Privacy Policy
Last updated: May 18, 2026 · AIFoodTracker by PatakoLabs
The short version: Your food logs, weight entries, and personal data stay on your device (and your personal iCloud if you enable sync). The only data that leaves your device is meal photos — sent exclusively for AI food recognition — and food-name text queries sent to nutrition databases. We do not create user accounts, we do not track you, and we do not sell your data.
1. Data That Stays on Your Device
The following data is stored locally using Apple's SwiftData framework and never transmitted to PatakoLabs or any third party:
- Meal entries, food items, and nutritional logs
- Weight entries and historical records
- Fasting windows
- Saved meal photos (stored in the app's Documents directory)
- Your custom local food database
- Daily calorie and macro goals
- App preferences and settings
API keys you provide (OpenAI, USDA) are stored in the device Keychain with kSecAttrAccessibleAfterFirstUnlock protection. Keychain data is not synced to iCloud and is deleted when you uninstall the app.
2. Data That Leaves Your Device
We send the minimum data required to provide core features. Here is an exhaustive list:
| What | Where | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Meal photo (compressed JPEG) | OpenAI API or PatakoLabs API (patakolabs.com) | AI food recognition |
| Food name (text query) | USDA FoodData Central | Nutrition data lookup |
| Food name (text query) | Open Food Facts | Nutrition data fallback |
| Opaque device token (hashed on server) | PatakoLabs API | Device registration and lifetime quota tracking |
| Subscription tier ("free" / "premium") | PatakoLabs API | Adjust analysis quota (free lifetime cap vs. premium unlimited) |
No name, email, phone number, location, advertising identifier, or personal account information is ever transmitted.
3. Meal Photo Processing
When you photograph a meal for AI analysis, the image is compressed to JPEG and sent to one of two destinations depending on your configuration:
- Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) mode: The photo is sent directly from your device to the OpenAI API using your personal API key. PatakoLabs never sees the image.
- Free / Premium mode: The photo is sent to the PatakoLabs API proxy, which forwards it to an AI provider (OpenRouter or OpenAI) for processing. The image is not stored on our servers — it is forwarded in real time and discarded immediately after the response is returned.
In both cases, only food names and estimated portion sizes are returned. No image data is stored by our backend.
4. iCloud Sync
If you have iCloud enabled for AIFoodTracker on your device, the following data is synced to your personal iCloud account via Apple CloudKit:
- Meal entries and food items
- Weight entries
- Photo entries (full image and thumbnail)
This sync is managed entirely by Apple. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest using your iCloud account credentials. PatakoLabs has no access to your iCloud data. You can disable iCloud sync for AIFoodTracker at any time in your device's Settings app.
5. Nutrition Data Sources
To find nutritional information for identified foods, the app sends text search queries (food names only) to:
- USDA FoodData Central (fdc.nal.usda.gov) — U.S. Department of Agriculture public nutrition database
- Open Food Facts (world.openfoodfacts.org) — open-source food product database
Only food name text is sent to these services. No images, device identifiers, or personal information are included in nutrition queries. Search results are cached in memory for up to one hour and are not persisted to disk.
6. Device Identification
We derive an opaque device token on your device (from Apple's identifierForVendor) for backend registration and quota tracking. The server stores only a one-way hash of that token. This identifier:
- Cannot be used to track you across other apps or websites
- Resets if you uninstall all PatakoLabs apps from your device
- Is not an advertising identifier (we do not use IDFA)
7. Subscriptions and Payments
Subscription purchases are handled entirely by Apple through StoreKit 2. PatakoLabs does not collect, process, or store any payment information, credit card numbers, or Apple ID details. We only receive a tier designation ("free" or "premium") to adjust your analysis quota (10 lifetime analyses on the free tier, up to 3 per UTC day; unlimited while Premium is active).
8. Analytics and Tracking
AIFoodTracker does not include any analytics SDKs, crash reporters, advertising frameworks, or third-party tracking. We do not collect usage data, session metrics, or behavioural analytics.
9. Children's Privacy
AIFoodTracker is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided data through the app, please contact us and we will take steps to remove it.
10. Data Retention
- On-device data: Persists until you delete it within the app or uninstall the app.
- iCloud data: Managed by your Apple ID settings. Deleting the app does not automatically remove iCloud data.
- Backend data: Device registration token and quota counters only. No meal data, photos, or nutrition logs are stored on our servers. Registration data is deleted when the device token expires or is no longer used.
11. Your Rights
Because your data lives on your device and your personal iCloud account, you have full control:
- Access: All your data is visible within the app at all times.
- Delete: Delete individual meals, photos, or weight entries from the app. Uninstall to remove all local data.
- Portability: iCloud data is accessible through your Apple ID across your devices.
- Opt out of sync: Disable iCloud for AIFoodTracker in Settings to keep data strictly on-device.
12. Security
- All network communication uses HTTPS (TLS 1.2+)
- API keys are stored in the iOS Keychain (hardware-backed on supported devices)
- Backend authentication uses short-lived JWTs after device registration or Apple subscription verification
- iCloud data is encrypted with your Apple ID credentials
- No sensitive data is stored in UserDefaults or plain-text files
13. Changes to This Policy
We will update this page when the policy changes. Material changes will be noted in the app's release notes. Continued use of AIFoodTracker after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
14. Contact
For privacy questions or data requests:
PatakoLabs<br> Email: kikov79@icloud.com