Privacy Policy

Welcome to Toxly, an ingredient analysis application developed by Mindful Code Studio. We recognize that your privacy is of paramount importance. This Privacy Policy outlines the types of information we collect, how we use it, and the steps we take to ensure your personal data remains secure and private.

1. Information We Collect and Process

Toxly is built on a "Privacy by Design" philosophy. We aim to collect the absolute minimum amount of data required to provide our services. We do not require account registration, which means we do not collect your name, email address (unless you contact us), or phone number during app usage.

• Camera Access and Image Data: The core functionality of Toxly requires access to your device's camera. This access is used solely to capture images of product ingredient labels for analysis. The image processing and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) are performed in real-time. We do not save, store, or transmit raw images or video frames from your camera to any servers.
• Extracted Text: Once the OCR process extracts text from an ingredient label, that text is processed to identify individual ingredients. This extracted text is the only data used for analysis.
• Usage Analytics: To improve app performance and user experience, we may collect anonymous usage statistics. This includes information such as the number of scans performed, common app interactions, and crash reports. This data is aggregated and cannot be used to identify you personally.
• Device Information: We may collect non-identifying technical data such as your device model, operating system version, language settings, and unique device identifiers (for advertising and analytics purposes).

2. How We Use Your Information

The information we handle is used for the following specific purposes:

• Ingredient Analysis: To provide you with immediate feedback on the safety and health impact of ingredients found in scanned products. This involves comparing extracted text against known databases and utilizing AI for deeper insights.
• Local Scan History: To allow you to review past scans, Toxly stores scan results locally on your device. This data remains under your exclusive control and is not synced to a central cloud database by us.
• App Optimization: Aggregated analytics help us identify bugs, understand which features are most useful, and optimize the user interface for different devices.
• Monetization: For users of the free version of the app, we use third-party advertising services that may use device identifiers to serve relevant ads.

3. Third-Party Services and Data Sharing

While we strive to keep as much processing on-device as possible, Toxly utilizes several high-quality third-party services for specific features. These providers have their own privacy policies governing how they handle data:

• Google ML Kit: We use Google's ML Kit for on-device text recognition and barcode scanning. Google may collect some diagnostic data to improve these services.
• Groq AI / AI Providers: For advanced ingredient risk assessment, anonymized ingredient lists may be sent to AI processing units. This data does not contain any personal identifiers or image data.
• Google AdMob: We use AdMob to serve advertisements. AdMob may collect and use data such as your advertising ID to personalize ads and measure performance.
• Google Play Billing: All financial transactions for Toxly Premium are handled securely through the Google Play Store. We do not have access to your credit card information or bank details.
• Open Food Facts / Open Beauty Facts: We may query public databases to retrieve product information based on barcodes. These queries are anonymous.

4. Data Retention and Deletion

Because Toxly does not use central user accounts, your data is primarily stored on your physical device. We retain aggregated, anonymous analytics data indefinitely to track the app's long-term performance. Regarding your personal data:

• Local Data: You can delete your entire scan history at any time through the app settings or by clearing the application's storage in your device's system settings.
• App Uninstallation: Uninstalling the app will remove all locally stored data from your device.

5. Security Measures

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your information. Data handled by the app is protected by standard Android security protocols, including application sandboxing. While no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, we follow industry best practices to protect your data during the brief window it is processed.

6. Children's Privacy

Toxly is not intended for use by children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, we will take steps to delete such information from our analytics records immediately.

7. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new policy within the app or on our official distribution channels.