Introduction

Welcome and thank you for your interest in Trees Outside Forests in India (TOFI) program app known as TOFI App. This app is a smart phone android application that intends to provide scientific information for tree plantation, niche modelling (native tree species selection for a given location), TOF market information system, location of nurseries etc. to the end users (farmers, plant growers, foresters, villagers, students, other rural communities, and extension workers, etc). In present version of the app, the tree tagging module is operational and other modules are still under development. Hereby, this app and its services are defined as ‘Service’ in this policy.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share and protect personal information in relation to the TOF expansion service, or any applications (including mobile applications) made available by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) – International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF).

In this Privacy Policy, “personal information” means information that identifies you personally, either alone or in combination with other information available to us. Personal information does not include technical, device, or usage information that cannot be used to identify you personally, nor does it include “aggregate” information, which is data we collect about the use of the Service or about a group or category of services or users, from which individual identities or other personal information have been removed. This Privacy Policy in no way restricts or limits our collection and use of aggregate and non-personal information, and we may share such data about our users with third parties for various purposes. This Privacy Policy is part of and incorporated into CIFOR-ICRAF’s Terms of Service.

Please read this privacy policy carefully. By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions described herein and all terms and conditions incorporated by reference. If you do not agree to all of the terms and conditions set forth below, you may not use the Service.

What we collect

1. If the Service offers you the option to register, we will collect the information you provide to us in the registration/user authentication form. This may include identification data such as your name (first name and last name), phone number, address (district and state name) or other registration data.
2. Communications between you and ICRAF. For example, we may send you Service-related emails (e.g., account verification, changes/updates to features of the Service, technical and security notices). Note that you may not opt out of Service-related e-mails.
3. We will collect information about you when you interact with us such as when you report a problem, contact, or communicate with us.
4. We will collect Geolocation data, which is any information which indicates the geographical position of your device, and which may include the time the location was recorded, and may include precise (e.g., GPS-level) location data.
5. The app modules will collect the picture of the tree/plant captured by you through the camera enabled in the app itself.
6. All user data will be store in the firebase real time database.

What we use it for

1. Help you efficiently access the information after you sign in. Firebase Authentication uses the data to enable end-user authentication and facilitate end-user account management. It also uses user-agent strings and IP addresses to provide added security and prevent abuse during sign-up and authentication.
2. Remember information, so you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you use the Service.
3. When we collect your precise geolocation data (which may be via the device’s cellular, Wi-Fi, Global Positioning System (GPS) networks and/or Bluetooth information), we do so to provide you with our location-related products and services.
4. We will use photos for Tree/Plant species identification and monitoring over the time.
5. Realtime Database uses IP addresses and user agents to enable the profiler tool, which helps real-time database customers understand usage trends and platform breakdowns.

How we store your data

1. Most of the information we collect is retained by us on our servers. If you are using the Service from a country other than the area in which our Web servers are located (Cloud storage bucket is in asia-south1, and real-time database is in asia-southeast1) the various communications will necessarily result in the transfer of information across international boundaries.
2. By registering for and using the Service you consent to the transfer of information to the U.S. or to any other country in which ICRAF, its Affiliates or Service Providers maintain facilities and the use and disclosure of information about you as described in this Privacy Policy.
3. We use commercially reasonable safeguards to help keep the information collected through the Service secure and take reasonable steps (such as requesting a unique password) to verify your identity before granting you access to your account. However, ICRAF cannot ensure the security of any information you transmit to ICRAF or guarantee that information on the Service may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed.

Contacting us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us on ICRAF@CGIAR.org.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make any changes to this Privacy Policy that we think materially alter your rights, then we will post the latest policy to this site and change the “Last Updated” date above. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy whenever you visit the Service to understand how your personal information is used.