Privacy Policy

Effective date: 15 October 2026

Our Privacy Commitment

GrocerEase is built to help Kiwi households spend less on groceries, not to profit from private household information. We collect only what we need to run the features you choose to use, and we do not sell, rent or trade personal information.

1. Information We Collect

Account Information:

  • Email address (for login and communication)
  • Display name only if supplied by your sign-in provider or you choose to use one
  • Profile preferences (dietary needs, default store, household size)

App Usage Data:

  • Shopping lists you create (names, items, budgets)
  • Recipe interactions (views, saves, submissions)
  • Meal plans, shopping lists and recipes you create or save
  • Feedback you choose to provide
  • Receipt photos and extracted shopping facts when you use receipt scanning
  • Recipe images you upload when you choose Import from image
  • Recipe copies or library submissions you explicitly choose to share

Location Data:

  • GrocerEase is currently for New Zealand grocery shopping only. Account setup asks you to confirm New Zealand, choose a region, and save a general suburb or town for local price comparisons.
  • We do not need your street address for grocery price comparison. Precise location is only requested if you intentionally use a map feature that needs it.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

  • Provide personalized recipe suggestions based on your dietary preferences
  • Provide meal planning, shopping-list and local price-comparison features
  • Process receipt photos to extract shopping items and prices for your review
  • Process recipe images to extract recipe text for your review
  • Save recipes privately or publish approved recipe submissions when you explicitly choose to share them
  • Improve the service using feedback and de-identified operational information only where that use is intentionally enabled and described
  • Respond to feedback, privacy and support requests
  • Moderate shared recipe submissions before they enter the public library

3. Receipt Scanning Feature

How Receipt Scanning Works:

  • You upload photos of your grocery receipts
  • We use AI technology to extract product names, prices, and store information
  • This data helps automatically update your shopping lists and track spending
  • When you choose to scan a receipt, non-personal shopping facts contribute to the shared GrocerEase price database after review/correction

Your Control and Privacy:

  • Scanning a receipt is always optional
  • You can review and edit extracted shopping facts before saving
  • Your account identity is not published with community prices
  • Receipt photos stay private and are retained as source/evidence rather than public community content
  • The community contribution is agreed once in the current Terms rather than requested at every upload
  • You can request access, correction or deletion of personal information associated with your account

4. Recipe Importing and Sharing

  • Recipe images imported into My Recipes remain private unless you explicitly submit or share a recipe.
  • Submitting a recipe to the GrocerEaseNZ Library creates a pending moderation record; it is not published automatically.
  • The source image used to read a recipe is private review evidence and is not published as the recipe image.
  • Sharing a Library recipe links to that shared library recipe.
  • Sharing a private My Recipe creates a separate shareable snapshot; the original private recipe record remains private.

4A. Current Beta Sharing

During the current Beta, the shared service is limited mainly to reviewed grocery price facts from receipts and recipes that users deliberately submit or share. Hidden future community features are not part of the everyday Beta experience.

5. Information We Share

We Never Sell Your Data

GrocerEase will never sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

We only share information in these limited circumstances:

  • Information you deliberately share: approved library recipes, recipe share copies and reviewed non-personal receipt price facts can be made available as described in the app
  • Service Providers: technical providers may process information where needed to operate the app
  • Legal Requirements: information may be disclosed if required by New Zealand law or needed to protect safety or security
  • Service improvement: de-identified operational information may be used internally to understand reliability and improve the service; we do not sell personal information or private household records

6. Data Storage and Security

Where Your Data Lives: GrocerEaseNZ currently runs on Base44 and supporting service providers. Data may be processed or stored outside New Zealand while longer-term hosting options are evaluated.

Data Retention: We keep account and feature data while it is needed to provide or support the service, subject to legal, security and operational requirements.

Deletion requests: You can request deletion of personal information through Feedback or support@inaohgroup.nz. Shared facts or content may need separate review where they have been deliberately contributed to the shared service.

7. Your Privacy Rights

Under New Zealand privacy law, you have the right to:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
  • Correction: Ask us to correct any inaccurate information
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your account and personal data
  • Copy: Ask for a copy of personal information we can reasonably provide
  • Communications: Unsubscribe from optional marketing communications if they are introduced
  • Choice: Stop scanning receipts at any time; future scans are optional even though scanned price facts are community-contributed under the accepted Terms

To exercise these rights, contact us through the Feedback section or email us directly.

8. Cookies and Tracking

We use essential cookies to keep you logged in and remember your preferences. We do not use tracking cookies for advertising purposes. You can control cookie settings in your browser, though some features may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

9. Children's Privacy

GrocerEase is designed for users 13 years and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we discover we have collected such information, we will delete it immediately.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, new features, or legal requirements. We will notify users of significant changes through the app or by email. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data:

  • Use the Feedback section in the app
  • Email: support@inaohgroup.nz

This policy is intended to explain how GrocerEase handles personal information for its New Zealand service.