Is My VarroaVault Data Private? Data Security and Privacy Policy

VarroaVault uses AES-256 encryption for all stored data and TLS 1.3 for all data in transit. These aren't marketing claims -- they're the same technical standards used by financial institutions and healthcare platforms. Your beekeeping records contain information that deserves the same care as any other sensitive personal data.

This page explains what data VarroaVault collects, how it's protected, what it's used for, and what rights you have over it.

TL;DR

A valid mite count sample requires approximately 300 bees from the brood nest for statistically reliable results
alcohol wash is 15-20% more accurate than sugar roll for detecting mite infestation levels
The calculation is: (mites counted / bees in sample) x 100 = infestation percentage
A 2% threshold triggers treatment in spring/summer; 1% is the fall action threshold
Count at least once per month during active season; increase to every 2 weeks if levels are near threshold
Log every count in VarroaVault to build a trend dataset that shows whether populations are rising or stable

What Data VarroaVault Stores

Your hive records: Hive IDs, locations (GPS coordinates or ZIP codes), establishment dates, colony source information, and any notes you enter about your colonies.

Your monitoring records: Mite count results, count dates, sample sizes, methods, and any photos you attach to count entries.

Your treatment records: Product selections, application dates, doses, EPA registration numbers, brood status at treatment, honey super status, and post-treatment results.

Your account information: Name, email address, billing information (processed through a PCI-compliant payment processor -- VarroaVault does not store payment card numbers), and subscription plan.

Usage data: How you interact with the app -- which features you use, when you log entries, which alerts you respond to. This data is used to improve the product, not to profile you individually.

What VarroaVault Does Not Do With Your Data

VarroaVault does not sell your data. Your hive records, treatment history, and monitoring data are not sold to any third party, including agricultural companies, pesticide manufacturers, equipment suppliers, or data brokers. This is a categorical policy, not a qualified one.

VarroaVault does not share identifiable data with advertisers. Your individual data is not used to serve you ads or sold to advertising networks.

VarroaVault does not provide your data to state apiarists or regulators without your consent. If you export a compliance report for an inspection, you are sharing your data at your direction. VarroaVault does not proactively share your records with government agencies.

VarroaVault does not share your data with research partners in identifiable form. Research access uses anonymized, aggregate data only. See the research partnership section below.

How Your Data Is Protected

Encryption at rest: All stored data is encrypted using AES-256, including your hive records, treatment logs, and any photos you upload.

Encryption in transit: All data transmitted between your device (phone, browser, or API client) and VarroaVault's servers uses TLS 1.3, the current standard for secure transport layer encryption.

Access controls: Your account data is only accessible to you (via your login credentials) and to VarroaVault staff with a specific operational need (such as customer support resolving a technical issue). Staff access is logged and audited.

Credential security: Passwords are never stored in plain text. VarroaVault uses industry-standard password hashing. If you use the API, your API key authenticates access -- API keys can be revoked at any time from your account settings.

Data isolation: Crew user accounts in VarroaVault Professional have access only to the apiaries and hives they're assigned to. A crew member cannot access other account holders' data or apiaries outside their assignment.

Research Data Use

VarroaVault contributes to varroa research through anonymized aggregate data. This means:

Individual hive records are never shared with researchers in identifiable form
Your name, contact information, and precise GPS coordinates are removed before any research data is prepared
Geographic data is reduced to county-level identifiers in research datasets
Free-text notes fields are excluded from research data
You cannot be identified from research publications using VarroaVault data

Research partnerships are described in detail on the varroa mite data for researchers page. If you do not want your anonymized data included in research datasets, you can opt out in your account privacy settings.

Your Rights Over Your Data

Data export: You can export all your data at any time in CSV or JSON format from your account settings. This includes your complete hive records, count history, and treatment logs.

Account deletion: You can delete your account at any time. Account deletion removes all personally identifiable information from active databases. Anonymized aggregate contributions to research datasets (if you haven't opted out) are retained as part of the aggregate -- individual records are not recoverable after deletion.

Data portability: Your export includes all your records in formats that can be imported into spreadsheet software or other applications. You're not locked into VarroaVault -- your data goes with you.

Research opt-out: You can opt out of research data contribution in your account privacy settings. This does not affect your use of VarroaVault's features or your subscription.

Compliance exports: When you generate a state inspection compliance export, the report is generated at your direction and is yours to share. VarroaVault does not retain copies of compliance exports or share them with state agencies.

Data Retention After Subscription Ends

If your subscription lapses, your data is retained for 90 days in an inactive state. You can reactivate your subscription at any time within that window and recover your full data history. After 90 days, inactive account data is deleted. If you want to export your data before a subscription lapse, use the export function in your account settings.

The VarroaVault Data Export Option

For beekeepers who want a permanent local copy of their records independent of the VarroaVault subscription, the data export function in account settings generates a complete archive of all your records. This archive is yours to keep regardless of what happens with your subscription.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my varroa treatment data private in VarroaVault?

Yes. Your treatment records, mite count logs, and hive data are stored with AES-256 encryption and accessible only to you via your login credentials. VarroaVault does not sell this data to any third party, does not share it with agricultural companies or data brokers, and does not provide it to government agencies without your explicit direction. The only third parties who receive any data from VarroaVault are: your payment processor (Stripe, for billing), anonymous research partners (aggregate data only, with your personal information and precise location removed), and technical infrastructure providers (hosting, backup) who are contractually prohibited from using your data for any purpose other than providing services to VarroaVault.

Does VarroaVault sell my beekeeping data to third parties?

No. VarroaVault does not sell your individual data to anyone. This is a categorical policy. VarroaVault's business model is subscription revenue -- not data monetization. Aggregate, anonymized data is shared with research partners under strict data use agreements that prohibit re-identification and require anonymization. Your individual treatment records, hive locations, and monitoring history are never sold or shared in identifiable form.

How does VarroaVault use anonymized data for research?

VarroaVault contributes aggregate, anonymized monitoring data to research partnerships that study varroa population dynamics, treatment efficacy trends, and colony loss patterns at national scale. Before any data is shared with researchers, all personally identifiable information is removed: your name, contact details, and precise GPS coordinates are replaced with county-level geographic identifiers. Researchers receive the count results, treatment events, and colony outcomes, but they cannot identify which beekeeper any specific record belongs to. You can opt out of this research contribution in your account privacy settings without affecting your subscription.

How soon after treatment can I run a post-treatment mite count?

Wait 2-4 weeks after the treatment ends before running a post-treatment count. Counting too soon (within a week of treatment removal) may show mites still dying or emerging from the last brood cycle. Waiting 2-4 weeks allows emerging bees from brood that was capped during treatment to fully emerge and any surviving mites to become detectable in a new count.

What should I do if my mite count results seem unusually high or low?

If results seem surprising, repeat the count within 1-2 weeks before making a treatment decision based on a single outlier result. Confirm you sampled from the brood nest center (not outer frames), used the correct sample size (approximately 300 bees), and shook vigorously for the full 60 seconds. Consistent sampling technique is the most important factor in count accuracy.

Can I count mites from a sticky board instead of doing an alcohol wash?

Sticky board counts measure mite fall rate over 24-72 hours, which correlates with infestation level but is not a direct measure of infestation percentage. Sticky board results cannot be converted to an accurate percentage without calibration, and they are less reliable than alcohol wash for treatment decisions. Use sticky boards for general population monitoring but rely on alcohol wash counts for threshold decisions.

Sources

American Beekeeping Federation (ABF)
USDA ARS Bee Research Laboratory
Honey Bee Health Coalition
Penn State Extension Apiculture Program
Project Apis m.

Get Started with VarroaVault

An alcohol wash gives you the number. VarroaVault turns that number into a decision. Log your count, get an instant threshold comparison, and build a monitoring history that shows you whether mite levels are rising or stable across your entire operation. Start your free trial at varroavault.com.