Privacy Policy
Last updated: April 12, 2026
Data We Collect
Cheese collects only the data you explicitly enter or authorize: • Health metrics: calories, macros (protein, carbs, fat, fiber, sugar, sodium), weight, water intake, workouts, journal entries • Step count, flights climbed, and distance (via Apple HealthKit, with your permission) • Financial data: budget categories, expenses, investment holdings, net worth, linked bank/brokerage data • Profile information: name, email, preferences, goals • Photos: food photos for AI analysis, weight progress photos, receipt images (processed and not stored on our servers)
How Data Is Stored
All data is stored locally on your device using Apple's SwiftData framework. If you create an account, your data is synced to Firebase Firestore so you can access it across devices. Cloud sync is entirely optional — Cheese works fully offline. Plaid access tokens for linked bank and brokerage accounts are stored in your device's Keychain with the highest security level (accessible only when device is unlocked, not backed up to iCloud).
Third-Party Services
Cheese uses the following third-party services: • FatSecret — food and nutrition database (food queries only, no personal data sent) • Culture API — our own food database for faster lookups (food queries only) • Open Food Facts — barcode lookup fallback (barcode queries only, no personal data) • Google Gemini AI — photo food identification, natural language food parsing, meal suggestions, recipe parsing, receipt scanning (images and text are processed by Google's AI and not stored) • Plaid — bank and brokerage account linking (financial data accessed with your explicit consent, governed by Plaid's privacy policy) • Yahoo Finance — stock price data (ticker symbols only, no personal data sent) • Firebase Authentication — account creation and sign-in (email only) • Firebase Firestore — optional cloud sync of your app data • Apple HealthKit — step count, workouts, distance (read-only, with your permission) • Apple StoreKit — subscription and purchase management
AI-Powered Features
Cheese uses Google Gemini AI for: • Identifying food from photos (Snap to Log) • Parsing natural language food descriptions (Describe to Log) • Generating meal suggestions based on remaining macros • Parsing recipe URLs into ingredient lists • Reading nutrition labels from product photos • Scanning receipts for expense categorization Photos and text sent to Gemini are processed in real-time and are not stored by Cheese or Google after processing. AI-generated nutrition values are estimates and may not be exact — all AI results are clearly marked with a disclaimer.
Financial Data (Plaid)
If you choose to link a bank or brokerage account via Plaid: • You authenticate directly with your financial institution through Plaid's secure interface • Cheese receives transaction data and/or investment holdings as authorized • Access tokens are stored locally in your device's Keychain • You can disconnect at any time, which revokes the access token • Cheese does not store your bank credentials
What We Don't Do
• We do not sell your data • We do not serve advertisements • We do not use analytics or tracking SDKs • We do not share your data with third parties for marketing • We do not store your bank or brokerage credentials • We do not retain photos sent for AI analysis
Data Deletion
You can delete your account at any time from Me → My Account → Delete Account. This permanently removes all cloud-synced data from Firebase, including all health, financial, and preference data. Linked Plaid accounts are disconnected and access tokens are revoked. Local data on your device can be removed by deleting Cheese.
Children's Privacy
Cheese is not intended for use by children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Contact
If you have questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at info@proctoradvisory.com.