Privacy policy

Last updated 29 October 2026

Protein Tally helps people with PKU and their carers keep track of protein and phe. What you log can say a lot about your health, so we keep as little as we can, we never sell it, and you can delete it whenever you like.

Who we are

Protein Tally is a small independent app, not a company, clinic or medical service. In this policy “we” means the person who runs Protein Tally. You can reach us at [email protected].

If you use the app without an account

Everything you enter (foods, amounts, meals, dishes and settings) is stored only in your browser on that device. It is never sent to us. If you clear your browser data or lose the device, the log is gone unless you exported a backup.

When you scan a barcode or search for a food online, the barcode number or the words you typed are sent to Open Food Facts, a free public food database, to look up the product. Nothing else about you is sent with it. Open Food Facts handles those requests under its own privacy policy.

If you create an account

An account lets you keep your log safe and use it on more than one device. When you have one, we store:

• Account details: your email address and, if you sign in with Google, Apple or Facebook, the name and profile picture that service shares with us, plus an ID that links your account to it. We never see your password for those services. If you sign up with email, your password is stored only in scrambled (hashed) form.
• Your log: the foods you add, how much you ate, which meal and day, your saved dishes and foods, and your settings, such as your daily protein goal and phe estimate.
• Basic technical records: when you signed in and from what kind of device and IP address. These are kept by our sign-in provider to stop abuse and keep accounts secure.

If you use People (contacts and posts)

People is off until you turn it on in the People tab. When you turn it on, we store:

• A profile: a display name you choose and a random invite code. Nothing about PKU, your age, a photo or your email address.
• Your contacts: who you have connected with, and requests you have sent or received.
• Your posts: text of up to 1,000 characters, and any dish you choose to attach (its name, ingredients with grams, and protein and phe per 100 g).

Who can see what:

• Anyone who has your invite code or link can see your display name, so they can send you a request.
• Someone becomes your contact only when you accept their request (or they accept yours). Contacts see your name and all your posts, including posts from before you connected.
• Nobody else can see your contact list.
• Your food log and daily totals are never shared with anyone, whether you use People or not.

You can remove a contact at any time, and you will stop seeing each other's posts straight away. You can delete any of your posts. “Stop using People” deletes your profile, invite code, contacts and all your posts. Deleting your account does the same.

Anything you post can be read, remembered or copied by your contacts, so only share what you are happy for them to see.

What we use it for

• To sign you in and keep your log in sync across your devices.
• If you use People, to show your name and posts to the contacts you choose.
• To keep the service secure and working, and to fix problems.
• To reply when you contact us.
• To tell you about important changes to the app or this policy.

We do not:

• show ads, or use advertising or tracking cookies;
• sell, rent or trade your data;
• share it with clinics, employers, insurers, food companies or researchers (the only people who see anything are contacts you accept in People);
• use it to train AI models;
• read your log, except if you ask us to help with a problem and give permission.

If we ever want to use data in a new way (for example, anonymous statistics to help PKU research), we will ask you first and it will be off unless you turn it on.

Why we are allowed to use it

For people in places with laws like the GDPR: we use your account details to provide the service you signed up for (performing our agreement with you), and we store your log, which is health data, on the basis of your explicit consent, which you give when you create an account (by signing in with Google, Apple, Facebook or email). You can withdraw that consent at any time by deleting your account. Security records are kept for our legitimate interest in keeping the service safe.

Services that help us run the app

We use a few trusted companies to run Protein Tally. They handle your data only to provide their service to us, not for their own purposes.

• Google Firebase (Google LLC): sign-in and the database that stores accounts, logs and People data. Data is encrypted while it travels and while it is stored.
• Cloudflare: hosts the app's website. Like any website host it sees your IP address when you load the app, but not your log.
• Google, Apple or Facebook, only if you choose to sign in with one of them. That company will know you used it to sign in to Protein Tally. We do not post anything to your accounts or read your contacts.
• Open Food Facts, for barcode and food lookups, as described above.

These services may store data outside your country, including in the United States. Where the law requires it, they use approved safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.

We would only hand over data to anyone else if the law forces us to, and we would tell you unless we are not allowed to.

How we keep it safe

All connections use HTTPS. Database rules make sure each account can only read and change its own log. No system is perfectly secure, so if a breach ever affected your data we would tell you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.

How long we keep it

We keep your account and log for as long as you have an account. When you delete your account, your account details and log are deleted straight away from the live database, and any remaining copies (such as backups) are gone within 30 days. If an account has not been used for 3 years, we may email you and then delete it.

Your choices and rights

• See and download your data: Settings → Export backup gives you a copy of everything in your log.
• Correct it: delete any wrong entry in the app and add it again.
• Delete it: delete your account from Settings, or email us and we will do it for you.
• Sign out: signing out removes your log from that device. It stays safe in your account until you sign in again or delete the account.
• Ask us: what we hold about you, or object to how we use it. We will reply within 30 days.
• Complain: if you are unhappy with our answer, you can contact your local data protection authority.

Children

PKU is usually diagnosed at birth, so many logs are kept by parents for their children. An account should be created and managed by an adult. Children under 13 (or under 16 where local law says so) should not create their own account. A parent or guardian can keep a child's log in their own account. If you think a child has made an account without a parent's permission, email us and we will delete it.

Cookies and storage on your device

The app saves your log and settings in your browser's storage so it works offline. If you are signed in, it also keeps a sign-in token so you stay logged in. These are needed for the app to work. We do not use analytics, advertising or tracking cookies.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top. If a change affects how your data is used in an important way, we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect.

Contact

Questions, requests or worries: [email protected].