Privacy Policy
Last updated: July 19, 2026
This Privacy Policy describes how Victor Chung (“I”, “me”, or “the publisher”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use the SimpleCalories Android application (the “App”).
Contact: victorchung2013@gmail.com
1. Who this applies to
This policy applies to people who install and use SimpleCalories on Android. The App is published by Victor Chung as an individual, not as a registered company named “SimpleCalories.”
2. Information we collect
Depending on how you use the App, we may process:
Account and identity
- Google account identifiers and basic profile details provided through Google Sign-In (such as Google user ID, display name, and email), used to create and authenticate your cloud account.
Profile and health / fitness data you enter or sync
- Profile settings (for example goals, units, onboarding choices)
- Food and meal logs
- Weight logs
- Step / activity data when you connect Health Connect or otherwise record steps in the App
- Custom foods you create
When you are signed in, this data is synced to our cloud backend (hosted database) so it is available across devices and recoverable after reinstall.
Photos
- Meal photos you take or pick in the App are stored on your device.
- If you use AI meal scan, a photo may be sent to our backend and forwarded to Google Gemini to estimate food and nutrition. Meal photos are not included in the regular cloud sync push of your food log history.
App activity and diagnostics
- Crash reports and related diagnostic breadcrumbs via Firebase Crashlytics (and Firebase Analytics used to support Crashlytics)
- Technical request data needed to operate the API (for example authentication tokens, timestamps, and error responses)
Search and catalog lookups
When you search for foods or scan barcodes, queries may be sent through our backend to third-party nutrition databases (when configured), such as USDA, Open Food Facts, FatSecret, and Nutritionix.
Community food catalog
If you submit a product to the community catalog, we store the product details you submit and associate the submission with your account while your account exists. After account deletion, the catalog entry may remain for other users, but the submitter link is anonymized (cleared).
3. How we use information
We use the information above to:
- Authenticate you and operate your account
- Sync and back up your profile and logs
- Provide food search, barcode lookup, and (when enabled) AI meal scanning
- Moderate and share community food submissions
- Diagnose crashes and improve reliability
- Comply with legal obligations where applicable
We do not sell your personal information. The App does not use advertising SDKs or the advertising ID for ads in the current implementation.
4. How we share information
We share data only as needed to run the App:
| Recipient | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Google (Sign-In) | Account authentication |
| Google Gemini | AI meal photo analysis when you use AI scan |
| Firebase (Google) | Crash reporting / diagnostics |
| Our backend & database hosting (e.g. Neon Postgres) | Account, sync, community catalog, API |
| Object storage used for encrypted database backups (e.g. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure) | Operational backups of the server database |
| USDA / Open Food Facts / FatSecret / Nutritionix | Food search and barcode nutrition lookup when those integrations are configured |
| Device Health Connect | Reading or writing activity data you authorize |
Service providers process data under their own terms and privacy policies.
5. Storage, security, and retention
- Data in transit to our backend is protected with HTTPS / TLS.
- Meal photos remain on-device unless you use AI scan (then they are transmitted for analysis as described above).
- Signed-in profile and log data are stored in our cloud database.
- We maintain encrypted operational backups of the server database. Backup copies are retained for roughly 30 days, then age out under the backup retention schedule.
- Local App data remains on your device until you clear it, uninstall, or delete your account (see below).
6. Account deletion
You can delete your account from Settings → Delete account in the App.
When you delete your account:
- Your cloud account and synced personal data are deleted from the live database (including cascade of related user-owned rows).
- You are signed out on the device.
- Local App database data and on-device meal photos are removed from the device.
- Community food contributions may remain in the shared catalog with the submitter identity anonymized.
- Encrypted operational backups may still contain residual copies of server data for up to about 30 days until those backups expire.
7. Children’s privacy
The App is not directed to children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your region). Do not use the App if you are under that age.
8. Changes
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top will change when we do. Continued use of the App after an update means you accept the revised policy.
9. Contact
Questions about privacy or this policy:
Victor Chung
Email: victorchung2013@gmail.com