Privacy policy

1. Who we are

Kovacs Software Solutions provides Meali: Food Journal (“Meali”) and this website and is responsible for the personal information described here. In this policy, “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Kovacs Software Solutions. Contact [email protected] with privacy questions or requests. This policy covers the app, its supporting service, this website, and communications with support.

2. Information we handle

• Journal information. Meal text, personal meal notes, dates, selected meal photos, food quantities, and nutrition estimates are stored on your device and synchronized to our service under an account identifier. These entries may reveal health information depending on what you include.
• Account and security information. A guest account may be created automatically so you can start without entering sign-in credentials. We handle account and installation identifiers, authentication tokens, and session information such as IP addresses to operate and protect the service. If you choose an available Apple or Google sign-in option, we receive the identifier and any name or email address that provider supplies.
• Voice and photos. When you use voice input, your recording is uploaded for transcription. When you choose photo input, the selected photos are uploaded for nutrition estimation. Camera and microphone permissions are optional. We do not request access to your entire photo library. Uploaded meal photos are re-encoded to remove embedded image metadata.
• Health profile and goals. Your health profile (birth date, sex used for calculations, height, current weight, and activity level), your goal, and your measurement units are stored on your device and synchronized to our service under your account identifier, so you do not need to set the app up again on another iPhone or after reinstalling. The current weight synchronized is the latest weight you entered yourself; a weight read from Apple Health is never sent. Nutrition targets are synchronized only when you set them yourself; targets the app calculates are calculated again on your device. This information is not used for AI processing and is deleted with your account.
• Information kept on your device. Your weight history, apart from the latest weight you entered as described above, and your reminder, notification and appearance preferences are stored locally by the app and are not synchronized to our service. Information you separately include in a meal note, photo, or support message is handled as that type of content instead. Device backups may include local app data according to your device settings.
• Apple Health. On iPhone, you can choose to connect Apple Health in Settings. When you do, the app saves the calories and nutrients of your meals and the weights you enter to Apple Health, and reads weights from Apple Health to add to your weight history. This happens only on your device: information read from or written to Apple Health is not sent to our service, shared with third parties, or used for advertising or marketing. You can turn this off at any time in the app and choose whether to remove the entries it added, and you can manage access in the Health settings on your iPhone.
• Purchases. Apple handles App Store payments and Google handles Google Play payments for Meali Pro. RevenueCat handles account identifiers, transaction history, subscription status, and entitlements to manage access. We do not receive full payment-card details.
• Support and website access. We receive your email address and the information you choose to send when contacting us. Website and service requests can generate technical logs, including IP addresses, request times, and error details. This website uses no advertising or analytics trackers, loads no third-party fonts, and does not collect meal information through its illustrative demo. Essential session cookies may be used by the website framework; they are not used for advertising.

3. AI processing and service providers

Our service sends meal text and selected meal photos to OpenAI to generate nutrition estimates. Voice recordings are sent to OpenAI for transcription, and the transcript is returned so you can review it. If OpenAI is unavailable, for example during an outage, the same content is sent to Google’s Gemini API instead so the estimate or transcript can still be produced. The application server deletes its temporary voice file after the transcription attempt. This does not mean that every service provider deletes all copies at that same moment.

AI providers process submitted content under their applicable service terms and retention settings. We ask OpenAI not to store our requests for later retrieval. For information about each provider’s API data handling, see OpenAI’s data controls documentation and the Gemini API terms. Only include information that you want processed for these features; you do not need to include your name or contact details in a meal note.

We also use infrastructure providers to host and secure the service, and an email provider to handle support. RevenueCat processes subscription information for Meali Pro. Relevant provider information is available in the RevenueCat privacy policy and Apple privacy policy. Providers receive the information needed for their role. Processing can occur in countries other than where you live, including the United States.

4. How we use and share information

We use information to save and synchronize your journal and your health profile and goals, estimate nutrition, transcribe recordings, authenticate and protect accounts, provide Meali Pro subscription access, respond to support requests, resolve technical problems, and meet applicable legal obligations.

We do not sell personal information, share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, or use your journal for targeted advertising. There is no public feed in the app. We disclose information to service providers as needed for the functions above, when required by law, or when reasonably necessary to protect users and the service. If you export or share your journal, you choose the destination; the recipient’s handling of that copy is outside our control.

Where applicable data protection law requires a legal basis, we rely on providing the service you request, consent where required (including for sensitive information), our legitimate interests in security and support, and legal obligations. You can stop using optional processing features and contact us to withdraw consent or request deletion. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that was lawful before withdrawal.

5. Retention, deletion, and security

We retain active journal and account data to provide the service until you delete it or request account deletion. Deleted meal entries remain recoverable for 30 days, after which scheduled cleanup removes them and their attached media. Unattached photo uploads are scheduled for cleanup after one day. Temporary voice files are deleted from the application server after transcription is attempted.

You can delete your account from Settings in the app. This removes the account and associated journal data from the active service. Technical, support, transaction, or legal records may be retained where needed for security, resolving a request, or meeting legal obligations. Copies in backups or provider systems may remain until their applicable retention periods expire. Deletion does not remove files you exported or copies held by someone with whom you shared them.

We use access controls and private media storage to protect information. No storage or transmission method can guarantee complete security. Protect your device, account access, and exported files. Uninstalling the app does not itself delete server data or cancel an App Store subscription.

6. Your choices and rights

• Edit or delete meal entries and export your journal from the app.
• Decline camera or microphone access, or change these permissions in your phone's settings.
• Turn Apple Health syncing on or off in the app's Settings, and remove the entries it added.
• Delete your account through Settings or contact us if you cannot access it.
• Manage device backups and subscriptions through your Apple account settings on iPhone, or through Google Play on Android.
• Contact [email protected] to request access, correction, deletion, or a copy of personal information we hold.

Depending on where you live, you may also have rights to restrict or object to processing, withdraw consent, or complain to your local data protection authority. We may need to verify that a request relates to your account. We will respond as required by applicable law and will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights. We cannot retrieve information that exists only on your device.

7. Children and wellness information

The service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has provided information, contact us so we can investigate and remove it as appropriate. Automated nutrition targets are available only to eligible adults. The app provides general wellness information, not medical advice.

8. Changes and contact

We may update this policy as the service changes. The date above identifies the latest version. We will provide additional notice or request consent for material changes where required by law.

For privacy questions or requests, email [email protected]. For help using the app, visit Support.