1. Information We Collect
GrocerMate is designed with privacy at its core. The app collects and processes the following categories of information locally on your device to provide meal planning, grocery list, and nutrition tracking services:
- Shopping lists: List names, items, quantities, and check-off status.
- Recipes: Built-in and user-created recipes, including titles, ingredients, instructions, and photos.
- Meal plans: Calendar entries for scheduled meals and meal slot assignments.
- Nutrition data: Daily food logs, calorie and macro tracking, nutrition goals, and personal profile information (age, weight, height, activity level) used to calculate targets.
- Ingredient flags: Custom and built-in allergen, additive, and dietary restriction flags.
- Goal Coach data: Streak counts, milestone badges, and coaching insights.
- App preferences: Settings and configuration choices.
Your data stays on your device. GrocerMate stores all data locally using Core Data. There are no user accounts, no cloud sync, no analytics, and no advertising. We do not collect, transmit, or store any of your personal data on external servers.
2. Data Storage and Security
- All app data is stored locally on your device using Apple's Core Data framework.
- Recipe photos (from camera or photo library) are stored locally within the app's sandboxed storage.
- No data is transmitted to Garrison Labs servers or any third-party analytics services.
- Your data is protected by iOS's built-in device encryption and app sandboxing.
3. Camera Access
GrocerMate requests camera access for two purposes:
- Barcode scanning: Scan product barcodes to look up nutrition information via the OpenFoodFacts database.
- Recipe photo scanning: Photograph printed or handwritten recipes and extract text using on-device OCR (Optical Character Recognition).
Camera data is processed on-device. Photos taken within the app are stored locally and are never uploaded to external servers.
4. Third-Party Services
GrocerMate uses one external service:
- OpenFoodFacts API: When you scan a product barcode, GrocerMate sends the barcode number (UPC/EAN) to the OpenFoodFacts open-source database to retrieve product name and nutrition information. Only the barcode number is transmitted — no personal data, device identifiers, or usage information is sent. OpenFoodFacts is a non-profit, open-data project.
GrocerMate does not use any analytics SDKs, crash reporting services, advertising networks, or tracking pixels.
5. Data Sharing
We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your personal information with any third parties. Your data remains entirely on your device under your control.
- No advertising: GrocerMate contains no ads and shares no data with advertisers.
- No analytics: We do not track app usage, screen views, or user behavior.
- iCloud backup: If you have iCloud backup enabled on your device, your app data may be included in your device backup per Apple's policies.
6. In-App Purchases and Subscriptions
GrocerMate offers optional in-app purchases (Lite tier, one-time $4.99) and auto-renewable subscriptions (Premium Monthly $3.99/mo, Premium Annual $29.99/yr). All purchase transactions are processed entirely by Apple through the App Store. Garrison Labs does not receive, process, or store any payment information, credit card numbers, or billing details.
Subscription management, including cancellation, is handled through your Apple ID settings. For more information, see Apple's subscription management guide.
7. Data Retention
- All data is retained on your device until you delete it or uninstall the app.
- You can delete individual shopping lists, recipes, meal plans, and nutrition logs from within the app.
- Uninstalling the app removes all locally stored data.
8. Your Rights
- Because all data is stored locally on your device, you have complete control over it at all times.
- You can delete any data from within the app at any time.
- No data request to Garrison Labs is necessary — we simply don't have your data.
9. Children's Privacy
GrocerMate is rated 4+ and does not collect personal information from any users, including children under 13. The app does not require account creation and does not transmit data to external servers (except barcode numbers to OpenFoodFacts for nutrition lookups).
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy indicates when changes were last made. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance.