Privacy Policy
Effective date: July 3, 2026 · Last updated: July 4, 2026
1. About this policy
This policy explains what Grocery Map collects, how it is used, and what rights you have. It covers the Grocery Map iOS app and its Community feature.
Apple's own iCloud, App Store, and Sign in with Apple services are covered by Apple's Privacy Policy.
2. What stays on your device
Everything you create in Grocery Map is stored on your iPhone and, if iCloud Backup is enabled, in your own private iCloud. Grocery Map does not receive or store this data:
- Shopping lists and grocery items
- Custom store layouts and aisle configurations
- Shopping trip history and personal analytics
- Quick Meals, staples, and item preferences
- App settings and appearance
3. What you choose to publish
If you use the Community, the following is uploaded to Apple's CloudKit public database and becomes visible to other users:
- The store layout you publish
- A display name you choose
- The public place identifier of the store (so the layout can be tied to a real location)
- Upvotes and reports you submit
Each of these records also includes an identifier assigned by Apple, so votes and reports count once per person and you can manage your own posts. This identifier is not your name, email, or Apple Account password.
4. Sign in with Apple
If you sign in to the Community with Sign in with Apple, Apple provides a private, app-specific identifier and — only if you agree at the prompt — your name and, optionally, a private-relay email. Your name (or a display name you choose) is what attributes your Community posts to you and lets you manage them. If you share a relay email, it is stored only with your sign-in on your device; it is not published to the Community, is not attached to your posts, and is not sent to Grocery Map. Apple only shares your name on the first sign-in; if it is missing later, the app may ask permission to read the name on your iCloud account so your posts stay attributed to you. You can also use the Community as a guest with a display name of your choice.
5. Device permissions
Grocery Map requests the following permissions. Each is optional, used only when you start the relevant action, and can be changed at any time in Settings → Privacy & Security.
- Location (When In Use). Used on the Community tab to find grocery and big-box stores near you. Your location is passed to Apple Maps on-device and is never sent to Grocery Map.
- Camera. Used to read a photo you take so grocery items can be imported from it. Images are processed on your device using on-device text recognition and are not uploaded.
- Microphone & Speech Recognition. Used to transcribe what you say into your shopping list. Grocery Map uses Apple's speech recognition, so your audio may be sent to Apple to be turned into text; where a device supports on-device recognition, Apple may process it locally. Grocery Map itself never records, stores, or receives your audio, and the transcribed text stays on your device unless you choose to publish it.
- Photos. Used in two ways: to read a photo you select from your library so grocery items can be recognized and imported from it, and to save your rendered store map back to your Photos library.
- Reminders. Used in three ways: to read your Reminders lists so you can import items into your shopping list; to mark selected reminders as completed when you use the "add and remove from Reminders" import option; and to create a new Reminders list and write your grocery items into it when you export your list to Reminders.
None of these permissions are required to use the core shopping-list features. Denying a permission only disables the specific feature that needs it.
6. What Grocery Map does not collect
Grocery Map does not collect your location for tracking, your contacts, advertising identifiers, behavioral analytics, browsing history, biometric data, or payment information. Apple processes all purchases — Grocery Map never sees your card.
7. California categories of personal information
Under the CCPA, the only categories Grocery Map has collected in the last 12 months — and only when you use the Community — are these:
| Category | Collected? | Sold or shared? |
|---|---|---|
| Identifiers (Apple-assigned identifier, chosen display name, optional relay email) | Only if you use the Community or Sign in with Apple | No |
| User content (published layouts, upvotes, reports) | Only if you publish | No |
| Commercial information (Pro subscription status) | Apple provides a yes/no entitlement | No |
| Precise geolocation | No | No |
| Biometric, health, financial account, or government ID information | No | No |
| Cross-app or cross-site tracking | No | No |
The place identifier attached to a published layout describes a store, not you.
8. How your information is used
Grocery Map uses the limited information above only to:
- Run the Community feature and attribute posts to their author
- Make sure each vote or report counts once
- Moderate the Community — filter objectionable language, process reports, hide flagged content, and honor blocks
- Unlock Pro features based on the entitlement Apple reports
- Respond to your requests and meet legal obligations
Your information is never used for advertising, cross-context behavioral advertising, or profiling that has legal or similarly significant effects on you.
9. How your information is shared
- Apple. Community data is stored in Apple's CloudKit. Subscriptions and Sign in with Apple are handled by Apple.
- Other users. Anything you publish to the Community is public and visible to other users — that is the point of publishing it.
- Legal. Information may be disclosed if required by law or valid legal process, or to protect users, the public, or Grocery Map itself.
- Business transfer. If Grocery Map is ever acquired, public Community data may transfer with it under this policy.
Your information is never shared with data brokers, advertisers, or analytics companies.
10. No sale or sharing for advertising
Grocery Map does not sell personal information and does not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined by the CCPA. There is nothing for you to opt out of, but you may still submit a request and Grocery Map will confirm these practices. This includes users under 16.
11. Sensitive personal information
Grocery Map does not collect sensitive personal information — such as government IDs, precise geolocation, financial account details, race, health, or contents of private communications — for the purpose of inferring characteristics about you. If you share an optional relay email through Sign in with Apple, it is stored only with your sign-in on your device and is not used to build a profile of you.
12. How long information is kept
Data on your device stays until you delete it or remove the app. Deleting the app removes local data from your device; any iCloud Backup follows Apple's rules under your control.
Community posts stay in CloudKit until you delete them in the app or request their removal. Moderation records — reports and votes tied to an Apple-assigned identifier — are kept only as long as needed to keep the Community safe.
To have Community content you cannot remove yourself removed, email grocerymap.feedback@gmail.com.
13. Security
On-device data is protected by iOS and, if enabled, your device passcode. Community data is stored in Apple's CloudKit, which encrypts data in transit and at rest under Apple's security practices. Because so little is collected and nothing is kept on Grocery Map's own servers, the attack surface is small. No system is 100% secure, however, so absolute security cannot be guaranteed.
14. Your California privacy rights
If you live in California, you have the right to:
- Know what personal information Grocery Map has collected, where it came from, and who received it
- Request deletion of your personal information
- Correct inaccurate personal information
- Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information (Grocery Map does not do either)
- Limit the use of sensitive personal information (Grocery Map does not use it in ways that trigger this)
- Not be treated differently for exercising a privacy right
Because most of your data lives only on your device, you can already exercise many of these rights in the app — delete data, remove published layouts, and revoke permissions.
To submit a formal request, email grocerymap.feedback@gmail.com with the subject "California Privacy Request." Requests are confirmed within 10 business days and answered within 45 calendar days (extendable by another 45 days where allowed).
You may use an authorized agent to submit a request; proof of authorization and identity verification may be required. Grocery Map does not create new personal information just to verify a request.
California Civil Code § 1798.83 lets California residents ask about disclosures of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing. Grocery Map does not disclose personal information for third-party direct marketing.
No financial incentives or price/service differences are offered in exchange for personal information.
15. Other U.S. state privacy rights
Residents of states with comprehensive privacy laws (including Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, Oregon, and Montana) may have rights to access, delete, correct, and export their personal information, and to opt out of targeted advertising, sale, or profiling. Grocery Map does not do any of those, so the opt-outs do not apply. To exercise any available right, use the contact details below; you may appeal a decision by replying to the response.
16. GDPR / UK rights and international users
If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, port, and object to processing of your personal data, and to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority. The legal bases for the limited processing are: your consent (publishing to the Community, Sign in with Apple, device permissions), performance of a contract (providing features you request), and legitimate interests (keeping the Community safe).
Where processing is based on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time — for example, by not publishing to the Community, signing out, or turning a permission off in iOS Settings. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing already carried out before the withdrawal.
Community data lives in Apple's global CloudKit infrastructure and may be processed in the United States and other countries. Apple maintains its own safeguards for those transfers.
17. Children's privacy
Grocery Map is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. Personal information from children under 13 is not knowingly collected. If a child has posted personal information through the Community, contact Grocery Map and it will be removed.
18. Do Not Track
Grocery Map is a native app with no web browsing, no cookies, and no cross-site tracking, so Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals do not apply. Regardless of any signal, Grocery Map does not track you across apps or websites and does not sell or share your personal information.
19. Third-party services
The only third party used by Grocery Map is Apple, which provides iCloud and CloudKit storage, Sign in with Apple, App Store subscription processing, Reminders, Photos, and Maps place data. Your use of those features is also governed by Apple's Privacy Policy. Grocery Map integrates no advertising networks, no analytics SDKs, and no data brokers.
20. Changes to this policy
This policy may change from time to time. If a change is material, the "Last updated" date above will be updated and, where appropriate, you will be asked to review and re-accept the policy in the app.
21. Contact
Questions, concerns, or privacy requests? Email grocerymap.feedback@gmail.com.
For a California privacy request, use the subject line "California Privacy Request." For accessibility requests (such as an accessible format of this policy), just ask.