Last updated: 14 June 2026 Effective: 14 June 2026
MealNote is a calorie and macro tracker built to be calm, fast, and respectful of your time — and of your data. This policy explains, in plain language, what MealNote does and does not do with your information. It is written to be read, not skimmed.
If you only read one section, read the next one.
These are our four pledges. They are written into how the app works, not just into marketing:
Core features stay free, forever.
Local-first. Encrypted if you ever sync. Your diary lives on your device. We don't keep a copy.
No ads. No data sale. No exceptions. We don't run ads, we don't track you across apps or the web, and we never sell or rent your data.
Cancel in-app, refunded prorated. If you ever subscribe to MealNote Pro, you stay in control of it.
MealNote works without an account. We don't ask you to sign up, and we don't build a profile of you on our servers — because, by default, there are no servers holding your food diary.
This policy applies to the MealNote mobile and desktop app ("MealNote", "the app", "we", "us") on all platforms we publish it for. It does not cover third-party services you reach through the app — those are covered by their own policies, which we link below.
MealNote is operated by ARK SERVICES. You can reach us any time at contact@arkservices.in.
What MealNote stores, and where
Almost everything you do in MealNote is stored only on your device, in a local database. We cannot see it, and it is not uploaded to us.
That includes:
What
Examples
Your profile
First name (optional), daily calorie target, weight goal (lose / maintain / gain)
Your food diary
Logged meals, portions, meal types (breakfast / lunch / dinner / snack), dates
Foods you save
Names, brands, barcodes, calories, macros, serving sizes
Recipes
Anything you create (when available)
Weight & progress
Any weights or measurements you enter
Meal photos
Photos you attach to entries, compressed and saved on-device
App settings
Appearance (light/dark), preferences
Diagnostics
An on-device error log that helps you report a bug (see below)
If you uninstall the app, this on-device data is removed by your operating system. You can also wipe it yourself at any time (see Deleting your data).
What leaves your device — and only when
MealNote reaches the internet for a small number of clearly-bounded reasons. Here is the complete list.
1. Looking up foods and barcodes online
When you search foods online or scan a barcode, MealNote sends your search term or the scanned barcode number to public food databases so it can show you results:
What we send: the search text or barcode, plus a standard request identifying the app (e.g. MealNote/1.0.0 (https://getmealnote.com)) so these providers can recognize and, if needed, contact us about API usage. We do not attach your name, your diary, or a device identifier to these requests.
Like any internet request, these providers receive the standard network metadata that comes with an HTTP call (such as your IP address and a timestamp). How they use it is governed by their own privacy policies, linked below. If you never search online or scan, MealNote makes none of these requests.
2. Contributing a food to Open Food Facts (optional, opt-in)
When you add a food manually, you can choose "Add to Open Food Facts." Only if you tick that option do we send the name, brand, barcode, and nutrition you entered to the public Open Food Facts database so others can find it. This is off unless you turn it on, each time.
3. Importing from MyFitnessPal (optional)
If you import a MyFitnessPal export, you choose the file and MealNote reads and parses it on your device. The file's contents are not sent to us.
4. Exporting your data (optional)
When you export your data, MealNote writes a file (e.g. JSON) and you choose where to save it. The export is not sent to us; it goes wherever you put it.
5. Sending us diagnostics (optional)
MealNote keeps a local error log to help with bugs. It never leaves your device unless you explicitly copy it and send it to us — for example, by pasting it into an email. You can clear this log at any time in the app.
6. Sync (only if and when you enable it)
MealNote is local-first today. If we ever offer optional sync or backup across your devices, it will be end-to-end encrypted, opt-in, and described here before it ships. We will not silently start uploading your diary.
What MealNote does not do
No advertising. There are no ads in MealNote, and no ad networks.
No third-party analytics or trackers. MealNote does not embed analytics, attribution, or tracking SDKs. We don't measure your in-app behaviour on remote servers.
No selling or renting your data. Ever. To anyone.
No cross-app or cross-site tracking. We don't follow you around the internet.
No account, no password, no email required to use the app's core features.
No selling of your contact details. The contact email/URL we send to food databases is ours, not yours.
Permissions MealNote may ask for
We request the minimum, and only at the moment a feature needs it. You can decline, and the related feature simply won't be available.
Permission
Why
Can you say no?
Camera
To scan barcodes. Used only while the scanner is open. We don't record or upload video or images from it.
Yes — you can type the barcode instead.
Photos / Media
To attach a meal photo to an entry. The photo is compressed and stored on your device.
Yes — photos are optional.
Files / Storage
To import a MyFitnessPal CSV and to save your data export.
Yes — both are optional actions you start.
These services may receive data as described above. We link their policies so you can see how they handle it.
Service
Used for
Privacy policy
Open Food Facts
Food & barcode search; optional food contributions. Data is available under the Open Database License (ODbL).
https://world.openfoodfacts.org/privacy
USDA FoodData Central
Food/nutrition search
https://www.usda.gov/privacy-policy
Nutritionix (if enabled)
Food/nutrition search
https://www.nutritionix.com/privacy
Apple App Store / Google Play
Distributing the app and processing any MealNote Pro subscription
Apple: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/ · Google: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Nutrition values from these sources can vary, so always check the label — but that's a data-quality note, not a privacy one.
MealNote Pro and payments
If you choose to subscribe to MealNote Pro, the purchase is handled entirely by the Apple App Store or Google Play. They process your payment; we never see or store your card number or billing details. We receive only what the store tells us to confirm your subscription status. You can cancel in-app, and our pledge is a prorated refund.
MealNote is a calorie and macro tracker intended for adults. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has used the app in a way that concerns you, contact us at contact@arkservices.in.
How long we keep your data
Because your diary lives on your device, you decide how long it's kept. It stays until you delete it or uninstall the app. We don't hold a copy to retain.
The only data we might receive — diagnostics you choose to email us, or a food you choose to contribute to Open Food Facts — is handled as described in this policy and by the relevant service.
You're always in control:
Delete everything in-app: Profile → Data & sync → Export & delete my data → Delete everything. This wipes your local MealNote data on the device.
Export first if you want a copy: use Export everything before deleting.
Uninstall: removing the app removes its on-device data through your operating system.
If you ever contributed a food to Open Food Facts, that public contribution lives in their database under their terms; contact Open Food Facts to address it.
Local-first by design. The most private place for your data is your own device, so that's where we keep it. Your device's own lock screen and encryption protect it.
Encrypted in transit. Network requests (food lookups, optional contributions) use HTTPS.
End-to-end encryption for any future sync, if and when offered.
No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure, but we keep MealNote's footprint small precisely to keep your risk small.
Depending on where you live, you may have rights under laws such as the GDPR (EU/UK) or CCPA/CPRA (California), including the right to access, export, correct, or delete your personal data, and not to be discriminated against for exercising those rights.
Because MealNote stores your data on your own device and does not maintain a server-side profile of you, you can already exercise most of these rights directly in the app — export and delete are built in, and there is no account for us to look up. For anything you can't do in the app, or to ask a question about your rights, email contact@arkservices.in and we'll help.
We do not sell or share your personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of on that front.
The food databases MealNote queries may be hosted in countries other than your own (for example, the United States or the European Union). When you search online or scan a barcode, your request reaches the relevant provider wherever it is located, under its own policy.
If we change how MealNote handles data, we'll update this policy and its "Last updated" date. For material changes — especially anything that would send new data off your device — we'll make the change visible in the app or at https://getmealnote.com before it takes effect. Continuing to use MealNote after an update means you accept the revised policy.
Questions, concerns, or requests about your privacy:
We read these.