Privacy policy

What we collect

We only collect what we need to run Mealply for you and your family.

• Account details: your first name, email address, the emoji you pick as your avatar, your display settings (such as dark mode), and when you joined and last logged in. Your password is stored only as a one-way hash, so we can't read it.
• Family details: your family's name, who is in it, who the admin is, and invitations (including the email address of a person you invite, if you enter one).
• What you add: recipes (including photos you upload to them), meal plans, notes on days, shopping lists and your shopping categories.
• Billing details: if you subscribe, Stripe handles the payment. We keep your Stripe customer and subscription references and whether the subscription is active. We never see or store your card details.
• Usage counts: how many times your family has used the AI features this month, so we can apply the free plan's limits.

What we don't collect

• We don't store IP addresses, device details or location in our database.
• Our server logs record each request's address within Mealply, its result and how long it took. They don't record who made it.
• We don't sell personal information, and we don't share it for other companies' marketing.

How we use it

• To run Mealply: show your recipes, plans and lists, and keep them in sync across your family's devices.
• To send account emails: password resets, invitations you ask us to send, and links to set a password when an admin adds you.
• To handle subscriptions and apply the free plan's limits.
• To help when you contact us, and to keep the service secure.
• To understand how Mealply is used overall, through privacy-friendly analytics that don't identify you.
• To tell the Mealply team when a new family signs up or subscribes. That notice includes the family name and the admin's name and email, and stays inside Mealply.

Your family

Mealply is shared by design. Recipes, plans, notes and shopping lists you add can be seen and changed by everyone in your family. Your family's admin can add and remove members.

If you invite someone by email, we send them an email on your behalf that includes your first name and your family's name. Please only invite people who would expect to hear from you.

Who we share it with

We use a small number of service providers to run Mealply. Each receives only what it needs:

• DigitalOcean hosts our servers and database.
• Stripe (United States) processes payments. It receives the family admin's email address and a reference to your family when you subscribe.
• Anthropic (United States) powers Chef AI and the other AI features. When you use them, it receives what that feature needs: the text you type, the text of a recipe web page you ask us to import, the ingredients of a recipe you want nutrition estimated for, or a photo you choose to import. We don't send your name or email address.
• Resend (United States) delivers our emails. It receives the recipient's email address and the content of the message.
• Plausible Analytics (European Union) counts visits without cookies and without collecting personal information. We see totals, such as how many people signed up and where visitors came from.
• On the free plan, Mealply shows ads from a third-party ad network (Adsterra). The network serves the ads directly to your browser and may use cookies or similar technology and see browser and device information under its own privacy policy. We don't give it your name, email or anything you add to Mealply. Premium families see no ads.
• We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect the safety of our users or the service.

Information sent overseas

Some of our providers are outside Australia, mainly in the United States and the European Union, as listed above. We choose providers that protect personal information and use it only to provide their service to us.

Support access

To help with a problem or keep Mealply secure, a small number of Mealply staff can look up a family's details and members. When needed, they can view an account as its owner sees it, in a support session that is logged and ends after two hours. We only do this to help you or to protect the service.

Cookies and storage on your device

• The Mealply app doesn't set cookies.
• It keeps your sign-in and a couple of preferences in your browser's local storage, and stores its own files on your device so it opens quickly.
• On the free plan, the ad network may set its own cookies, as described above.

Security

All connections to Mealply are encrypted (HTTPS). Passwords are stored as one-way hashes, and access to our systems is limited. Photos you add to recipes are stored on our servers and can only be viewed by someone signed in to your family. A photo is deleted when the last recipe using it is deleted or given a different photo. No online service can be perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information and will tell you if a breach puts you at risk of serious harm, as the law requires.

How long we keep it

We keep your information while your account is open. When you delete your account in the app, its information is removed from our live database straight away, and any photos are deleted with the family. We keep a limited number of recent backups of our database on our servers, and deleted information can remain in them until they are replaced. Stripe keeps payment records for as long as the law requires, and emails we have already sent stay in the recipient's inbox.

Your choices and rights

• See and correct your information: most of it can be viewed and edited in the app. For anything else, email us.
• Delete your account: in the app, open the You tab and tap Delete account, then confirm with your password. If other people are in your family, your recipes and shopping items stay with them and your meal plans are removed. If you are the only person in your family, the whole family is deleted, including its recipes, photos, plans and lists, and any Premium subscription is cancelled so you aren't charged again. A family admin with other members first makes someone else the admin under Manage members. If you can't sign in, email hello@mealply.app from your account's email address and we will delete it for you. More at mealply.app/delete-account/.
• Ask what we hold about you: email us and we will respond within 30 days.
• Complain: email us first and we will try to fix it. If you aren't satisfied, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.

Children

Mealply is for families, and family accounts are created and run by adults. A parent or guardian who adds a child under 16 to their family is responsible for that child's use of Mealply and agrees to this policy on their behalf.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top. If a change is significant, we will also tell you by email or in the app before it applies.

Contact us

Email hello@mealply.app with any question about privacy or this policy.