Pintos App Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Pintos ("we," "our," or "us"). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application (the "App") and related services.

Pintos is developed and operated in Ireland and is available to a worldwide audience. As we are based in Ireland, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to our processing of personal data. This policy is designed to comply with the GDPR, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other applicable global privacy laws.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access or use the App.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with you or your device ("Personal Information").

A. Information You Provide to Us

• Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, password, profile photo, and authentication data (via Firebase, Apple Sign-In, or Google Sign-In).
• Profile and Preference Data: To personalize your experience, we collect information such as your dietary preferences, household size, cooking skill level, measurement system preferences, and locale.
• User-Generated Content: We collect the data you create and manage within the App, including grocery lists, recipes, meal plans, and customized store layouts.
• Communications: If you contact us directly for support or feedback, we collect your name, email address, and the contents of your message.

B. Information Collected Automatically

• Usage Data: We automatically collect data regarding your interaction with the App, such as screens visited, features used, and timestamps. We use PostHog to analyze this usage data to improve our services.
• Device and Diagnostic Data: We collect information about your mobile device, including the hardware model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, and crash reports. We use Sentry to track errors and ensure the stability of the App.
• Location Data: With your explicit permission, we may collect your coarse or fine location data while you use the App to identify nearby supermarkets and optimize your shopping experience. You can enable or disable location services at any time through your device settings.

C. Camera and Photo Library Access

With your explicit permission, the App may access your device's camera and photo library. This allows you to:

• Set a profile picture.
• Take or upload photos of recipes or ingredients for processing.
• Please Note: Photos uploaded by users to our servers for processing are strictly retained for a maximum of 7 days before being automatically deleted from our systems.

D. Purchase and Subscription Data

If you purchase a Pintos Pro subscription, your payment is processed directly by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play Store). We use RevenueCat to manage subscription statuses within the App. We do not collect or store your full credit card details or billing address.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including to:

• Provide and Maintain the App: Create your account, authenticate you, and deliver the core functionality of Pintos (grocery lists, recipes, meal plans).
• Personalize Your Experience: Tailor recipes and app features based on your dietary and household preferences.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Features: Process your text inputs and uploaded images (e.g., photos of recipes) using Google's Gemini API to generate digitized recipes and insights.
• Process Payments: Manage your subscriptions and "Pinto Beans" balance via RevenueCat.
• Improve the App: Analyze usage patterns and debug crashes using PostHog and Sentry so we can enhance performance and build better features.
• Communicate With You: Send you push notifications (if enabled), updates, transactional emails, and respond to your support requests.
• Legal Compliance: Protect our rights, comply with applicable legal obligations, and enforce our terms of service.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your information with third parties only in the following situations:

• Service Providers: We share your data with trusted third-party vendors who perform services on our behalf:
  • Google Cloud & Firebase: For robust database storage (Firestore is hosted in the us-central region), serverless functions, and user authentication.
  • Google Gemini API: For processing recipe generation and AI features.
  • PostHog: For product analytics and understanding user behavior.
  • Sentry: For error tracking and crash reporting.
  • RevenueCat: For managing App Store and Google Play subscriptions.
• Other Users: If you choose to share a grocery list or a recipe with other users, your relevant profile information (e.g., name, profile picture) and the shared content will be visible to them.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety or the safety of others, or investigate fraud.
• Business Transfers: If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

5. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Processing

Pintos utilizes the Gemini API (provided by Google) to power "AI Magic" features. When you use these features (for example, analyzing a photo of a recipe or generating a meal plan), the text and images you provide are sent to Google's servers for processing.

• No Training on Your Data: As per Google Cloud's terms for the API, your inputs and generated outputs are not used by Google to train their foundational AI models.
• Data Minimization: We only send the data strictly necessary for the AI to perform the requested task.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy:

• Account Data: Retained until you request account deletion.
• Uploaded Photos: Any photos you upload for recipe or ingredient processing are deleted automatically after 7 days.
• Usage & Diagnostic Data: Retained for a limited period in accordance with the retention policies of PostHog and Sentry.

7. International Data Transfers

Pintos is developed in Ireland, but our servers and primary service providers (e.g., Google Cloud us-central) are located in the United States. If you are accessing the App from the European Economic Area (EEA), the UK, or other regions with laws governing data collection and use, please note that your personal data will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States.

We ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place for these transfers, typically by relying on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission, and ensuring our partners comply with strong data protection standards.

8. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have specific rights regarding your personal data:

A. European Economic Area (EEA) and UK (GDPR)

If you are a resident of the EEA or UK, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data.
• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): Request deletion of your personal data (you can delete your account directly within the App settings).
• Restriction: Request that we restrict the processing of your data.
• Data Portability: Request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time where we relied on consent to process your information (e.g., location or camera permissions).

B. California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

• Right to Know about personal information collected, disclosed, or sold.
• Right to Request Deletion of your personal information.
• Right to Opt-Out of the sale or sharing of your personal information (Note: We do not sell your personal information).
• Right to Non-Discrimination for exercising your privacy rights.

9. Security of Your Information

We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your personal information. Our database (Firestore) utilizes robust security rules to ensure you can only access your own data. While we have taken reasonable steps to secure the personal information you provide, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse.

10. Children's Privacy

The App is not intended for children under the age of 13 (or 16 in certain jurisdictions like the EU). We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated "Effective Date" and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us at: