MealMerlin Privacy Policy
Last updated: 24 June 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how MealMerlin (“MealMerlin”, “we”, “us”) collects, uses, and protects your information when you use the MealMerlin iOS app and related services. MealMerlin is operated by Pasito Tola. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use the app.
Contact for any privacy question or request: passytotola@gmail.com.
1. Summary of what we collect
| Category | Examples | Why we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Account information | Email address, display name, sign-in method | Create and secure your account, sign you in |
| Profile and goals | Goal, activity level, calorie and macro targets | Personalise your nutrition targets and dashboard |
| Health and nutrition data | Logged meals, calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat, water intake, body weight, and activity or body metrics read from Apple Health | Track your intake, show progress, and generate weekly insights |
| Photos | Meal photos, profile and progress photos | Identify foods from a photo, show your meals and progress |
| Voice input | Spoken meal descriptions (converted to text on your device) | Let you log meals by voice |
| Purchase data | Subscription status and purchase history | Manage your subscription and unlock paid features |
| Identifiers | Account ID, push notification token | Link your data to your account, deliver notifications |
We do not use your data for third-party advertising, and we do not track you across other companies’ apps or websites.
2. Information we collect
Account information
When you create an account, you sign in with an email address and password or with Sign in with Apple. We collect your email address, the display name you provide, and an account identifier. If you use Sign in with Apple and choose to hide your email, we receive an Apple private relay address rather than your personal email.
Profile and goals
You provide details such as your goal, activity level, and calorie target so the app can calculate and personalise your nutrition plan.
Health and nutrition data
MealMerlin records the meals, calories, macronutrients, and water you log, along with body weight entries you add. With your permission, the app can read activity and body metrics from Apple Health to personalise your dashboard, and can write logged nutrition and water back to Apple Health. You control this access in the Health app and can turn it off at any time.
Photos
When you photograph a meal or a barcode, or choose a profile or progress photo from your photo library, MealMerlin uses that image. Meal photos are sent to our server for food analysis (see “AI analysis” below). The app accesses your camera and photo library only for these purposes.
Voice input
When you log a meal by voice, your speech is converted to text on your device using Apple’s speech recognition. MealMerlin does not save an audio recording, and the audio is not sent to our servers. Only the resulting text description is used to create your food log.
Purchase data
If you buy a subscription, our payments partner records your subscription status and purchase history linked to your account identifier. Apple processes the payment. We never receive your full card or payment details.
Identifiers and notifications
We assign your account an identifier so your data syncs to the right account. If you enable notifications, we store a push notification token so we can send reminders and updates. You can turn off notifications in iOS Settings.
Barcode scans
When you scan a packaged-food barcode, the barcode number is sent to the Open Food Facts database to look up product and nutrition information. The barcode itself is a product code and is not personal to you.
3. AI analysis
To estimate nutrition from a meal photo or a typed or spoken meal description, and to generate weekly insights and meal suggestions, MealMerlin sends the relevant content (for example, the meal photo, the meal description, or your daily calorie and macro totals) to our server. Our server uses a third-party AI provider, OpenAI, to process that content and return an estimate. This content is used only to give you the result you asked for. We do not allow it to be used to train third-party advertising models, and it is not used to track you.
4. How we use your information
We use the information described above to: create and secure your account; calculate and personalise your nutrition targets; analyse meal photos and descriptions; record and display your logs, progress, and weekly insights; sync your data across your sessions and devices; manage your subscription; send notifications you have enabled; respond to your support requests; and keep the app working, safe, and free of abuse. We do not sell your personal information.
5. Apple Health data
Data that MealMerlin reads from or writes to Apple Health is used only to provide app features you request, such as personalising your dashboard and keeping your nutrition data in sync. We do not use Apple Health data for advertising or marketing, we do not sell it, and we do not share it with third parties for their own purposes. We do not send Apple Health data to our AI provider.
6. How your information is shared
We share information only with service providers that help us run MealMerlin, and only as needed to provide the app:
| Provider | Role |
|---|---|
| Google Firebase | Account sign-in, cloud database that stores your synced data, and push notification delivery |
| OpenAI | Processes meal photos and descriptions to estimate nutrition and generate insights |
| Railway | Hosts the MealMerlin server that coordinates the analysis described above |
| RevenueCat | Manages subscriptions and purchase status |
| Open Food Facts | Provides product information for scanned barcodes |
| Apple | Sign in with Apple, on-device speech recognition, Apple Health, and App Store payment processing |
We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect our rights or the safety of users, or in connection with a business transfer. Each provider is permitted to use your information only to perform its service for us.
7. Data retention
We keep your account and logged data for as long as your account is active. Meal photos and descriptions sent for analysis are processed to return your result and are not retained by our AI provider for its own purposes. When you delete your account, we delete your profile, meal history, logs, and reports as described below.
8. Your rights and choices
You can review and edit your profile and logged data in the app at any time. You can delete your account and its data directly in the app under Profile, using “Delete Account”. This removes your profile, meal history, reports, and account. You can also turn off camera, microphone, photo library, notifications, and Apple Health access in iOS Settings.
Depending on where you live, you may have rights under the UK GDPR and EU GDPR, including the right to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal data, and to object to or restrict certain processing. If you are in California, you have rights under the CCPA, including the right to know, delete, and correct your personal information, and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising those rights. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising. To make a request, email passytotola@gmail.com. You may also withdraw consent or complain to your local data protection authority.
9. Data security
Connections between the app, our server, and our providers use encryption in transit (HTTPS). Access to your synced data is restricted to your authenticated account. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.
10. International data transfers
Our service providers may process and store your information in countries outside your own, including the United States. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for these transfers.
11. Children’s privacy
MealMerlin is not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the date at the top and, where appropriate, notify you in the app. Continued use of MealMerlin after an update means you accept the revised policy.
13. Contact us
Questions or requests about this policy or your data: passytotola@gmail.com. MealMerlin is operated by Pasito Tola. This policy applies to the MealMerlin iOS app and its supporting services.