- Profile photograph — optional, shown only on your own profile.
- Email address and password — for scientist and institution accounts only. Farmer accounts use a one-time password and have no stored password.
Crop & enquiry data
- Photographs of crops, pests and diseases that you capture or upload for identification.
- Crop details you provide — the crop, its growth stage and its ecosystem.
- Location coordinates — captured at the moment an enquiry is recorded, so that advice and outbreak monitoring reflect where the crop is growing.
- Advisory responses written by scientists against your enquiry.
Device information
- Device model, operating system version and application version.
- Anonymous crash and error reports, used to diagnose faults.
3. How We Use Information
- To identify pests and diseases from the photographs you submit, and to return treatment advice.
- To route your enquiry to the scientist or institution serving your district.
- To sign you in and keep your session secure.
- To support agricultural advisory research and regional pest and disease monitoring.
- To diagnose faults and improve the App.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.
4. Location & Camera
The App requests the permissions below, and only at the point they are needed for an active task. You may decline any of them; the features that depend on them will not work, but the rest of the App will.
| Permission | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| Camera | To photograph a crop, pest or disease for identification, and to set a profile picture. |
| Photos & storage | To select an existing photograph instead of taking a new one. |
| Location | To record where an enquiry was raised. Foreground only — the App does not track your location in the background. |
| Internet | To reach the service. The App does not function offline. |
5. Data Sharing
Information collected through the App flows to:
- Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and its affiliated institutions and scientists, who read your enquiry in order to respond to it.
- Amazon Web Services — the backend and image storage run on AWS infrastructure in the Asia Pacific (Mumbai) region, within India.
- An SMS service provider, which delivers the one-time password used to sign you in.
- Law enforcement or government authorities, where disclosure is required by law.
The App also links to public weather and advisory pages published by TNAU. These open inside the App but are operated by TNAU, and no account or enquiry information is sent to them.
6. Data Security
All network traffic between the App and the backend uses HTTPS / TLS. The one exception is two public TNAU weather information pages, which TNAU serves over an unencrypted connection; no account or enquiry data is transmitted to them.
Your one-time password is valid only briefly and for a single sign-in. We will never ask you for your OTP or password by email, telephone or message.
7. Data Retention
- Account information is kept for as long as your account is active.
- Enquiry records and photographs are retained as part of the agricultural advisory record.
- When you ask us to delete your account, the data listed in our deletion policy is removed within 30 days from active systems and within 90 days from backups.
8. Your Rights
You may, at any time and free of charge:
- Access or correct the information held about you, from the profile screen in the App or by writing to us.
- Withdraw a permission you previously granted, from your device settings.
- Request deletion of your account and associated data.
Deleting your account. Full instructions, and details of exactly what is deleted and what is retained, are set out in our account deletion policy.
9. Children's Privacy
M-Velanmai is intended for farmers, agricultural scientists and institution staff. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under the age of 18. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
10. Policy Changes
We may update this policy as the App changes. The effective date shown at the top of this page will be revised when we do. Where a change materially affects how your information is handled, we will make that clear in the App.
11. Contact Us
For any question about this policy or about your information, write to us:
Farmwise AI Private Limited
2nd Floor, No. 39, 1st Cross Street, Judges Colony,
Nehru Nagar, Perungudi, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600096, India
Phone: +91 73583 28401
Email: hr@farmwiseai.com
12. Copyright Notice
The M-Velanmai application, its source code, design and documentation are the property of Farmwise AI Private Limited and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. Crop advisory content and reference photographs are the property of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. No part may be reproduced or redistributed without written permission.