Data Privacy & Security
Your microbiome data is treated like medical data.
Your gut is deeply personal. So is the data that comes from it. At Flore, we handle your microbiome results with the same care and discretion you'd expect for a medical record — because to us, that's exactly what they are.
Plain English
What we mean by “HIPAA-aware”
You've probably seen the word HIPAA on forms at the doctor's office. It's the U.S. law that sets the standard for how sensitive health information should be protected and kept private.
When we say Flore is HIPAA-aware, we mean we've built our practices around those same principles — limiting who can see your data, protecting it carefully, and being clear about how it's used — and we apply that care to your microbiome results even in situations where the law wouldn't strictly require it.
In short: we didn't wait for a rule to tell us to treat your gut data like it matters. We designed for it from the start.
Access
Who can see your data — and who can't
Your results exist to help build your formula and support your health goals. That purpose decides who ever touches your data.
Who can see it
- You — anytime, in your Flore portal.
- The Flore team members who build and review your personalized formula.
- A coach or clinician you've chosen to work with, only after you connect with them.
- Trusted service partners (like the certified lab that sequences your sample, or our shipping and payment providers) — only the specific information they need to do their job.
Who can't
- Data brokers. Flore does not sell your identifiable data. Ever.
- Advertisers. We don't hand your health results to ad networks.
- Insurers and employers. We don't share your results with them.
- Curious strangers or other customers. Your data is walled off to your account.
Protection
How your data is protected
You don't need to be a security engineer to understand how we keep your information safe. Here's the plain-English version.
Encrypted at rest
Your personal and health information is stored in encrypted form — so even the raw files are scrambled and unreadable without the keys.
Encrypted in transit
When your data moves between your browser and Flore, it travels over a secure, encrypted connection (the padlock in your address bar).
Need-to-know access
Access is limited to the people who actually need it to do their work, and it's tied to specific roles rather than handed out broadly.
Not for sale
The strongest protection of all: we don't have a business built on selling your data, so there's no incentive to expose it.
For parents
Families & children's data
Many of the people we serve are parents managing complex needs for a child — and children's data deserves extra care. We treat a child's microbiome results as some of the most sensitive information we hold.
When you manage a child's profile through a family account, you stay in control. Their results are visible to you as the parent or guardian, to the Flore team building their formula, and to any coach or clinician you've chosen to involve — and no one else. We don't sell it, advertise against it, or use it to build outside profiles of your child.
If you ever want a copy of your child's data, or want it deleted, you can ask us and we'll take care of it. One email is all it takes.
Straight answers
The questions people actually ask
What happens to my stool sample?
You collect a small sample at home and mail it in the prepaid kit. It goes to a certified (CLIA/CAP) laboratory, where the DNA of the microbes in your gut is sequenced. Those results are what we use to understand your microbiome and build your personalized formula.
Your sample is used to generate your results — not to build a marketing profile. If you'd like specifics on how long a physical sample is kept after it's processed, email support@flore.com and we'll walk you through it.
Can insurers or employers see my results?
No. Flore does not share your identifiable results with insurers or employers, and we don't sell your data to brokers who might. Your results live in your account, for you and the people you choose to share them with.
Can I delete my data?
Yes. You can ask us to delete your personal data at any time by emailing support@flore.com. You can also request a copy of what we hold, or ask us to correct anything that's wrong.
Who owns my raw data?
Your results are yours. You can download a copy or ask us to delete them whenever you like. We may use de-identified, aggregated data — stripped of anything that could point back to you — to keep improving how our formulas are built, but your identifiable data isn't sold or handed off.
Does Flore sell my data?
No. We do not sell your identifiable personal or health data. Our business is building great personalized products — not trading your information.
Wasn't this company called Sun Genomics?
Yes — Flore was formerly known as Sun Genomics. Same team, same commitment to your privacy. Your data and history carried over with the same care.
Our promise
The Flore privacy pledge
- We treat your microbiome and health data like medical information — because that's how it feels to you.
- We will never sell your identifiable data.
- Only the people who need your data to help you will ever see it.
- We protect your information with encryption and need-to-know access.
- Your data is yours — you can download it or ask us to delete it, anytime.
- If we ever change how your data is used, we'll tell you in plain language.
Questions about your privacy?
Talk to a real person. Reach our team for any privacy request — a copy of your data, a deletion, or just a question.
This page is a plain-English overview of how we care for your data. For the complete legal terms, see our Privacy Policy. Flore was formerly Sun Genomics.