1. Taking part is voluntary
Sending honey is entirely up to you, and it's a donation — freely given, with no payment to you and no obligation. You can leave the optional fields blank (your company name, phone, hive GPS, and the map listing are all optional), and you can ask to withdraw your sample and your information at any time.
2. What we collect
When you fill out the form, we collect:
- About you: your name, email, and phone number, and — only if you choose to share it — your honey company or operation name.
- Your shipping address, so we can set up a label.
- About each honey: the varietal you report, how sure you are and why, the harvest year, the state and hive location, how it was processed, the jar size, and — only if you choose — the GPS coordinates of your hives.
- Whether you asked to be listed on our public map of participating beekeepers.
When shipping payment goes live, your payment is handled by Stripe — see section 5.
3. How we use it
We use what you give us to:
- work with you on your sample — send your shipping label, ask about your sample if we need to, and send you your honey's report;
- evaluate and document your honey as part of the research; and
- list you on the participating-beekeepers map — but only if you asked us to.
That's all. We don't use your information for marketing, and we never sell it.
4. Your contact information
We use your email and phone only to run this study with you: to send your shipping label, to ask about your sample if a question comes up, and to send you your report. We won't add you to a mailing list, and we won't share or sell your contact details.
5. Payment and your card
When shipping payment is live, it will be handled entirely by Stripe, our payment processor. Your card details are entered on Stripe's secure system — they never reach our website, our database, or us. We only receive confirmation that a payment went through, plus the last four digits. We never see or store your full card number.
6. Location (GPS)
Sharing your hive's GPS coordinates is optional. If you provide them, we use them only to understand what was growing near your hives, which helps us understand the varietal. We don't publish your coordinates or use them for anything else.
7. The honey you send
The jar you send becomes a research sample. We may taste, evaluate, and analyze it as part of the study, and we bank samples for possible future testing. Honey that's been sent in isn't returned.
8. Who we share information with
We don't sell your information, and we don't share it except with the services that make this work:
- Stripe — to process shipping payments;
- Shippo — to create your shipping label; and
- Google Firebase — which hosts this site and stores submissions.
Each uses your information only to provide its service. The one public listing of your information is the participating-beekeepers map — and only if you opted in.
9. What we publish
The whole point of this project is a shared, public reference for American honey — so we publish what we learn, including varietal profiles and overall findings. We do not publish your personal information as part of that. Your name or company appears publicly only on the participating-beekeepers map, and only if you chose to be listed.
10. What we can't promise
This is a research project, not an identification service. We document varietals that beekeepers already know — we can't identify a mystery honey for you. Evaluation takes time and depends on gathering enough comparable samples, so we can't guarantee a report on every jar, or a firm timeline.
11. Your choices
At any time, you can ask us to show you what we have, correct it, delete your information, or remove your sample from the study. Just email us (below) and we'll take care of it.
12. Children
This project is meant for adult beekeepers. It isn't directed at anyone under 18, and we don't knowingly collect information from children.
13. Changes to this page
We may update these terms as the project grows. When we do, we'll change the date at the top of this page.
14. Who we are & how to reach us
The American Honey Mapping Project is operated by Apis Moon Collective LLC. For questions or requests, email info@americanhoneylibrary.com. Mailing address: 1935 Old Hickory Grove Rd, Mount Holly, NC 28120. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina.