Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 23, 2026

shopm8 ("we," "our," or "the app") is operated by Rappid Engineering. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information when you use the shopm8 mobile application.

Information We Collect

Account Information

• Email address and name (when you register)
• Apple ID information (when you use Sign in with Apple — we receive only the identifiers Apple provides)

Shopping Data

• Shopping list items you create, including item names, quantities, and notes
• Recipe URLs you submit for ingredient extraction
• Purchase history (which items you mark as bought and at which stores)
• Pantry staple preferences
• Store preferences and shopping patterns

Location Data

• With your permission, shopm8 accesses your location only when you ask it to: when you tap a store on your list (to find its nearest branch) or start Shop Now (to tell which store you're in)
• For that lookup your coordinates are sent to shopm8's server, which checks stores it already knows about and may search nearby stores through Google Maps or OpenStreetMap's public Overpass service. Those services receive the coordinates only, never your account details
• Store reminders (optional): if you turn on Store Reminders in Preferences, your phone watches for nearby branches of stores that have items on your list and shows a notification when you get close. This uses background ("Always") location permission, but the watching happens entirely on your device: the app only asks our server for the branch locations of your stores, using your position at that moment, and never sends your movements or location history. Turn it off in Preferences or in your phone's Settings at any time
• Apart from Store Reminders, shopm8 does not use background location. We never store your own location; we save the locations of stores we find so future lookups are faster

Household Data

• When you create or join a household, your shopping lists and items are shared with other household members
• Household members can see items added by other members, including who added each item

How We Use Your Information

• AI-Powered Organization: Your item names and store preferences are processed by AI (Anthropic Claude) to automatically sort items by store and aisle. Item names are sent to the AI service for categorization — no personal identifiers are included in these requests.
• Shop Now Hints: When you ask where to find an item in a store, the item name, store name and department are sent to the AI service — no personal identifiers are included. Hints are cached and reused for other shoppers asking about the same item at the same store; the hints themselves contain no personal identifiers. When you ask for a new hint, we record which account asked for 24 hours to enforce the daily hint limit, then remove it.
• Recipe Extraction: When you paste a recipe URL, we fetch the webpage content and use AI to extract ingredients. We do not store the full webpage content.
• Improving the Service: Aggregated, anonymized purchase patterns help improve store and aisle suggestions for all users (crowdsourced item-to-store mappings).
• Household Sharing: Your shopping data is shared with members of households you voluntarily join.

Subscription and Payments

• Subscriptions are processed through Apple's App Store and managed via RevenueCat
• We do not collect or store your payment information — all billing is handled by Apple
• RevenueCat receives a pseudonymous user identifier to manage your subscription status. See RevenueCat's Privacy Policy

Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We share data only in these limited circumstances:

• Anthropic (AI Processing): Item names and recipe content are sent to Anthropic's Claude API for categorization and extraction. Anthropic's usage policies apply. No personal identifiers are included.
• RevenueCat (Subscriptions): A pseudonymous user ID is shared to manage subscription status.
• Mapping Services: When you use store finding or Shop Now, your coordinates are sent to a mapping service to look up nearby stores: Google Maps results through the search provider Serper, Google Maps Platform, or OpenStreetMap's Overpass API. No personal identifiers are included. We save the locations of stores we find, never your own location.
• Item Photos: To show a picture of an item in Shop Now, the item name is sent to shopm8's server, which looks it up with Google Images (through the search provider Serper) or, as a fallback, the public image libraries Openverse and Wikimedia Commons, using Anthropic's Claude to check which photo shows the item. Found photos are cached by item name for all users. No personal identifiers are included.
• Household Members: Shopping list data is shared with people in your household, as described above.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required by law or to protect our rights.

Data Retention

• Your data is retained as long as your account is active
• You can delete your account at any time from the app's Preferences screen, which permanently removes all your data
• Purchased item history used for crowdsourced store mappings is anonymized and may be retained after account deletion

Data Security

We use industry-standard security measures including encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS), secure token-based authentication (JWT), and encrypted credential storage on your device. Passwords are hashed using bcrypt and are never stored in plain text.

Your Rights

• Access: You can view all your data within the app
• Deletion: You can delete your account and all associated data from Preferences
• Portability: Contact us to request an export of your data
• Location: You can revoke location permissions at any time in your device settings. The app continues to function without location — you simply pick your store yourself when you start Shop Now, and store reminders stay off

Children's Privacy

shopm8 is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected such information, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes through the app or via email. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your data, contact us at:

Rappid Engineering
Email: [email protected]