MealTag Privacy Policy
Last updated:
TL;DR: MealTag stores your food log on your device and in your private iCloud account. The only external server contact is a barcode lookup to the Open Food Facts API — no personal data is included. Apple Health data is read locally to display your activity and is never transmitted outside your device. There are no ads and no data is sold.
1. Overview
This Privacy Policy describes how Rocky River Software, LLC handles information in connection with the MealTag iOS application ("the app"). MealTag is a food barcode scanner and nutrition logger for iPhone and iPad.
MealTag is designed with privacy at its core. Your food diary, goals, and custom foods are stored on your device and in your private iCloud account. The only outbound network request made during normal use is a barcode lookup to the Open Food Facts public API — no personal information is included in that request.
MealTag does not display advertising, does not sell user data, does not require an account, and does not include any third-party analytics or tracking SDKs.
2. Data Stored on Your Device and iCloud
MealTag stores the following data locally on your device using Apple's SwiftData framework. This data also syncs to your private iCloud container via Apple's CloudKit service so it is available across all your devices signed in to the same Apple ID.
- Your food log — logged meals and snacks with food name, brand, nutrition values, serving size, and timestamp
- Your daily nutrition goals (calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat, and other nutrients)
- Custom food entries you create manually
- Saved foods (favorites) for quick relogging
- Nutrient visibility preferences
iCloud sync: Your data is synced using a private iCloud container. This means your data is associated with your personal Apple ID and is not visible to Rocky River Software or any other user. Apple's iCloud terms and privacy policy govern how that data is stored and protected on Apple's infrastructure. See Apple's privacy policy.
Rocky River Software does not operate a database of user food logs and cannot access your MealTag data.
3. Device Permissions
MealTag may request the following permissions. Each is used only for the stated purpose.
Camera
Required for the live barcode scanner. MealTag activates the camera only while the scanner is open and in use. Camera frames are processed on-device using Apple's AVFoundation and Vision frameworks to detect a barcode. Camera images are not stored by MealTag and are not transmitted to any server.
Photo Library
Optional. Used to select a photo of a barcode from your library as an alternative to live scanning. The selected image is processed on-device to extract the barcode and is not transmitted or stored by MealTag beyond the barcode value itself.
Apple Health (HealthKit)
Optional. See Section 4 for full details. MealTag requests read-only access to activity data solely to display it alongside your nutrition on your dashboard.
4. Apple Health (HealthKit)
Health Data Disclosure
MealTag will not use or disclose health or fitness data obtained from Apple HealthKit to any third party for advertising, marketing, or other use-based data mining purposes. Health data obtained from HealthKit will not be sold. MealTag uses HealthKit data solely to display your activity information within the app to support your personal nutrition and health management.
If you choose to connect Apple Health, MealTag requests read-only access to the following data types:
- Active Energy Burned — calories burned through workouts and movement, as recorded by your iPhone or Apple Watch
- Step Count — daily steps recorded by your iPhone or Apple Watch
- Workouts — duration and count of workouts logged in the Apple Health app
This data is used exclusively to display your activity alongside your nutrition intake on the MealTag daily dashboard, giving you a more complete picture of your energy balance. It is processed on-device and is not transmitted to Rocky River Software or any third party.
MealTag does not write any data to Apple Health.
Your HealthKit data is never used for advertising, profiling, or any purpose other than displaying activity information within MealTag on your device.
You can revoke MealTag's access to Apple Health at any time by going to Settings > Health > Data Access & Devices > MealTag on your iPhone and adjusting the permissions.
5. Server Communication
MealTag makes one type of outbound network request during normal use:
Open Food Facts API — Barcode Lookup
When you scan a barcode, MealTag sends the barcode number (e.g., 0123456789012) to the Open Food Facts API at https://world.openfoodfacts.org over HTTPS and receives the matching product name and nutrition data.
A barcode is a product identifier — it identifies a food item, not a person. No personal information (name, email, Apple ID, device ID, or location) is included in this request. Open Food Facts is a free, open-source project and is not a commercial data broker. See Open Food Facts terms.
All other data operations — food logging, goal tracking, saved foods, and Health data display — occur entirely on-device or through your private iCloud account. Rocky River Software does not operate a backend server that receives your food log or personal data.
iCloud sync is handled by Apple's CloudKit framework and governed by Apple's privacy policy. Rocky River Software cannot access data stored in your private iCloud container.
6. Third-Party Services
MealTag uses the following external services. Rocky River Software does not share personal user information with any of these providers beyond what is described.
- Open Food Facts (world.openfoodfacts.org) — A free, open-source food product database used to retrieve nutrition data for scanned barcodes. Only the barcode number is sent; no personal data is transmitted. See Open Food Facts terms.
- Apple CloudKit / iCloud — Used for private, cross-device sync of your food log and settings. Data is stored in your personal iCloud account and is not accessible to Rocky River Software. See Apple's privacy policy.
- Apple HealthKit — Used to read activity data (see Section 4). Read-only access; no data is written or shared. See Apple's privacy policy.
- Apple AVFoundation & Vision frameworks — Used for on-device barcode detection via the camera. All processing occurs on-device; no data is transmitted to Apple as part of barcode detection.
MealTag does not integrate any third-party analytics SDKs, advertising networks, crash reporting services, or social media frameworks.
7. No Advertising
MealTag is a free app with no advertisements. It does not use advertising identifiers (IDFA or similar), does not display third-party ads, and does not participate in any ad network or data exchange. Rocky River Software does not sell user data to advertisers or data brokers.
8. Children's Privacy
MealTag is not directed at children under 13. The app does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Because no account is required and no personal data is transmitted to Rocky River Software's servers, the risk of inadvertent data collection from minors is minimal.
If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child under 13 has somehow provided personal information to Rocky River Software outside the normal operation of the app, please contact us at the address below and we will take steps to delete it.
9. Security
Your food log data is encrypted at rest by iOS on your device and protected by your device passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID where enabled. Data synced via iCloud is encrypted in transit and at rest by Apple in accordance with Apple's security practices.
The only network request MealTag makes — a barcode lookup to Open Food Facts — is sent over HTTPS (TLS) and contains no personal identifiers.
Apple Health data accessed by MealTag is protected by iOS's HealthKit security model, which requires your explicit per-type permission and enforces access controls at the operating system level.
10. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in the app, new features, or legal requirements. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Material changes may also be noted in the app's App Store release notes.
Your continued use of MealTag after any changes indicates your acceptance of the updated policy.
11. Contact
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how MealTag handles your information, please contact us:
Rocky River Software, LLC