The short version
- Everything you log is private by default. Only you see it unless you share a bite with a squad.
- We do not sell your data, show ads, or use it to track you across other apps.
- Your photos are analyzed by AI only to tag the dish and cuisine and to power features you use.
- You can ask us to delete your account and everything in it at any time.
This policy explains how BiteClub (“the app”, “we”, “us”) handles your information when you use the BiteClub app on iOS or Android and this website. We tried to write it in plain language. If anything is unclear, email contact@alkan.dev.
1. Who we are
BiteClub is made by Alkan Vatansever, an independent developer based in Istanbul, Türkiye. For the purposes of the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Türkiye’s Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK), Alkan Vatansever is the data controller for personal data processed through BiteClub.
2. What we collect
Information you give us
| Data | Details |
|---|---|
| Account | If you sign in with Apple or Google: your name, email address, and profile photo as shared by that provider. If you start as a guest, we create an anonymous account with no name or email. |
| Bites | The photos you log, star ratings, dish names, notes, the restaurant or place you choose, the time, and the location of the bite. |
| Voice notes | Audio you record on a bite, if you choose to. |
| Hitlist | Places you save to try later, including links you paste from Google Maps, TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube. |
| Squads and chat | Squads you create or join, the bites you share into them, and messages you send in squad chat. |
| Support emails | Whatever you include when you write to us. |
Information collected automatically
| Data | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Your approximate position when you look for nearby restaurants, log a bite, or use Keşfet suggestions, and only if you allow location access. If a photo you pick contains GPS data, we may use it to suggest where the bite happened. |
| Usage events | Which screens and features you use, collected with Firebase Analytics, so we can see what works. These are tied to a random app-instance identifier, not your name. |
| Diagnostics | Crash reports and performance traces from Firebase Crashlytics and Performance Monitoring: device model, OS version, app version, and what the app was doing when it crashed. |
| Push token | A device token from Apple or Google so we can send notifications you’ve allowed, such as new squad messages. |
| Purchases | If you subscribe to BiteClub Pro: your subscription status and an anonymous purchase identifier from RevenueCat. We never see your card or payment details. Apple or Google handle the payment. |
| Suggestion feedback | When you see, open, save, or dismiss a Keşfet suggestion, we record that so suggestions get better and dismissed places stay hidden. |
We do not use the advertising identifier (IDFA or Android advertising ID), and we do not use any advertising or data-broker SDKs.
3. How we use it
- To run the app: store your diary, draw your map, sync across your devices, and deliver squad messages. Legal basis: performing our contract with you.
- To power features you use: AI tagging, search, restaurant lookups, recipes, and taste-based suggestions. Legal basis: contract.
- To keep the app working well: crash reports, performance data, and aggregate usage analytics. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in a reliable app.
- To send notifications you have allowed. Legal basis: your consent, which you can withdraw in your device settings.
- To handle subscriptions and answer support requests. Legal basis: contract.
We do not use your data for advertising, we do not sell it, and we do not share it with data brokers.
4. AI features
When you log a bite, its photo and dish name are sent to Google’s Vertex AI (the Gemini model) through our own servers. The model returns tags such as the dish, the cuisine, search keywords, and optional nutrition details for that single bite. If you ask for a recipe, the photo is used the same way to write it.
Keşfet suggestions are ranked from your own logged bites and saved places. The reason shown with each suggestion comes only from your own history.
Google processes this data under its Cloud data processing terms and does not use it to train its models. We never aggregate nutrition into daily totals or targets.
5. Who can see your data
- Only you, by default. Bites are private unless you choose a squad when you post them.
- Squad members can see the bites you share into that squad, your messages in its chat, its shared hitlist, and your display name and profile photo.
- Nobody else. BiteClub has no public profiles, no public feed, and no follower lists.
We may disclose data if the law requires it, or to protect the safety of our users. If BiteClub is ever transferred to a new owner, this policy will continue to apply to your data, and we will tell you before anything changes.
6. Service providers
We use a small number of providers to run BiteClub. Each processes data only on our instructions.
| Provider | What for |
|---|---|
| Google Firebase & Google Cloud | Sign-in, database, photo and audio storage, server functions, push notifications, analytics, crash reporting, and the private search server that indexes your own bites. |
| Google Vertex AI | Photo analysis and recipes, as described above. |
| Google Maps Platform | Looking up restaurants near you and resolving Google Maps links you paste. Your approximate position and search text are sent. |
| Apple and Google sign-in | Signing you in, if you choose those options. |
| RevenueCat | Managing BiteClub Pro subscriptions. |
| Apple App Store and Google Play | Distributing the app and processing payments. |
7. Where data is stored
Your diary, photos, and account data are stored by Google Cloud in the European Union (the europe-west1 region in Belgium and the eur3 multi-region). Some providers, such as RevenueCat and Firebase Analytics, may process data in the United States. Where data leaves the EU, it is protected by the providers’ Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent safeguards.
8. How long we keep it
- Your account and diary: for as long as your account exists. Deleting a bite removes it from your diary and our search index.
- After you ask us to delete your account: we delete your data within 30 days. Backups roll off within a further 30 days.
- Crash and analytics data: kept for up to 14 months, then deleted automatically.
- Guest accounts: if you sign out of a guest account without linking it to Apple or Google, nobody can sign back into it. The app warns you before this happens. Link your account first if you want to keep your diary.
9. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you have the right to access your data, correct it, delete it, receive a copy of it, object to or restrict how we process it, and withdraw consent at any time. Residents of California have equivalent rights under the CCPA. We do not sell or share personal information as those laws define it.
To use any of these rights, email contact@alkan.dev from the email address of the Apple or Google account you signed in with. We will reply within 30 days. You can also complain to your local data protection authority. In Türkiye, that is the KVKK Authority.
10. Device permissions
BiteClub asks for each permission only at the moment it is needed, and works without any of them.
- Camera to photograph a bite.
- Photos to pick a bite photo from your library.
- Location to find nearby restaurants and place bites on your map.
- Microphone to record a voice note.
- Notifications for squad messages and join requests.
You can change any of these in your device settings at any time.
11. Children
BiteClub is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from them. In the EU, users under the age of digital consent in their country need a parent’s permission. If you believe a child has given us data, email us and we will delete it.
12. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top. If the change is significant, we will also tell you in the app before it takes effect.
13. Contact
Alkan Vatansever
Istanbul, Türkiye
contact@alkan.dev