Privacy Policy

Last updated: 5 August 2026

HelalScan (“we,” “us”) helps you check whether a product's ingredients are permissible. We built the app to need as little of your data as possible. This policy explains exactly what we do and don't collect.

The short version: No account. No advertising. No third-party tracking. Photos you take for text recognition never leave your device — only text does. The most we receive is the barcode you scan and any ingredient text you choose to submit.

What we collect

A random device identifier	Created on first launch and stored securely in your device's system keychain. It lets us keep your scan history and prevent abuse. It is not linked to your name, email, or Apple ID.
Barcodes you scan	Sent to our server over HTTPS to look up the product and return a verdict. Scans may be recorded to measure coverage and improve accuracy.
Ingredient text you submit	If you use “Add a missing product” or suggest a correction, the text you type or confirm is sent to us and stored to improve the shared database.

What we do not collect

Accounts or personal identity	Never No sign-up, name, email, phone, or Apple ID is required or collected.
Photos or images	Never Text recognition (OCR) runs entirely on your device. Images are processed on-device and are never uploaded.
Location	Never The app does not request or use your location.
Advertising / tracking IDs	Never No advertising identifier, no cross-app or cross-site tracking, no ad networks.
Third-party analytics SDKs	Never The app bundles no analytics, attribution, or tracking libraries.

Third parties

To return verdicts, a scanned barcode may be looked up against Open Food Facts, a public, open ingredient database. Our servers are hosted by our infrastructure provider solely to run the service. We do not sell or share your data with advertisers or data brokers.

How we use the data

Only to operate and improve HelalScan: to return a verdict for a scan, to keep your local scan history, to grow and correct the ingredient database from submissions, and to prevent abuse of the service. We do not use it for advertising or profiling.

Retention

Scan and submission records are retained to maintain and improve accuracy. The device identifier and your scan history live on your device and are removed when you delete the app. You can ask us to delete submissions associated with your device identifier (see Support).

Security

Data in transit is protected with HTTPS/TLS. The device identifier is held in the operating system's secure keychain. See our Privacy & Security page for a plain-English walkthrough.

Children

HelalScan is a general-audience utility and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Your choices

Delete the app to remove the device identifier and local scan history from your phone.
Contact us to request deletion of ingredient submissions tied to your device identifier.

Changes

If this policy changes, we will update this page and revise the date above.

Contact

Questions or requests: support@helalscan.com.