Privacy & Security
How your data is handled — in plain EnglishWe designed Helal Scan so that checking a product doesn't cost you your privacy. Here's what actually happens, and why you can trust it.
What happens when you scan
on your phone
with your random device ID — no photo, no name
with the reasons
Photos never leave your phone
When you photograph an ingredient list, the text is read on your device. The image is never uploaded — only the text you confirm is sent, and only if you choose to submit it.
No account, no name
There's no sign-up. Instead of a login, the app uses a random identifier kept in your phone's secure keychain and sent with each request, so your scan history follows your device. It is not tied to your name, email, Apple ID or Google account.
No tracking, no profile
The app bundles no analytics, attribution or advertising libraries, and there is no cross-app tracking. The one Google component it uses, ML Kit, runs on your device and may report its own diagnostics to Google — see Third parties in the Privacy Policy. We don't build a profile of you, and we don't sell your data.
Encrypted in transit
Everything between the app and our servers travels over HTTPS/TLS. Your device secret is kept in the operating system's secure enclave / keychain, and our server stores only a hash of it, never the secret itself.
What we receive, and why
| The barcode you scan | To look up the product and return an answer. Each scan is recorded against your device identifier, which is what makes your scan history work, and it lets us measure coverage and improve accuracy. |
|---|---|
| What you search for | To find products by name or brand. Searches are not stored; a failed search may appear in our error logs so we can fix it. |
| Ingredient text you submit | Only if you add a missing product or suggest a correction — the typed/confirmed text improves the shared database. Text only, never the photo. |
| A random device identifier | Sent with each request so your scan history stays tied to your device, and to prevent abuse. Your scan history is stored on our server against this identifier. “Clear Scan History” in the app deletes it — removing the app does not, because an uninstall cannot reach our server. |
Questions?
Read the full Privacy Policy, or reach us any time at [email protected].