Privacy policy
Updated October 30, 2026
World Platycerium Society (WPS) operates this plant registry and membership website. For privacy questions, access or correction requests, or account deletion, contact contribute@worldplatycerium.com.
Information used for sign-in and membership
When you sign in with Google, WPS receives your provider account identifier, email address, and the name and profile-picture information supplied by that provider. Our authentication service also processes authentication tokens, session information, and sign-in timestamps. WPS does not receive your Google password. We request basic identity and email access, rather than access to your contacts, messages, photos library, or social posts.
If you sign up or sign in by email, we use your email address to send a one-time sign-in link and verify that you control that address. You do not need to create a password.
When reply emails are enabled, we use your verified sign-in email to notify you when another member replies to your post or question. You can turn off all reply emails in Notification preferences; in-app notifications and sign-in or verification emails are controlled separately. Reply emails link to the conversation without copying its text or photos.
We store your chosen public display name, illustrated avatar choice, membership status, community-rules acceptance and version, and account timestamps. We use this information to sign you in, maintain your account, remember your preferences, enforce community rules, and protect the website against misuse.
Public and private information
Your chosen display name and illustrated avatar are intended to identify you publicly when community participation becomes available. Your sign-in email, provider identifiers, and private authentication records are not shown in your public profile. Provider profile pictures are not used as your public WPS avatar. Community posts and replies are separate from reviewed plant records. Research-contributor accounts and published plant records are managed separately from ordinary membership.
Your collection, wishlist, and individual plant photo histories are private to your account. Photo histories store your photos, photo dates, optional notes, and plant labels. Deleting your account removes these private lists and histories even if you choose to keep public contributions.
Service providers and sharing
WPS uses Supabase for authentication, database hosting, and image storage; Vercel for website hosting and web analytics; Statcounter for website analytics, and Zoho for delivery of sign-in and optional reply-notification emails. These services process information needed to provide their functions. Google processes Google sign-in activity under its own policies. Information may be processed outside your country.
WPS uses Google account information to provide and secure membership. We do not sell that account information or use it for targeted advertising. We may disclose information when required by applicable law or to investigate abuse and protect the service.
Cookies, analytics, and technical information
Sign-in uses cookies to maintain your session. Hosting and security services process technical information such as IP addresses, browser information, and requests to the website. Analytics help us understand page visits and improve WPS. Statcounter may use cookies and collect page URLs, referring pages, visit times, IP addresses, and device or browser information. Vercel Web Analytics uses its own privacy-focused measurement approach.
You can manage cookies and tracking through your browser settings; blocking sign-in cookies may prevent your account from working. See Supabase’s privacy policy, Vercel’s privacy policy, and Statcounter’s privacy information for their practices.
Retention and your choices
Account information is retained while your account exists and is needed to operate the service. You can change your display name and avatar on your account page. You can delete your account in account settings. Contact us for access or correction requests, or if you cannot sign in. We may verify account ownership before acting. After you verify your sign-in email and confirm deletion, the WPS authentication account and community profile are removed. Operational logs and backups may remain until their normal retention cycles expire; information may also be retained when needed for legal obligations or security investigations.
For community contributions, choose either to retain posts, replies, and photos under “Deleted member,” or remove your content too. Other members’ replies are preserved with a placeholder where needed. Notifications and preferences are deleted in both cases. Keeping contributions may leave personal information you included in them visible. Deleting membership does not automatically remove independently published, credited botanical records or contributions made under separate permissions. Contact us about those records. Account settings explain both deletion choices and require a fresh sign-in check followed by your final confirmation. Removing WPS from your Google connected apps does not by itself delete your WPS account.
Changes and contact
We will update this page when our practices change. Material changes to the use of Google account information will be disclosed before that new use, with renewed consent where required. Contact contribute@worldplatycerium.com with any privacy concern.