Privacy Policy
SmartPlate ("we", "us", or "our") is a meal planning application developed as an independent app. If you have questions about this policy, you can reach us at the contact information at the bottom of this page.
| Data | Why we collect it | Where it's stored |
|---|---|---|
| Display name | To personalise your in-app experience and show your name in the Settings screen | Firebase Authentication, Firebase Firestore |
| Email address | To authenticate your account via Google Sign-In and allow you to recover access to your account | Firebase Authentication |
| Meal data (names, ingredients, instructions, notes, ratings, photos) | To power your personal recipe library and meal planning features | Firebase Firestore, locally on your device (Room database) |
| Weekly plan data (which meals are assigned to which days, servings) | To display your plan and automatically generate your grocery list | Firebase Firestore, locally on your device |
| Grocery list data (items, checked status, custom items, category order) | To maintain your shopping list across sessions and devices | Firebase Firestore, locally on your device |
| Household data (household name, invite codes, member list) | To enable shared meal planning with family members who you explicitly invite | Firebase Firestore |
| Meal photos | To display recipe images you add to your meal cards | Locally on your device only (not uploaded to our servers) |
SmartPlate does not collect analytics data, crash reporting data, advertising identifiers, or device fingerprints. We do not track your usage behaviour, session length, or feature usage patterns.
Firebase (our backend provider, operated by Google) may collect certain technical data such as IP addresses and timestamps as part of standard infrastructure operation. This data is governed by Google's Privacy Policy.
SmartPlate requests camera and photo library access for two features:
Camera and photo permissions are requested only when you actively use these features, not at app launch.
We use the information we collect exclusively to:
SmartPlate uses Google's Gemini AI API for the following features:
These requests are processed via Google Cloud Functions acting as a secure intermediary. Google's use of data submitted to the Gemini API is governed by Google's Privacy Policy and the Gemini API Terms of Service.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third parties.
We share data only with the following service providers, solely to operate the app:
| Provider | Purpose | Data shared |
|---|---|---|
| Google Firebase | Authentication, database, cloud functions | Name, email, meal/plan/grocery data |
| Google Gemini API | AI meal suggestions, recipe scanning, nutrition estimation | Filters, preferences, recipe photos (not linked to account) |
We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a legal obligation.
If you create or join a household, your meal library, weekly plan, and grocery list are shared with other members of that household. Members are added only via explicit invite codes that you generate and choose to share. You can leave a household at any time via Settings → Household → Leave household.
When you leave a household, a copy of the shared meal data is preserved in your personal account. Your email address and display name are not visible to other household members within the app.
Your data is retained for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account (see Section 8), all associated data is permanently deleted from our Firebase database within 30 days.
Data stored locally on your device (in the app's local database) is removed when you uninstall the app.
You have the right to:
You can delete your SmartPlate account directly in the app:
Alternatively, you can request account deletion by emailing us at the address below. We will process deletion requests within 30 days.
We take the security of your data seriously. SmartPlate uses the following measures to protect your information:
While we implement industry-standard safeguards, no method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
SmartPlate is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete that information promptly.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify users through the app. Your continued use of SmartPlate after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion of your personal information, and to opt out of the sale of your personal information. SmartPlate does not sell personal information. To exercise your rights, contact us using the information below.
If you are located in the European Economic Area, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation including the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict processing of, and port your personal data. Our legal basis for processing your data is the performance of the contract between you and SmartPlate (providing the app service to you). To exercise your GDPR rights, contact us using the information below.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, want to request access to your data, or want to request account deletion, please contact us:
We aim to respond to all privacy requests within 5 business days.