プライバシーポリシー / Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

SoothEats ("we," "our," or "the App") is a personal wellness and food tracking application designed to help users manage their daily nutrition. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use SoothEats.

SoothEats is NOT a medical device and does NOT provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The App is intended for general wellness and personal health information tracking only.

2. Information We Collect

Account Information:

• Email address (for authentication)
• Profile photo (optional, stored as compressed image)
• Account creation date

Health and Wellness Data:

• Health status (self-reported remission/active period)
• Daily fat intake target
• Meal logs (foods eaten, amounts, fat content, meal type, date)
• Stomach condition ratings (1-5 scale)
• Health logs (stomach pain, bowel movements, stool condition, energy level)
• Medication names, frequency, and adherence records
• Dietary restrictions and allergens (NG ingredients)
• Favorite recipes and food items

AI Analysis Data:

• Food photos uploaded for AI analysis (processed temporarily, not permanently stored)
• AI-estimated nutritional information (calories, fat, protein)

Usage Data:

• Anonymous usage analytics via Google Analytics 4 (page views, feature usage events such as meal logging and AI photo analysis, device type, browser, approximate location derived from IP). IP addresses are anonymized by Google before storage.
• Cookies and local storage used by Google Analytics for session continuity

3. How We Use Your Information

• Provide meal tracking, health logging, and nutrition analysis features
• Generate personal health reports (PDF) at your request
• Display personalized food recommendations based on your preferences
• Analyze food photos using AI to estimate nutritional content
• Improve the App's features and user experience

We do NOT sell your personal information. We do NOT use your health data for advertising purposes.

4. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored on Google Cloud (Firebase) infrastructure with the following security measures:

• Data encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest
• Firestore security rules ensure only you can access your own data
• Authentication required for all personal data access
• No direct database access from outside the application

5. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

• Google Firebase: Authentication, data storage (Firestore), hosting
• Google Cloud Functions: AI food photo analysis processing
• Google Gemini AI: Food photo analysis (images are processed temporarily and not retained)
• Google Analytics 4: Anonymous usage analytics. You can opt out by enabling Do Not Track in your browser, installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, or using private/incognito mode.

These services are governed by Google's Privacy Policy.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access: View all personal data we store about you
• Correction: Update or correct your personal information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and all associated data
• Data Portability: Export your health data
• Withdraw Consent: Stop using the App at any time

To exercise these rights, contact us at the email address listed below.

7. California Residents (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the right to know what personal information we collect and share, the right to delete your personal information, and the right to opt out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information.

Health and wellness data collected by this App is considered "sensitive personal information" under CCPA. We only use this data to provide you with the App's core functionality as described in this policy.

8. Washington Residents (My Health My Data Act)

If you are a Washington state resident, you have rights under the Washington My Health My Data Act regarding your consumer health data. This includes the right to access your health data, request deletion, and withdraw consent for data collection. We collect consumer health data only with your consent and only for the purposes described in this policy.

8b. International Users (UK / Australia / Singapore)

Cross-border data transfer: SoothEats stores user data on Google Firebase servers located in Japan (asia-northeast1 region). If you access the App from outside Japan, your data will be transferred to and processed in Japan. Japan has been recognized as providing adequate data protection by the European Commission (2019 adequacy decision) and is treated as a country with comparable protection by the UK ICO, the Australian OAIC, and the Singapore PDPC.

Explicit consent for health data: Where required by local law (UK GDPR Article 9, Australian Privacy Act APP 3, Singapore PDPA Health Information requirements), we collect and process your health-related data (meal logs, symptom logs, medication records) only with your explicit consent, given via the in-app consent dialog at first use.

Withdrawal of consent: You may withdraw consent at any time through Settings → Privacy → Withdraw consent. Withdrawal will prevent further sync of new data to our servers, but does not retroactively affect lawful processing prior to withdrawal. You may also request full data deletion via Settings → Account → Delete account.

UK users: Lawful basis under UK GDPR is consent (Article 6(1)(a)) for personal data and explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a)) for health data. We have not designated a UK representative as we do not regularly monitor data subjects in the UK on a large scale (UK GDPR Article 27 exemption); for any data protection enquiry, contact us at the email below.

Australian users: Cross-border disclosure to Japan is made pursuant to APP 8.2(a) (Japan provides substantially similar protection). We do not disclose health information except as necessary to provide the App.

Singapore users: Transfer to Japan is made under PDPA section 26 (comparable standard of protection). For PDPA-related questions, contact us at the email below.

9. Children's Privacy

SoothEats is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete the information.

10. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you request account deletion, we will delete all personal data within 30 days. Food photos submitted for AI analysis are processed temporarily and are not permanently stored.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting a notice within the App. Your continued use of the App after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. AI & Automated Decision-Making Technology (ADMT)

SoothEats uses Google Gemini AI to analyze food photos and estimate nutritional values including calories, fat, and protein content. This constitutes Automated Decision-Making Technology (ADMT) as defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) 2026 amendment.

What ADMT is used for:

• Analyzing food photos to identify dishes and ingredients
• Estimating nutritional values (calories, fat, protein) from food images
• Matching AI-identified foods against our internal database for more accurate data

AI Model:

We use Google Gemini (via Google Cloud) for food photo analysis. Images are processed temporarily and are not permanently stored by Google or SoothEats.

Limitations:

• AI estimates are approximate and may differ from actual nutritional values
• Accuracy depends on photo quality, lighting, and food presentation
• AI may not correctly identify all dishes, especially regional or uncommon foods

How to Opt Out:

You can opt out of AI-based analysis simply by not using the photo analysis feature. All other app features (manual meal logging, recipe browsing, food search, health logging) remain fully available without AI processing.

Right to Contest:

You have the right to contest any AI-estimated values. After AI analysis, you can manually edit, override, or remove any AI-estimated nutritional values in your meal log. You are never required to accept AI estimates.

13. Contact Us

For privacy inquiries, data access requests, or data deletion requests, please contact us at:

sootheats.app@gmail.com