Privacy policy

The short version

• You don’t need an account to use Shelf Shepherd.
• Your food list stays on your phone. There’s no cloud sync and no Shelf Shepherd server, so we never see it.
• Scanning and smart features run on your phone.
• The only online features are optional and off unless you turn them on: barcode lookup and using your own Claude key.
• The app has no ads, no analytics and no tracking, and we don’t sell your information.
• You can export your data or delete it at any time in Settings.

What the app stores on your phone

Shelf Shepherd stores your food items, shopping list, history, product names you’ve edited and saved barcode lookups in a database on your phone. Your settings are stored there too, along with a small record of your free trial and free scans (dates, counts and yes/no flags, with no personal information). A copy of that record is also kept in your iPhone’s Keychain or Google’s Block Store on Android. If you add your own Claude API key, it’s stored encrypted with a key held by your phone’s secure hardware.

Photos you take or pick for scanning are held only briefly in a temporary folder and deleted as soon as they’ve been read. They aren’t saved to your photo library or kept with your items. The app can only see photos you choose; it can’t browse your library.

How the smart features work

Scanning and recognition happen on your phone:

• iPhone: Apple’s built-in Vision and VisionKit read barcodes, receipts and dates and recognize food. On iOS 26 and later, Apple Intelligence tidies receipt shorthand. These run on the device and the app sends nothing to Apple through them.
• Android: Google ML Kit reads barcodes, receipts and dates, recognizes food in photos and powers the document scanner. Gemini Nano, running on your phone, tidies receipt shorthand and names food in photos on supported devices.
• Meal ideas come from a built-in catalog of 625 dishes matched against the food you have. No AI or server is involved.

Information that can leave your phone

Google ML Kit diagnostics (Android)

On Android, text, barcode and image recognition run on your device using Google ML Kit. Your photos and scan results are not sent to Google, but ML Kit sends Google basic diagnostic data: device and app information, performance and error data, and an installation identifier. Some ML Kit features use Firebase components for this. Learn more in Google’s ML Kit data disclosure and Firebase data disclosure.

Barcode lookup (optional, off by default)

If you turn on “Look up barcodes online” in Settings → Scanning & AI, the barcode number you scan is sent to Open Food Facts, a free public product database, to find the product name. Only the barcode number is sent. Results are saved on your phone.

Your own Claude API key (optional)

If you add your own Anthropic API key, Snap Food sends the food photo (resized), a short prompt and your key directly to Anthropic to identify the food. This happens under Anthropic’s own terms and privacy policy, and any charges are between you and Anthropic. We never receive your photo or your key.

Purchases

Premium purchases, subscriptions and restores are handled by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play) under your own store account. We don’t receive your payment details.

Links you tap

Some buttons open another app or your browser, such as “Find recipe” (a Google search for the dish name only, never your ingredients), Instacart, managing your subscription, and our policies. What happens there is covered by that service’s privacy policy.

Feedback

If you send feedback, your own email app sends it to us. You can choose to include your app version, phone model and plan. We use it only to reply and improve the app.

Permissions

Shelf Shepherd asks for the camera (for scanning) and notifications (for reminders, only when you turn them on). On Android it also uses internet access for the optional online features, plus standard permissions that the store billing and background reminder systems require. It doesn’t ask for your location, contacts, microphone or advertising ID.

Reminders

Expiry reminders are scheduled on your phone. Nothing is sent from a server. They’re off until you turn them on, and you can change or turn them off at any time in Settings → Notifications.

Phone backups

Shelf Shepherd doesn’t sync to iCloud or Google. Your phone’s own backup may include its data, managed by Apple or Google under their privacy policies:

• Android: Google’s automatic backup includes your food database only. Settings and a saved Claude key aren’t backed up.
• iPhone: iCloud and computer backups include your food database and settings. A saved Claude key stays on that iPhone and isn’t moved to a new one.

Exporting and deleting your information

Export: Settings → Data & privacy → “Back up to a file” saves a copy of your data (it never includes keys). You choose where it goes.

Delete: Settings → Data & privacy → “Delete all data” removes your food, shopping list, savings history, edited names, saved barcode lookups, settings, a saved Claude key and temporary files. It also stops your reminders and weekly automatic backups. Only your free-trial and free-scan status is kept (start date, scans used this month, and whether Premium was bought), so the free plan can’t be restarted. It contains no personal information.

Uninstalling removes everything the app stores, except that small trial record: a copy is kept in your iPhone’s Keychain or Google’s Block Store on Android, so reinstalling doesn’t restart the trial. Your Premium purchase belongs to your Apple or Google account, not your phone, so you can restore it at any time. Backup files you exported, and copies in your phone’s system backup, are managed by you and by Apple or Google.

To remove your email from the waitlist, use the unsubscribe link in any email or contact us below.

Information on this website

If you sign up for early access, we collect your email address. It’s stored by our email service, Kit, and used only to invite you to the beta, announce the launch and, rarely, share major news about the app. Every email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can ask us to delete your address at any time.

Our website host, Cloudflare, processes basic technical information such as IP addresses to deliver the site. This website uses Cloudflare Web Analytics to count visits and see which pages are popular. It doesn’t use cookies and doesn’t track you across sites or build a profile of you.

Children

Shelf Shepherd isn’t directed at children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from them.

Changes and contact

Shelf Shepherd is made by Sinden Labs LLC, based in North Carolina (“we” or “us”). If this policy changes, we’ll update the date at the top of this page. Questions? Email [email protected].