Privacy Policy

PicRecipeAI · Last updated October 15, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what happens to your information when you use the PicRecipeAI mobile application ("App"). The App is operated by an individual developer based in Germany ("we," "our," or "us"). Full contact details are in Section 8.

The short version: we don't run accounts, and we don't have a server that stores your data. When you ask the App to detect ingredients or create a recipe, the photo, text, or voice transcript you give it, plus any dietary preferences you've set, is sent to OpenAI to do that work. Everything else stays on your device.

1. Age Requirement — 16 and Older

The App is not intended for anyone under the age of 16.

On first launch, the App asks for your age.
If you are under 16, the App blocks you from using it.
We do not store your age or date of birth. Your answer is checked on your device and is not sent to us, to OpenAI, or to anyone else. The App keeps only a simple yes/no flag on your device that the age check was passed, so it doesn't have to ask again. No number or birthdate is saved.
We do not knowingly process data from anyone under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child under 16 has used the App, please contact us (see Section 8).

2. What We Do Not Collect

The App has no accounts, no login, and no sign-up. We do not collect or store:

Your name, email address, phone number, or any profile.
Your age or date of birth.
Your location, contacts, or advertising identifier.

We do not run our own server that stores your data. We do not sell your data, and we do not use it for advertising. The App contains no analytics, no advertising, no crash reporting, and no tracking tools of any kind.

3. What Is Processed — and Where It Goes

3.1 Content you submit to generate recipes (sent to OpenAI)

To detect ingredients and generate recipes, the App sends the content you choose to provide to OpenAI's API:

Photos you take or select (for example, of your fridge or ingredients).
Text you type (for example, a list of ingredients or a request).
Voice transcripts, meaning the text produced from your voice input (see 3.2). The audio recording itself is never sent to OpenAI.
Your dietary preferences, if you've set any (for example, vegetarian), so the recipes match them. Some dietary preferences (for example, "halal" or "gluten-free") can indirectly say something about your religion or health. They are only sent if you choose to set them.

This content is processed by OpenAI as a third-party service provider, not by us. We do not store it on any server of our own. OpenAI returns the detected ingredients or the recipe to the App.

Please don't include personal information you don't want to share. For example, avoid photos showing people, documents, or anything besides your food, and don't type or say personal details into requests.

3.2 Voice input (Apple Speech framework)

Voice input is converted into text using Apple's Speech framework, which is built into iOS. Speech recognition runs on your device only. Your audio does not leave your device and is not sent to Apple, OpenAI, or us. Only the resulting text transcript is sent to OpenAI, as described in 3.1.

The App asks for microphone and speech-recognition permission before using voice input. You can decline or turn this off at any time in iOS Settings, and still use the App by typing or using photos.

3.3 Camera and photo library

The App asks for camera or photo-library permission before you can take or select a photo. Photos are only sent to OpenAI when you submit them for ingredient detection. You can change these permissions at any time in iOS Settings.

3.4 Data stored only on your device

Your favorites, preferences, and the age-check flag are stored only locally on your device. They are not sent to us and are not synced to iCloud. (Your dietary preferences are included in recipe requests to OpenAI, as described in 3.1.) Deleting the App removes this data from your device.

3.5 Apple

The App is distributed through Apple's App Store. Apple processes information related to your download under its own Privacy Policy. If you've agreed in your iOS settings to share analytics with app developers, Apple may give us anonymous crash and usage statistics. These do not identify you to us.

4. Third Party: OpenAI

Recipient: OpenAI, the provider of the API we use. For customers in the EU, OpenAI's contracting company is OpenAI Ireland Ltd. (Dublin, Ireland). OpenAI's US company, OpenAI, L.L.C. (San Francisco, USA), may also process the data.

What is sent: only the content described in Section 3.1, when you submit it.

What is never sent: your age or age-check flag, your audio recordings, your favorites list, or any name or email (we don't have them).

How OpenAI handles it: According to OpenAI's policies for its API, data sent through the API is not used to train OpenAI's models by default. It may be kept for up to 30 days for abuse and misuse monitoring and then deleted, unless the law requires OpenAI to keep it longer.

Data processing agreement: We have concluded OpenAI's Data Processing Addendum, which obliges OpenAI to process this content only on our behalf and to protect it (Art. 28 GDPR).

Data transfers outside the EU: OpenAI may process data in the United States. Where this happens, the transfer is protected by the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and/or the EU Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses included in OpenAI's Data Processing Addendum.

OpenAI's privacy policy: https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy

5. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR Art. 6)

What is processed	Why	Legal basis
Photos, typed text, voice transcripts, and dietary preferences you submit	To detect ingredients and generate recipes you ask for	Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, to provide the App's features you request
Microphone, camera, and photo access	To let you give input by voice or photo	Your permission in iOS, which you can withdraw at any time (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR)
On-device age check (yes/no flag)	To keep users under 16 out of the App	Art. 6(1)(c) and Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR: legal requirements on children's data (Art. 8 GDPR) and our legitimate interest in not serving minors
Favorites	Stored only on your device and never sent anywhere, so we don't process them	—

6. Retention

We don't store your content. We have no server holding your photos, text, transcripts, favorites, or preferences.
OpenAI may keep submitted content for up to 30 days, as described in Section 4.
On your device, favorites, preferences, and the age-check flag stay until you delete them or delete the App.
Emails you send us are kept only as long as needed to answer you, and are deleted within 12 months, unless the law requires us to keep them longer.

7. Your Rights Under GDPR

You have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you (Art. 15).
Correct inaccurate data (Art. 16).
Delete your data (Art. 17).
Restrict processing (Art. 18).
Data portability (Art. 20).
Object to processing based on our legitimate interest (Art. 21).
Withdraw consent at any time, for example by turning off microphone or camera access in iOS Settings. This doesn't affect processing done before you withdrew it.
Complain to a data protection authority (Art. 77), for example the one where you live, or the one responsible for us: Der Hessische Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit.

Please note: Because the App has no accounts and we don't store your content, we usually cannot identify you or find any data about you (Art. 11 GDPR). You can delete everything stored on your device by deleting the App. You can still contact us with any request or question (see Section 8), and we'll respond within one month.

8. Controller and Contact

The controller responsible for data processing under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is:

Julia Schweder
Email: support@joinmao.com
Postal address: see our Impressum

9. Security

Content sent to OpenAI is transmitted over an encrypted connection (HTTPS/TLS). Data stored on your device is protected by your device's own security, so we recommend using a device passcode.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy if the App changes. We will change the "Last updated" date at the top. For significant changes, we will also let you know in the App.

11. Questions

For any question about this policy or your data, the fastest way to reach us is by email: support@joinmao.com