Privacy Policy

Salty Hippo ("the app," "we," "us") is a food, drink, and medication screening tool for people managing kidney disease, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, gout, and celiac disease. This page explains what information the app collects, how it's used, and how you can control it.

What we collect

• Account identifier: the email address you enter to use the app. We don't require a password or collect your name.
• Health condition selections: which condition(s) and severity/stage you tell the app you're managing, so it can apply the right screening rules.
• Photos and typed food descriptions: when you scan a food, drink, ingredient photo, or medication label, that image or text is sent to Anthropic's Claude AI model to identify what's shown and estimate nutrients. Photos are processed automatically to generate a result, are not reviewed by any person at Salty Hippo, and are not stored as image files after that. Please photograph only your food or product: if people or personal information incidentally appear in the background, the image is still used only to identify the food and then discarded, and responsibility for what a photo captures rests with the person who takes and submits it.
• Barcode lookups: a scanned barcode number is sent to Open Food Facts (a free, public, crowd-sourced product database) to retrieve nutrition information.
• Food journal, fluid log, and medication list entries: the results you choose to save (food name, estimated nutrients, verdicts, medication names) are stored so you can view your history and daily totals.
• Subscription/billing information: if you subscribe, payment is handled entirely by Stripe. We store only your Stripe customer/subscription ID and status (active, trialing, etc.) — we never see or store your card number.

How we use it

Your information is used only to provide the app's screening, journaling, and subscription features to you. We do not sell your data, and we do not use it for advertising.

Third parties involved

• Anthropic (Claude AI) — processes photos/text you submit to identify food and estimate nutrients.
• Open Food Facts — public barcode/product database used for barcode scans.
• Stripe — handles subscription billing and payment information.

Your choices

You can delete individual journal entries, fluid log entries, or medications directly in the app at any time. You can permanently delete your entire account and all associated data in the app itself — open the account menu (top right) and choose Delete account — or request deletion by email at the address below.

Data retention

Your journal, fluid log, medication list, and settings are stored for as long as your account is active. If your subscription ends and is not renewed, this data is retained for 90 days so you can resubscribe and continue where you left off; after that, we may permanently delete it. You can delete your account and all associated data immediately at any time, in the app or using the contact below. When your account is deleted, your personal information is erased right away; we retain only a non-identifying, one-way-scrambled marker derived from the email address, used solely to prevent repeated free trials. This marker cannot be turned back into your email address and contains no other information.

Children

Salty Hippo is not directed at children. Accounts are intended for adults (the age of majority where you live), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. That age line reflects children's privacy law and guidance: the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) restricts collecting personal information from children under 13, and guidance from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada under PIPEDA is that young children cannot meaningfully consent to the collection of their personal information. A parent or guardian may use their own account to help manage a family member's diet, always under the guidance of that person's care team. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

Medical disclaimer

Salty Hippo is an educational screening tool, not a medical device, and does not diagnose, treat, or provide medical advice. Always confirm dietary and medication decisions with your doctor, dietitian, or pharmacist.

Privacy law that applies

Salty Hippo is operated by 1001316425 Ontario Corporation from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We handle personal information in accordance with Canada's federal private-sector privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), including its principles of consent, limited collection, and safeguarding. Depending on where you live, local privacy laws may give you additional rights, and nothing in this policy limits them. You can ask us at any time what information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, using the contact below.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your data can be sent to support@salty-hippo.com.