Privacy Policy

1.1  GroboFood ("we", "our", or "us") is a Canadian food-tech platform operated out of Ontario, Canada. We connect health-conscious consumers with local food vendors, and provide nutrition tracking, meal planning, and community tools through our mobile application (the "App").

1.2  This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use the GroboFood App.

2.1  Information You Provide Directly

(a) Account: name, email address, and password when you register.

(b) Profile: avatar photo, bio, dietary preferences, and creator identity (e.g. home cook, chef, nutritionist).

(c) Health & Nutrition Data: daily food logs, macronutrient and calorie goals, weight measurements, fasting schedules, and body stats entered in the App. This is sensitive health data — see Section 4.

(d) Recipes & Content: recipes you create, import, or share; meal plans; posts; "Made This!" entries and associated photos; comments and reviews.

(e) Orders: delivery/pickup details, order notes, and communications with vendors when you place an order.

(f) Vendor Information (operators only): business name, address, hours, product listings, banking details submitted for Stripe Connect payouts, and cover images.

2.2  Information Collected Automatically

(a) Device & App Data: device model, OS version, app version, crash logs, and performance data.

(b) Usage Data: screens viewed, features used, interactions, and session duration. Used only to improve the App and not sold.

(c) Location Data: precise or approximate location when you grant permission. Used to show nearby vendors on the map. You can revoke this in your device settings at any time.

2.3  Camera & Photos

(a) The camera is used for AI-powered food scanning (via FatSecret Image Recognition, primary, and Google Gemini 2.5 Vision, fallback) and to upload photos to posts or your profile.

(b) Food scan images are transmitted to our server-side Supabase Edge Function, which routes them to FatSecret Image Recognition (primary) or Google Gemini 2.5 Vision (fallback) for nutritional analysis. Images are not stored by us after the response is received.

(c) Photos you attach to posts or your profile are stored on our servers.

2.4  Information from Third Parties

(a) FatSecret: food scan images are sent (via our server-side Supabase Edge Function) to the FatSecret Image Recognition API. FatSecret returns nutritional data only; we do not share your account identity with FatSecret. FatSecret's Privacy Policy governs their data handling.

(b) Google Gemini: when FatSecret is unavailable or unable to identify a food item, images are sent (via our server-side Supabase Edge Function) to Google Gemini 2.5 Vision as a fallback. Google returns nutritional analysis only; we do not share your account identity with Google. Google's Privacy Policy governs their data handling.

(c) Stripe: payment card and banking information is collected and processed by Stripe under their own Privacy Policy. We store only the Stripe customer ID and payment-intent reference — never raw card numbers.

(d) Supabase: our backend database, authentication, and file storage are powered by Supabase.

(e) Sentry: error tracking and crash reporting to help us identify and fix bugs. Sentry receives anonymised diagnostic data and stack traces. Sentry's Privacy Policy (sentry.io) governs their data handling.

(f) Upstash Redis: response caching for AI scan results to improve performance and reduce redundant API calls. Cached data is stored temporarily and does not include personally identifiable information. Upstash's Privacy Policy (upstash.com) governs their data handling.

(g) Mapbox: map rendering for vendor location display. Mapbox receives approximate location data only when you view the vendor map. Mapbox's Privacy Policy (mapbox.com) governs their data handling.

3.1  We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

(a) Account & Authentication: to create and manage your account and verify your identity.

(b) Core App Features: to log nutrition, generate meal plans, display your recipe library, and power the social feed.

(c) AI & Personalisation: to personalise vendor and recipe recommendations, generate AI-assisted meal plans, and provide nutritional insights through the Nutrition Advisor.

(d) Marketplace & Orders: to facilitate orders, share necessary fulfillment details with the relevant vendor, and process payments via Stripe.

(e) Social Features: to display your public profile, posts, and recipes to users you choose to share content with; to power the follow/follower system.

(f) Communications: to send transactional notifications (order updates, vendor claim status) and, with your consent, feature announcements.

(g) Safety & Fraud Prevention: to detect fraudulent activity and enforce our Terms of Service.

(h) Legal Compliance: to meet obligations under Canadian law and respond to lawful requests.

3.2  No Sale of Data. We do NOT sell, rent, or trade your personal information — including your health and nutrition data — to any third party for advertising or commercial purposes.

4.1  The App lets you log detailed health information including food intake, calories, macronutrients, weight, and fasting data. We treat this data as sensitive and apply enhanced protections:

(a) Health data is never shared with advertisers or third-party data brokers.

(b) Health data shared publicly (e.g. a "Made This!" post or a shared meal plan) is shared only at your explicit direction.

(c) Nutritional data transmitted to FatSecret, Google Gemini, or AI recipe services is used solely for the analysis you requested and is not retained by us for profiling.

(d) You can delete your entire food log and health history at any time from the Settings screen.

5.1  We may share your information in the following circumstances:

(a) With Vendors: when you place an order, we share your name and fulfillment details with the relevant vendor. Your email and health data are not shared.

(b) With Payment Processors: Stripe processes all payments. We share only what Stripe requires. Stripe's Privacy Policy governs their data handling.

(c) With Third-Party Services: Supabase (database/auth/storage), FatSecret (food recognition), Google Gemini (AI vision fallback), Sentry (error tracking), Upstash (caching), and Mapbox (mapping) are bound by contract to handle your data only as instructed by us.

(d) Public Content: profile bios, posts, recipes, and meal plans you mark as public are visible to all App users.

(e) Legal Requirements: we may disclose information if required by law, regulation, or court order, or to protect the rights and safety of GroboFood or its users.

(f) Business Transfers: if GroboFood is acquired or merges with another entity, we will notify you of any changes to how your data is handled.

6.1  Primary Storage. Your data is stored on Supabase-managed servers, which may be located in the United States. By using the App, you consent to the transfer of your personal information outside Canada, subject to appropriate safeguards consistent with PIPEDA.

6.2  AI Processing. FatSecret and Google Gemini servers may be located outside Canada. This processing is limited to food recognition and nutritional analysis only, and no account-linked data is transmitted. All AI processing is routed through a GroboFood-operated Supabase Edge Function — images are never sent directly from the client device to third-party AI providers.

6.3  Payment Processing. Stripe's servers are primarily in the United States and Europe.

6.4  Ancillary Services. Sentry (error tracking) servers are located in the United States. Upstash Redis (caching) servers may be located in the United States. Mapbox (mapping) servers are located in the United States. All transfers are subject to contractual safeguards.

7.1  We implement the following technical and organisational safeguards to protect your personal information:

(a) All data in transit is encrypted using TLS/SSL.

(b) Data at rest is encrypted at the database level.

(c) Access to user data is restricted using Supabase Row-Level Security (RLS) — you can only access your own data.

(d) All AI food-scan requests are processed server-side through our Supabase Edge Function. Images are transmitted securely from the App to our server, which then routes them to FatSecret or Google Gemini — the client device never communicates directly with third-party AI providers. API keys are stored exclusively on the server and are never exposed to the client.

(e) Authentication tokens are stored securely and rotated regularly.

(f) Stripe handles all payment data under PCI-DSS compliance.

7.2  Breach Notification. While we take reasonable precautions, no digital system is completely immune to security risks. In the event of a data breach posing a real risk of significant harm, we will notify affected users and the relevant Privacy Commissioner as required by Canadian law.

8.1  Under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), you have the following rights:

(a) Access: request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

(b) Correction: request that we correct any inaccurate personal information.

(c) Withdraw Consent: withdraw consent for non-essential data processing at any time (note: this may limit certain features).

(d) Deletion: request that your account and personal data be deleted. Health data is purged immediately; transaction records are retained for 7 years as required by tax law.

(e) Transparency: understand what personal information we hold and how it is used.

8.2  To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@grobofood.com or use the "Delete Account" option in Settings. We will respond within 30 days.

9.1  We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected:

(a) Active account data: retained while your account is active.

(b) Deleted account: profile and health data are deleted within 30 days of account deletion.

(c) Posts & public content: anonymised or deleted within 30 days of account deletion.

(d) Order & transaction records: retained for 7 years in accordance with Canadian tax and accounting law.

(e) Backup snapshots: purged within 90 days of account deletion.

10.1  The App uses secure local storage on your device to:

(a) Maintain your authenticated session.

(b) Cache user preferences and settings.

(c) Store recent food search results for faster offline access.

10.2  We do not use third-party advertising cookies or cross-site tracking. We do not embed tracking pixels.

11.1  GroboFood is not directed at children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16.

11.2  If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has created an account, please contact us at privacy@grobofood.com and we will promptly delete the account and associated data.

12.1  The App may display links to vendor websites or social media profiles. These external sites are not governed by this Privacy Policy.

12.2  Vendor profiles may include information sourced from public directories. If you are a vendor and wish to correct or remove your listing, please contact us at vendors@grobofood.com.

13.1  We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will:

(a) Display a prominent notice in the App.

(b) Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy.

(c) Where required by law, obtain your renewed consent.

13.2  Continued use of the App after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

14.1  For privacy questions, data requests, or complaints, please contact:

14.2  If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at www.priv.gc.ca.