Privacy Policy
Last updated September 19, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how Ember Development Studios, LLC ("we", "us") collects, uses, and protects your information when you use the CalBud mobile app. By using CalBud, you agree to this policy.
1. Information you provide
Account details (email address, and a name if you add one); the profile and health inputs you enter for your plan (such as sex, age, height, weight, activity level, and goals); the foods, meals, water, and weight you log; blood-glucose readings, if you choose to record them; weekly check-ins, if you choose to make them (self-rated mood, energy, stress, sleep and how you felt about food, plus any note you add); and photos you capture or upload to estimate a meal's nutrition.
2. Information collected automatically
Basic device and app-usage information needed to run the service reliably (such as app version, device type, and crash/diagnostic data). While you are signed in, the app also tells us which version of CalBud it is running, along with a random identifier generated by the app, so we can check that every installation receives our latest fixes. That identifier is not your device's hardware or advertising identifier; it is stored with your account and deleted when you delete your account. We do not track you across other companies' apps or websites for advertising.
3. How we use your information
To provide and personalize the service — calculate your calorie and macro targets, analyze meals, keep your logs and streaks, run optional features you turn on (reminders, weekly check-ins, groups, referrals), process your subscription, respond to support, and keep the app secure and working.
4. AI food analysis
When you analyze a meal by photo or description, the image or text is sent through our secure backend to our AI providers (Google Gemini for meal analysis, with Anthropic Claude as a backup, and Anthropic Claude for the AI Coach) to estimate nutrition, and the result is returned to you. These are estimates only. Your content is processed to provide the feature and is not used to train third-party AI models. When AI personalization is on, the AI Coach is also given a summary of your recent logs and, if you make them, your recent weekly check-ins and notes, so it can reflect on your week; turn AI personalization off in Profile to keep all of that out of the Coach. The Coach's responses are general wellness guidance and never a diagnosis; if you are in crisis, please contact a crisis line or local emergency services.
5. Contact matching (optional)
If you choose to find friends from your contacts, CalBud reads your device's address book with your permission. Contact names stay on your device. The app turns each email address and phone number into a one-way hashed code and sends only those codes to our server to check which contacts already have a CalBud account (older versions of the app send the email addresses themselves). We use them only to perform that match and do not keep them. If you tap Invite on a contact, we keep that contact's hashed code so the app can show them as invited; it is deleted when you delete your account. We never message anyone on your behalf: you send each invite yourself. You can decline this and still use every other feature; the permission can be withdrawn at any time in your device settings.
6. Apple Health and Health Connect (optional)
If you turn on health sync, CalBud writes entries you have explicitly confirmed — the calories, macronutrients, water and weight you log — into your device's own health store (Apple Health on iOS, Health Connect on Android). This data stays on your device under your control; it is not sent to us by that feature, and CalBud does not read your health records. You can turn the sync off in Profile, and revoke the permission in your device settings.
7. Service providers we share with
We use trusted processors to run CalBud: Supabase (secure hosting, database, file storage, and authentication), Google (Gemini, AI meal analysis), Anthropic (Claude, AI meal analysis backup and the AI Coach), RevenueCat together with the Apple App Store and Google Play (subscription processing), Resend (sending account emails such as password resets), Cloudflare (Turnstile, which checks that sign-ins and sign-ups come from a real person), and Expo (delivering app updates, which involves basic device and app information such as the app version and a random installation identifier). Food lookups use public databases (USDA FoodData Central, Open Food Facts, and FatSecret). These providers may process your data only to perform services for us.
8. Storage and security
Your data is stored on Supabase infrastructure and protected in transit and at rest. Meal photos are kept in private storage accessible only to your account (and, for a meal you choose to share in a group, to that group). We use access controls and least-privilege database rules to protect your data, though no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.
9. Sharing your information
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with the service providers above, with people you deliberately share with inside features you enable (for example, posting a meal to a group), and where required by law or to protect rights and safety. When you create or join a group, the other members of that group can see your display name and profile photo in its member list, and what you choose to post there.
10. Your choices and rights
You can view and edit your profile in the app, control notifications in Settings, and delete your account at any time from Profile — which removes your account and associated data. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights to access, correct, or delete your data; contact us to exercise them.
11. Data retention
We keep your information while your account is active. When you delete your account, we delete your personal data and logs, except where we must retain limited records to comply with legal, tax, or security obligations.
12. Children
CalBud is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country), and we do not knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.
13. Health disclaimer
CalBud provides estimated nutrition information and optional self-recorded wellbeing check-ins for general wellness. It is not medical, dietary, mental-health, or health advice, and it does not diagnose or monitor any condition. Always consult a qualified professional before making health decisions.
14. Changes and contact
We may update this policy and will change the effective date above; material changes will be highlighted in the app. Questions? Contact us at support@emberdevstudios.com.
This document is provided for transparency and is not legal advice. CalBud provides estimated nutrition information for general wellness and is not a medical or dietary service — always consult a qualified professional before making health decisions.