Privacy Policy
Shelf Spotter helps you compare grocery prices near you using store ads and prices shared by other shoppers. Your grocery list stays on your phone; to price it, the item names and your ZIP code are sent to our server without being linked to you. An account is only needed to share prices, and it uses Sign in with Apple without your name or email. Prices you share appear under an anonymous name. Receipt and weekly-ad photos are read by an AI model on Cloudflare and then discarded. No ads, no analytics, no tracking, and we never sell your data. You can delete your account in the app at any time.
Who we are
Shelf Spotter is made and published by Just A Little Project Studio LLC, a small independent studio in New York, USA (“we”, “us”). This policy explains what information Shelf Spotter uses, where it goes and the choices you have.
What we collect
We don't collect your name, email address, phone number, contacts, or payment details.
- Your grocery list stays on your phone. To show prices, the item names on your list and your ZIP code are sent to our server; they aren't linked to you or your account. We keep which items are being searched in which ZIP codes (not who searched) so we can refresh those prices, and forget searches nobody has made for 30 days.
- Location, if you allow it, is used on your phone to sort stores by distance and to find the store you're in. To list stores near you, your approximate position is sent to our server, which looks up nearby grocery stores; we don't store it with your identity. When you share a price, we check whether you were inside that store and keep only that yes/no, not your coordinates.
- Account: if you sign in with Apple to share prices, we receive a private Apple user ID. We don't ask Apple for your name or email. We create an anonymous name for you, such as “Shopper7F2K”, and a sign-in session for your phone.
- Prices you share: store, item, product name, size, price, whether it was on sale, and whether you took a tag photo. These are shown to other shoppers under your anonymous name. Tag photos stay on your phone.
- Points and votes: your points and level, the prices you confirmed or corrected, prices you reported, and shoppers you blocked. Your anonymous name and points can appear on the Top spotters leaderboard.
- Receipt and weekly-ad scans: see below.
Receipt and weekly-ad photos
When you scan a receipt or a store's printed weekly ad, the photo (from your camera or one you pick) is sent to our server, read by an AI model running on Cloudflare Workers AI, and then discarded. We never store the photo.
From a receipt we keep only the store and the item prices you choose to share, plus a fingerprint so the same receipt can't be shared twice. From a weekly ad we keep the store, the deals you confirm, the dates the ad runs and a fingerprint. We ignore and never save payment or card details, names or phone numbers printed on a receipt. We also count how many scans you make each day to prevent abuse.
Order links
When you tap Order, we note which store and item search you opened (not who you are) and send you to that store's website. Some of these links are affiliate links, which means Shelf Spotter may earn a commission if you buy something. It doesn't change your price. What you do on the store's site is covered by that store's privacy policy.
Permissions
- Location (while using the app): to find stores near you and the store you're in when you share a price.
- Camera: to snap a shelf tag, a receipt or a weekly ad. Tag photos stay on your phone; receipt and ad photos are handled as described above.
- Reminders (optional): to sync your grocery list with a Reminders list you choose, so items you add with Siri show up with prices. This sync happens on your device between Shelf Spotter and Apple's Reminders app; we don't receive your other reminders.
What we don't do
No ads, no tracking across other apps or websites, no selling or sharing of your data for advertising, and no analytics services.
If you have turned on Share With App Developers in your iPhone's Analytics & Improvements settings, Apple may give us anonymous crash reports and usage statistics. Apple strips them of anything that identifies you, and you can turn this off in Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements.
Where it's stored and who processes it
- Cloudflare: our server (Cloudflare Workers), database (Cloudflare D1) and the AI model that reads receipt and ad photos (Workers AI). Cloudflare keeps short-lived request logs, including IP addresses, which we use only to keep the service running and secure.
- Apple: Sign in with Apple, the App Store, and Reminders on your device.
- Google Places: our server looks up grocery store locations by area. These lookups contain no personal information.
- Expo (EAS Update): the app checks for content updates when it opens, sending technical details such as the app version and a random install ID.
- Public price data: we import the USDA's weekly retail price reports to show typical prices. No user data is sent.
Keeping and deleting data
We keep your account and the prices you share while you have an account. Shared prices fade out as they get older, and searches nobody has made for 30 days are removed.
You can delete your account at any time in the app (Your spotting › Delete account). This immediately removes your account, sign-in sessions, points, votes, reports, blocks, the prices you shared, and your receipt and weekly-ad scan records. If you can't use the app, email us from any address with your anonymous shopper name and we'll help.
Children
Shelf Spotter is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has shared prices, email us and we'll delete the account.
Your choices and rights
You can use Shelf Spotter without an account, turn off location, camera or Reminders access in your iPhone's Settings, and delete your account in the app. Depending on where you live you may have more rights, such as asking what we hold about you; email us and we'll help.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we'll post the new version on this page and update the effective date at the top. If a change affects how we use information we already have, we'll say so clearly here (and in the app where that makes sense) before it takes effect.
Contact
Questions about privacy, or a request about your information: email owner@justalittleprojectstudio.com.
Just A Little Project Studio LLC, New York, USA.