PantryChef Privacy Policy
Last Updated: September 10, 2026
This Privacy Policy describes how PantryChef (“PantryChef,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) handles information when you use the PantryChef mobile application.
PantryChef is developed and operated by Lori Elliott. PantryChef helps users manage pantry items, discover recipes, create shopping lists, scan grocery-product barcodes, and generate recipe suggestions using artificial intelligence.
Information Stored on Your Device
Most information you enter into PantryChef is stored locally on your device and is not uploaded to PantryChef servers.
This may include:
- Pantry items, quantities, units, categories, and expiration dates
- Dietary preferences and restrictions
- Food allergies or intolerances you enter
- Disliked or excluded ingredients
- Preferred cuisines
- Shopping-list items
- Favorite recipes
- Saved AI-generated recipes
- Application preferences and settings
PantryChef currently does not provide user accounts or cloud synchronization. Locally stored information generally remains on your device until you clear PantryChef’s application data or uninstall the application.
AI Chef and Artificial Intelligence
PantryChef includes an optional AI Chef feature that generates recipe suggestions.
When you choose to generate a recipe, PantryChef sends information necessary to fulfill your request to PantryChef’s backend service. Depending on the information you have entered and selected, this may include:
- Ingredients selected for the recipe
- Dietary restrictions
- Allergies or intolerances
- Disliked or excluded ingredients
- Preferred cuisines
- Requested number of servings
- Measurement preferences
This information is transmitted to PantryChef’s backend and provided to Google Gemini, a third-party artificial intelligence service, for the purpose of generating the requested recipe.
The generated recipe is returned to your device. PantryChef does not intentionally store generated recipes on its server. Recipes you choose to save are stored locally on your device.
Please do not enter information into PantryChef’s dietary or allergy fields that you do not want processed for the purpose of generating AI recipes.
AI-generated recipes and ingredient recommendations are provided for informational purposes and should not be considered medical advice. Users with food allergies, intolerances, medical dietary requirements, or other food-safety concerns should independently verify ingredients before preparing or consuming food.
Network and Rate-Limiting Information
When PantryChef communicates with its backend, normal internet connection information, including an IP address, may be processed as part of the request.
PantryChef uses the IP address to help enforce limits on AI Chef usage and protect the service from excessive or abusive requests.
Before being stored for rate-limiting purposes, the IP address is transformed using a one-way SHA-256 hash. PantryChef does not intentionally store the raw IP address in its rate-limiting database.
The resulting rate-limit identifier is temporarily stored using Upstash Redis and expires automatically after approximately 24 hours.
Barcode Scanner
PantryChef can use your device’s camera to scan grocery-product barcodes.
Camera access is used for barcode recognition. PantryChef does not intentionally record, save, or upload the camera video feed.
After a barcode is recognized, the numeric barcode is sent to Open Food Facts to retrieve available product information. This may include information such as the product name, brand, product details, and product image.
Product images supplied by Open Food Facts may be loaded remotely from Open Food Facts servers.
You may also enter a barcode manually instead of using the camera.
Camera Permission
On supported devices, PantryChef requests permission to access the camera for its barcode-scanning feature.
Camera access is not used by PantryChef for advertising, user tracking, facial recognition, or location identification.
You may deny or revoke camera access through your device settings. Other PantryChef features can continue to function without camera access, although live barcode scanning will not be available.
Third-Party Services
PantryChef currently uses third-party services to provide certain application features:
- Google Gemini — used to generate recipes requested through AI Chef.
- Vercel — used to host PantryChef’s backend services.
- Upstash Redis — used for temporary AI-request rate limiting.
- Open Food Facts — used to retrieve grocery-product information from scanned or manually entered barcodes.
These third-party providers may process information according to their own privacy policies and terms.
Information PantryChef Does Not Currently Collect
PantryChef does not currently operate its own system for collecting:
- User accounts or login credentials
- Email addresses through the PantryChef app
- Precise or approximate GPS location
- Contacts
- Microphone recordings
- Photo-library contents
- Advertising identifiers
- Behavioral advertising data
PantryChef currently does not include third-party advertising, analytics, or crash-reporting SDKs.
Data Sharing
PantryChef does not sell personal information.
Information is transmitted to third-party services only as necessary to provide specific application functionality, such as AI recipe generation, barcode lookup, backend hosting, or abuse prevention.
Data Retention and Deletion
Pantry inventory, dietary information, shopping lists, favorites, saved recipes, and application preferences are currently stored locally on your device.
Because PantryChef currently does not use user accounts or cloud synchronization, clearing PantryChef’s application data or uninstalling the application removes PantryChef information stored locally on that device.
AI recipe request contents and generated recipes are not intentionally stored by PantryChef’s backend after processing the request.
Hashed identifiers used for AI rate limiting expire automatically after approximately 24 hours.
Third-party service providers may retain information according to their own privacy policies, terms, and legal obligations.
Children’s Privacy
PantryChef is not designed to knowingly collect personal information from children.
If you believe personal information belonging to a child has been provided through PantryChef inappropriately, please contact us using the information below.
Security
PantryChef uses reasonable technical measures intended to protect information processed by the application, including encrypted HTTPS communication and limiting the amount of information transmitted off-device.
However, no electronic transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy as PantryChef’s features, services, or legal requirements change.
When this policy is updated, the Last Updated date at the top of this page will be revised.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or PantryChef’s privacy practices, please contact:
Lori Elliott
Developer of PantryChef
Email: homefedandhappy@gmail.com
Website: SaviorCents.com
