This Privacy Policy describes how ChowScan (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and protects your information when you use the ChowScan mobile application (“App”) and website at chowscan.com (“Website”). ChowScan is published by Plucore, registered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Plain-language summary
ChowScan is anonymous-first. We don’t require an account. We don’t collect your name, email, phone number, location, contacts, photos, or advertising identifiers. The camera reads pet food labels on your device — frames are not uploaded. We do store the ingredient text you scan, your pet profiles, and your scan history so the app works across sessions, all keyed to a random device ID stored locally. We do not sell data and do not run ads.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Information you provide voluntarily
Pet profiles. If you create a pet profile, you may enter pet name, species (dog or cat), breed, weight, age, neutered/intact status, activity level, and (for Pro features) health conditions. This is used solely to personalize scoring and portion calculations on your device.
Scanned content. When you crowdsource a product, the parsed brand name, product name, and ingredient text are saved so the next person who scans the same product gets a result.
1.2 Information collected automatically
Anonymous device ID. The App generates a random device ID and stores it locally. This ID ties pet profiles, scan history, and preferences to your install. It is not an advertising identifier and is not linked to any personal profile.
Scan events. When you scan a product, we record the barcode (or OCR-parsed ingredient text), the score generated, and a timestamp, keyed to your anonymous device ID.
OCR-recognized text. When you scan a product label using the camera, the raw ingredient text recognized on-device may be saved to our database to improve product coverage. The camera frames themselves are processed on your device by Google ML Kit and are never uploaded — only the extracted text and the brand/product name are sent.
Push notification tokens. If you enable recall alerts (a Pro feature), the App registers with Apple Push Notification service (iOS) or Firebase Cloud Messaging (Android) and stores the resulting device token in our database so we can deliver alerts when a product on your watchlist is recalled. The token is keyed to your anonymous device ID and is removed when you turn off recall alerts or delete your data.
Subscription status. If you subscribe to ChowScan Pro, RevenueCat manages the subscription on our behalf and reports entitlement status. Apple or Google handle the payment; we never receive your payment card data.
Analytics. We use PostHog to collect anonymized usage signals — currently only paywall views, purchase completions, and scan completions. Events are tied to your anonymous device ID and contain no personal information.
Crash reports. We use Sentry to collect crash reports including device type, operating system version, and stack traces. Crash reports do not contain personal information.
1.3 Information we do NOT collect
We do not collect your real name, email address, phone number, location (GPS or otherwise), contacts, calendar, browsing history, advertising identifiers (IDFA / GAID), or photos. The camera is used only for live barcode and label scanning — images are processed on your device and are not uploaded.
2. How We Use Information
We use collected information to: (a) operate the App, generate ingredient scores, and run portion calculations on your device; (b) build and improve our product database from anonymized scan and OCR contributions; (c) deliver pet food recall alerts to Pro users who add products to a watchlist; (d) analyze aggregated usage to improve the App; (e) diagnose and fix crashes; (f) manage subscriptions through Apple or Google.
We do not use your information for advertising, do not sell your information, and do not build advertising profiles.
3. Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services. Each is engaged only for the purposes listed and has access only to the data described.
- Supabase (database and storage host) — pet profiles, scan history, OCR contributions, push tokens, and recall watchlist entries, all keyed to your anonymous device ID.
- RevenueCat (subscription management) — subscription status, app store user identifier, and entitlement flags.
- Apple Push Notification service (iOS) — delivers recall alerts when you watch a product.
- Firebase Cloud Messaging (Android) — delivers recall alerts when you watch a product.
- Sentry (crash reporting) — anonymized stack traces and device metadata. Hosted in the EU.
- PostHog (product analytics) — anonymized event counts. Hosted in the EU.
- Google ML Kit (on-device OCR) — runs entirely on your device. No data leaves your device through ML Kit.
- Open Pet Food Facts — read-only barcode lookups. We send only the scanned barcode.
- UPCitemDB — read-only barcode lookups for products not found in Open Pet Food Facts. We send only the scanned barcode.
- Apple App Store and Google Play — handle the transaction and store your payment information directly. We never see your payment card details.
We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or any party not listed above.
4. Data Storage and Security
Pet profiles, scan history, OCR contributions, push tokens, and recall watchlist entries are stored on Supabase cloud infrastructure (PostgreSQL, hosted in AWS). Data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest. The anonymous device ID and preference flags are stored locally on your device. The ingredient dictionary is bundled with the App and works offline. Row-level security policies ensure each device can only read and write its own rows.
5. Data Retention and Deletion
Pet profiles, scan history, push tokens, watchlist entries:retained as long as the App is installed and you continue to scan. You can wipe everything tied to your device immediately from Settings → “Delete my data”. The deletion runs synchronously and removes all device-keyed rows from our database in a single transaction. There is no 30-day grace period — when you tap delete, the data is gone.
Anonymous, aggregated scan and OCR contributions: once contributed, ingredient text and product names are part of the public product database (the database itself is not personally identifiable) and are retained indefinitely so future users benefit. These records do not contain device IDs after the contribution is accepted into the catalog.
6. Your Rights
Because ChowScan does not require an account or collect identifiable personal information by default, the data we hold about you is limited to what is keyed to your anonymous device ID. You can:
- Deleteall device-keyed data at any time from Settings → “Delete my data”.
- Withdraw consent for analytics by uninstalling the App or by emailing us.
- Request a copy of any data we hold tied to your device by emailing hello@chowscan.com with the device ID shown in Settings → About.
Depending on your jurisdiction (GDPR in the EU/EEA, CCPA in California, the UAE Personal Data Protection Law, or similar), you may have additional rights to access, correct, or restrict processing of your data. To exercise these, contact hello@chowscan.com. We will respond within 30 days.
7. Children’s Privacy
ChowScan is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the EU/EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has used the App, contact us and we will delete any associated data on request.
8. International Data Transfers
ChowScan is published by Plucore (Dubai, UAE). Our service providers operate infrastructure in the United States and the European Union. By using ChowScan, you understand that your anonymized data may be processed in the United States, the EU, or the UAE. We rely on standard contractual clauses or equivalent safeguards where required.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you through the App. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.
10. Contact
Email: hello@chowscan.com
Appendix: Apple App Privacy categories
For App Store Connect / App Privacy declarations:
- Data Not Linked to You: Diagnostics (crash data), Usage Data (product interaction), Identifiers (device ID).
- Data Not Collected:Contact info, Health & Fitness, Financial info, Location, Sensitive info, Contacts, User Content (other than the ingredient text you choose to contribute), Browsing History, Search History, Purchases (the App Store handles purchases), Other.
- Tracking: No data is used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies.