Privacy Policy

Kist is a kitchen inventory app for iPhone. It has no accounts, no tracking, and no servers of mine that store your data. This policy explains what that means in practice, and describes the one external service the app talks to.

The short version

Kist does not collect, transmit, or sell your personal data. The products, quantities, and expiry dates you enter are stored on your iPhone. If you turn on sync, that data moves only through your own private iCloud account, which the developer cannot access. The only data that ever leaves your device for a third party is a barcode number, sent to the Open Food Facts product database so the app can fill in a product name, and that only happens when you scan one.

Data stored on your device

The information you enter (product names, brands, categories, quantities, storage locations, expiry dates, notes, product photos, and app preferences) is saved locally on your device. It is used only to run the app: to show your inventory, work out what is expiring, and power the widget and Siri shortcuts. It is never sent to the developer.

The app's widget and its Shortcuts and Siri integration read this same local data through a shared app group container on your device. Nothing about that leaves your iPhone.

iCloud sync

Kist uses Apple's iCloud (CloudKit) to keep your pantry up to date across your own Apple devices. That data is stored in your personal iCloud account under your Apple ID and is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy. The developer has no access to it and operates no separate server or database for it. You can manage or disable iCloud for the app in your device Settings.

Sync uses Apple's push notification service to know when something has changed on another device. These are silent, system-level messages handled by Apple; they carry no content the developer can see.

Sharing a pantry with your household

Kist lets you share your pantry with other people using Apple's built-in iCloud Sharing. If you invite someone, they can see and change everything in the shared pantry: the products, quantities, dates, photos, and notes it contains. Their Apple account name may be visible to you and to other members, as Apple's sharing interface provides it.

Invitations and shared data are handled entirely by Apple. The developer does not operate the share, cannot see its contents, and cannot see who is in it. Sharing is optional, and you can stop sharing or remove a participant at any time from within the app or from Apple's sharing controls. Only invite people you are happy to give access to.

Camera and barcode scanning

Kist asks for camera access so you can scan product barcodes. The camera feed is processed live on your device to detect the barcode and is not recorded, stored, or transmitted anywhere. No photo of your kitchen or your shopping leaves your iPhone. You can refuse or later revoke camera access in Settings; the app still works, and items can be added by typing.

Product lookups via Open Food Facts

When you scan a barcode, Kist sends that barcode number, and nothing else to the Open Food Facts public product database, in order to look up the product's name, brand, size, category, and a small product image. If a match is found, that information is saved locally in the app so the same product does not need to be looked up again.

Open Food Facts is an independent, non-profit open database, not operated by the developer. Like any web request, the lookup exposes your device's IP address and a request identifying the app to their servers. Their handling of that is covered by the Open Food Facts privacy policy. No information about you, your pantry, or your other items is included in the request, and the developer receives no record of it. Lookups only happen when you scan; items you add by typing trigger no network request at all.

Notifications

If you allow notifications, Kist can send you a daily summary of what is expiring soon. That notification is composed and scheduled locally on your device by iOS from data already on it. It is not sent through any external server and involves no personal data leaving your iPhone. You can turn notifications off at any time in Settings.

No tracking, analytics, or advertising

Kist contains no advertising, no third-party analytics or tracking SDKs, and no device identifiers used to profile you. Because there is no account and no server of mine, there is nothing to log about how you use the app. The app's privacy manifest declares no collected data types and no tracking.

Purchases

Kist is free and contains no in-app purchases. Should that change, purchases would be handled entirely by Apple through the App Store: the developer would never receive your payment details, only the anonymous, aggregate sales information Apple provides to all developers.

Data sharing

None. Kist does not share, rent, or sell any information with third parties. The only data movements are the barcode lookups described above, and the optional iCloud sync and sharing into your own Apple account, handled by Apple.

Children

Kist is a general-audience household tool and is not directed at children. Because it collects no personal data, it gathers nothing from users of any age.

Your control

• Delete any product, batch, or photo at any time from within the app.
• Remove all app data by deleting Kist from your device.
• Manage or disable iCloud sync from your device Settings.
• Stop sharing a pantry, or remove a participant, at any time.
• Refuse or revoke camera and notification access in Settings.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the “last updated” date above will change with it. Material changes will be reflected on this page before they take effect.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email support@danmunoz.com.