Foocat Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-07-07

Foocat is an app that helps you scan barcodes on cat food and calculate the carbohydrate content. This privacy policy describes what data the app handles, how it is used, and the choices you have. By using Foocat you accept the processing described below.

In short: Foocat requires no account, collects no personal data such as your name, email, or location, and uses no analytics, crash-reporting, or advertising tools.

What data we handle

Foocat has no login account. When the app starts for the first time, a random device ID (a UUID) is created. This ID contains no personal information and cannot be linked to you as a person — it is used solely to tie your submitted products, favorites, and ratings to your device.

The following data may be sent to our servers when you use the app’s features:

Barcodes (EAN) you scan or type in, to look up a product.
Recognized label text — when you analyze a nutrition label, the text is read directly on your device, and it is primarily only that recognized text (not the photo) that is sent to our servers. See the label-analysis section below.
Product and nutrition details you choose to submit (name, brand, protein, fat, fibre, moisture, ash, and similar values from the packaging).
Product photos you choose to upload. These are stored on our servers and may be shown to other users of the app alongside the product.
Favorites — the barcodes of the products you mark as favorites.
Ratings you give a product (a number from 1–10).
Your random device ID and timestamps for the above.

All traffic to our servers is encrypted via HTTPS.

Data stored only on your device

The following is stored locally on your device and is not automatically sent to us:

Your scan history (previously scanned products with nutrition values).
Your favorites list (synced to the server only when you add or remove a favorite).
Photos you have taken, in the app’s private storage.

You can delete this data directly in the app at any time.

How label analysis works

When you photograph a nutrition label, the text is normally read directly on your device (using Google ML Kit on Android and Apple’s text recognition on iOS). Only the recognized text — a few kilobytes — is then sent to our server, which uses Google’s Gemini service to interpret the nutrition values. The text is processed transiently and is not stored.

Only if on-device recognition fails is the photo itself sent to our server for analysis. Such photos are processed transiently and discarded immediately after analysis — they are not stored. (This applies to label analysis; product photos you choose to upload are stored as described in the list above.)

The app also offers an optional on-device analysis (using Gemini Nano on Android and Apple Intelligence on iOS) that can step in when the network is unreachable. It sends nothing at all, and can be turned off in the app’s settings.

Permissions

Camera — to scan barcodes and photograph nutrition labels. Barcode scanning happens locally on your device.
Internet and network state — to communicate with our servers.

Foocat does not request access to your location, contacts, microphone, or any hardware identifier.

Third-party services

Google Gemini (AI): Used on our server to interpret recognized label text (or, as a fallback, a label photo) as described above. The input is processed transiently and is not stored.
Google ML Kit / Apple text recognition: Barcode and text recognition happen locally on your device. No image data is sent to Google or Apple for this.
Cloudflare: Used for encryption (TLS) and caching of product images in transit between the app and our servers.

We use no analytics, crash-reporting, advertising, or tracking tools, and we send no push notifications.

Where your data is stored

Your data is stored on servers within the EU. Products you choose to submit may become visible to other users of the app.

We do not sell or rent your data. We do not share it with any third party beyond the Gemini flow described above, or where required by law.

Retention and your rights

Data on your device remains until you delete it in the app or uninstall the app. Data on the server (submitted products, favorites, and ratings) is tied to your anonymous device ID and is kept for as long as it is needed for the service.

Since there is no account, you are identified by your device ID. If you would like us to delete the data tied to your device, contact us at the address below and we will help you.

Children

Foocat is not directed at children and does not knowingly collect data about children.

Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy. The latest version is always available on this page, with the date of the most recent change at the top.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy, or want to request deletion of your data, contact:

Email: foocatcontact@gmail.com