These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of the ChowScan mobile application (“App”) and website at chowscan.com (“Website”) operated by Plucore, a company registered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (“ChowScan,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). By downloading, installing, or using ChowScan, you agree to these Terms.
1. Acceptance
By creating a pet profile, completing a scan, or subscribing to ChowScan Pro, you accept these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not accept, stop using the App.
2. Eligibility
ChowScan is intended for users aged 13 or older worldwide, and 16 or older in the European Union and European Economic Area. By using the App, you confirm you meet these age requirements.
3. License
We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the App for your own non-commercial purposes, subject to these Terms.
4. What ChowScan Does
ChowScan scans pet food product labels and provides ingredient-quality scores with plain-English explanations. Scores are generated by matching label ingredients against a curated dictionary of 234 entries, each citing publicly available regulatory and scientific sources. ChowScan is an informational tool, not a veterinary service. We do not test, manufacture, certify, endorse, or condemn any pet food product.
5. Anonymous Use
ChowScan does not require an account. The App generates a random anonymous device ID stored locally on your device, used to tie your pet profiles, scan history, and Pro entitlements to your install. You can wipe all device-keyed data at any time from Settings → “Delete my data”.
6. Free Tier and Subscriptions
ChowScan offers unlimited free scans. The 0–100 score, ingredient citations, ingredient browsing, and a basic pet profile (name and species) are available at no cost.
6.1 ChowScan Pro
ChowScan Pro is a paid subscription that unlocks personalized scoring against your pet’s allergies and health conditions, a daily portion calculator, cost tracking, recall push alerts, healthier-alternative suggestions, vet-share PDFs, the full pet profile (breed, weight, age, conditions), weight and body-condition logging, diet recommendations, search by typing, saved favorites, full scan history, AAFCO compliance check, and compare mode.
6.2 Pricing and renewal
- Monthly: US$4.99 per month, auto-renewing.
- Annual: US$29.99 per year, auto-renewing.
Local currency equivalents are displayed at checkout. Pricing may change; if we change prices, the new price applies only to renewals after notice and your opportunity to cancel.
Auto-renewal: Your subscription automatically renews at the end of each billing period unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. The renewal charge is applied to your Apple ID or Google account at confirmation of purchase and on each renewal.
Free trials and intro offers: ChowScan does not currently offer free trials, intro pricing, lifetime licenses, weekly subscriptions, or promo/referral codes.
6.3 How to manage or cancel
- iOS:Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions, or via apps.apple.com/account/subscriptions.
- Android:Google Play Store → profile icon → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions, or via play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions.
Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. You retain Pro access until that date.
6.4 Refunds
All payments are processed by Apple or Google. Refund requests are handled directly by them per their store policies; we do not have access to your payment information and cannot issue refunds ourselves.
7. Scoring Methodology and Limitations
Our scores are based on a curated dictionary citing AAFCO, IARC, FDA CVM, Tufts Petfoodology, NRC, and peer-reviewed veterinary nutrition literature. We make reasonable efforts to ensure accuracy but do not guarantee scores are complete, current, or error-free. Scores reflect ingredient quality based on available evidence and do not account for manufacturing processes, contamination, freshness, or individual pet health conditions.
8. OCR Scanning and Accuracy
ChowScan uses on-device OCR (Google ML Kit) to read ingredient labels. Accuracy depends on image quality, label condition, and lighting. You should verify scanned ingredient lists against the physical label if accuracy is critical.
9. User-Contributed Data
When you scan a product using OCR, the parsed ingredient text and product name may be saved to improve our product database. This data does not include personally identifiable information. By contributing, you grant ChowScan a non-exclusive, royalty- free, worldwide license to use the contributed text in the App and the public product database.
10. Acceptable Use
You may not (a) use ChowScan to defame or make false claims about any pet food brand; (b) use ChowScan scores in advertising or commercial comparisons without written permission; (c) scrape the App or use automated tools to access the App; (d) reverse engineer or attempt to extract source code; (e) use the App for any unlawful purpose.
11. Intellectual Property
The ChowScan app, scoring engine, ingredient dictionary, brand, logo, and all original content are owned by Plucore. Product information from Open Pet Food Facts is used under the Open Database License (ODbL 1.0). AAFCO is a trademark of the Association of American Feed Control Officials and is not affiliated with ChowScan.
12. Disclaimers
ChowScan is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not warrant that the App will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that scoring will be free of inaccuracies.
Not veterinary advice.Nothing in ChowScan constitutes veterinary advice, medical advice, or diagnosis. Always consult a licensed veterinarian before changing your pet’s diet, especially if your pet has a medical condition. We are not responsible for any health outcomes resulting from dietary decisions made using information from ChowScan.
13. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, ChowScan and Plucore shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including lost profits, lost data, or veterinary costs, arising from or relating to your use of the App. Our total cumulative liability shall not exceed the subscription fees you paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim.
14. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Plucore and its affiliates from any claims, damages, or expenses arising from your misuse of the App or breach of these Terms.
15. Termination
You may stop using the App at any time and may delete all device-keyed data from Settings. We may suspend or terminate access to the App for users who violate these Terms.
16. Governing Law and Disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the United Arab Emirates, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), except where applicable consumer-protection law in your country of residence requires otherwise.
17. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.
18. Contact
Email: hello@chowscan.com