1. Introduction
Cartive ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application and related services.
By using Cartive, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Account Information
When you create an account, we collect:
- Email address
- Name (optional)
- Profile picture (optional)
- Authentication credentials
2.2 Inventory & Shopping Data
To provide our core services, we store:
- Items you add to your inventory
- Shopping lists and cart items
- Categories and tags you create
- Expiration dates and quantities
- Price information and purchase history
2.3 AI Feature Data
When you use AI-powered features (recipes, scanning, receipt processing):
- Images are sent to third-party AI services for processing
- Images are processed transiently and not permanently stored by AI providers
- Your data is not used to train public AI models
Items categorized as "Pharmacy" or detected as medication are NEVER uploaded to the cloud. This data stays exclusively on your local device to protect your health privacy. Cartive is not a medical device and should not be used for medical decision-making.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use your information to:
- Provide and maintain our services
- Sync your data across your devices
- Generate AI-powered recipe suggestions based on your inventory
- Process receipt scans to extract item information
- Send important account and service notifications
- Improve and optimize our services
4. Third-Party Services
Cartive uses the following third-party services:
| Service | Purpose | Data Shared |
|---|---|---|
| Firebase (Google Cloud) | Authentication, database, cloud storage | Account info, inventory data, shopping lists |
| Google Gemini AI | Recipe generation, product recognition | Inventory items, product images (transient) |
| Google Cloud Vision | Barcode scanning, text recognition (OCR) | Product images, receipt images (transient) |
These services process data according to their own privacy policies. We use enterprise-grade APIs that do not use your data to train public AI models.
5. Data Storage & Security
5.1 Cloud Storage
Your data is stored securely using Firebase (Google Cloud) with:
- Encryption at rest (AES-256)
- Encryption in transit (TLS/HTTPS)
- Access controls tied to your authenticated account
5.2 Local Storage
Some data is stored locally on your device:
- Medication/pharmacy items (never synced to cloud)
- Cached data for offline access
- App preferences and settings
6. Data Sharing
- Sell your personal data to third parties
- Share your data for advertising purposes
- Use your data to train public AI models
- Share your medication or health-related data with anyone
We may share data only:
- With your explicit consent
- To comply with legal obligations
- To protect our rights or safety
- With service providers who assist in operating our services (under strict confidentiality agreements)
7. Your Rights & Choices
You have the right to:
- Access your personal data
- Correct inaccurate data
- Delete your account and associated data
- Export your data
- Opt-out of AI features by disabling them in Settings
To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@cartive.app.
8. Children's Privacy
Cartive is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected such information, please contact us immediately.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by:
- Posting the new Privacy Policy on this page
- Updating the "Last Updated" date
- Sending an email notification for significant changes
10. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
- Email: privacy@cartive.app
- Support: support@cartive.app