Food Metric (“we,” “us,” or “our”) provides a mobile and web application that helps you scan packaged foods and review ingredient, allergen, and nutrition information. This Privacy Policy explains what information is processed when you use Food Metric (the “App”) and how we handle it.
Summary: Your allergy and dietary preferences, scan history, and saved products are stored on your device. We do not require an account for normal use. When you scan a product, we send the barcode (and related lookup data) to our servers to retrieve public product information. We do not sell your personal information.
1. Who this policy applies to
This policy applies to users of Food Metric on iOS, Android (when available), and the installable web app. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use the App.
2. Information stored on your device
The following data stays on your phone or browser unless you delete the App or clear its storage. We design the App so that sensitive dietary choices are not uploaded to our servers by default.
- Household profiles — names you assign to profiles, allergen selections, ingredients you choose to avoid, and optional vegan-tracking preference.
- Scan history — barcodes you have scanned, product titles, safety summaries, and related display metadata shown on history cards.
- Saved products — barcodes and labels you save, including any categories you create.
- Compare history — records of product comparisons you have run (stored locally in browser or device storage).
- Cache data — temporary product lookup results and images cached to make the App faster.
- Wrong-product reports (local flag) — whether you have already reported a catalog mismatch for a given barcode, so we do not prompt you repeatedly.
On native iOS/Android builds, profile and history data are stored using the device’s local storage APIs (for example, Capacitor Preferences). In the browser, similar data may be stored in local storage.
3. Information sent to our servers
When you use features that require the internet, we may process:
- Barcode lookups — When you scan or search for a product, the App sends the product barcode (and related technical parameters such as cache-busting flags) to our backend API (hosted on Vercel) to fetch ingredient, allergen, nutrition, and catalog data.
- Catalog browse and search — Search terms and category filters you use in the product catalog.
- Wrong-product reports — If you tap “Wrong product?,” we send the barcode and an optional note you provide so our team can review catalog accuracy. This does not include your allergen profile.
- Standard technical data — Our hosting providers may automatically log IP address, request time, user agent, and similar data needed to operate and secure the service.
We do not upload your allergen or avoid-list selections to our servers as part of normal product scans. Safety matching runs on your device using product data we return and your locally stored preferences.
4. Camera and permissions
Food Metric may request camera access to scan barcodes. Barcode scanning is processed on your device. We do not receive a video stream from your camera. We are not using the camera to collect photos of you or your surroundings for storage on our servers.
5. Information we do not collect
- No account is required for core App features.
- We do not ask for your name, email, or phone number to use the scanner.
- We do not use third-party advertising or analytics SDKs (such as Firebase Analytics or similar) in the App based on our current implementation.
- We do not sell your personal information.
6. Third-party services and data sources
Product information may come from public and licensed sources, including:
- Open Food Facts and similar open product databases (ingredients, images, and nutrition facts).
- Supabase — cloud database and infrastructure we use to store and serve product catalog data. Their privacy practices apply to data they process on our behalf: supabase.com/privacy.
- Vercel — hosts our API and web assets: vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy.
- On-device libraries — Native barcode scanning may use platform or Google ML Kit components that run locally on your device.
Third-party sites linked from product records (for example, retailer pages) have their own privacy policies.
7. How we use information
We use information to:
- Provide product lookup, scoring, and comparison features;
- Maintain and improve our product catalog and accuracy;
- Respond to wrong-product reports and operational issues;
- Protect the security and reliability of the App;
- Comply with legal obligations.
8. Legal bases (EEA / UK users)
Where applicable, we rely on contract (to provide the App), legitimate interests (to secure and improve the service), and consent where required (for example, camera permission through your device settings).
9. Retention
- On your device — Data remains until you delete the App, reset preferences, or clear saved items.
- On our servers — Product catalog data is retained as needed to operate the service. Server logs are retained for a limited period consistent with hosting practices. Wrong-product reports are kept for catalog quality review.
10. Your choices and rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- Access, correct, or delete personal information we hold about you;
- Object to or restrict certain processing;
- Withdraw consent where processing is consent-based;
- Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.
Most dietary data is on your device — you can delete it by removing the App or clearing in-app saved data. For server-side requests, contact us using the details below.
11. Children
Food Metric is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, please contact us so we can delete it.
12. Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information processed by our services, including HTTPS for network requests. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.
13. International transfers
Our service providers may process data in the United States and other countries. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for cross-border transfers.
14. Health and medical disclaimer
Food Metric provides informational tools only. It is not medical advice and is not a substitute for reading product packaging or consulting a qualified professional for allergy management. Always verify critical allergen information on the physical label before consuming a product.
15. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will revise the “Effective date” at the top when we do. Continued use of the App after changes means you accept the updated policy.
16. Contact us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise your privacy rights, contact us at: