Privacy Policy — SmartList
Overview
SmartList (“the app”), operated by Smartvibes (smartvibes.com.au), is a grocery-planning app for personal and household use. This policy explains what data the app collects, how it is used, and your rights. We do not sell your data and we use no third-party advertising or tracking SDKs.
Data We Collect
Where your data is stored
Your grocery lists, weekly plans, meal plans, budgets, notes, recurring items and custom lists are stored securely in the cloud using Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore), tied to your account. This lets your data sync across devices and be shared with household members you invite. A copy is cached locally on your device so the app works offline.
Account and sign-in
Using the app requires signing in with Google, Apple, or an email and password via Firebase Authentication. We store your account identifier and your name, email and profile photo as provided, to identify you to people you share with and to sync your data across your devices.
Camera and photos
The app requests camera and photo-library access for:
- Receipt and list scanning — photographing a receipt or shopping list to extract grocery items.
- Item photos — attaching a photo to a grocery item.
Photos you attach to items are uploaded to and stored in Google Firebase Storage under your account, so they sync across devices and appear for members of any week you share. Attaching photos is a Premium feature; Premium accounts include 10 GB of photo storage. You can delete a photo at any time.
AI receipt & list scanning (Google Gemini & Cloud Vision)
When you scan a list or receipt, the image you take is sent to Google’s Generative Language (Gemini) API and/or Google Cloud Vision to read the text and identify grocery items and prices. The image is used solely for that purpose for the scan you request; we do not retain scanned images on any server we operate. Google processes the request under its terms — see Google’s Privacy Policy. If you do not use the scanning feature, no images are sent.
Location and store search
The Store Locator helps you find shops near you. When you search for or view stores, the app uses your device location (with your permission) to show nearby stores and distances, and sends your search text to Google Maps Platform (Places API) to return results and map data. Your location is used only for this feature, in the moment — it is not tracked in the background or stored on our servers. You can deny or revoke location access in your device settings; search still works, just without distance sorting.
Notifications
With your permission, the app registers a push-notification token with Apple Push Notification service (iOS) or Firebase Cloud Messaging (Android), via Expo, so we can alert you about shared-list activity, invitations and reminders. The token is stored on your account and on weeks you share so members can notify you. You can turn notifications off in your device settings at any time.
Contacts and sharing
When you add a contact, share a week, or join a team, your display name and email are shared with the people you connect with so they can recognise and collaborate with you. Contact requests and team membership are stored on your account. You can remove contacts or leave teams at any time. Shared access never gives members access to your other lists or account settings.
Subscriptions and payments
SmartList offers an optional paid “Premium” subscription. Purchases are processed by the Apple App Store or Google Play. We never receive or store your card or payment details — those are handled entirely by the app store. Where a third-party subscription manager (e.g. RevenueCat) is used, it receives only an anonymous subscriber identifier to verify your subscription across devices.
Anonymous usage statistics
To improve the app, we compute anonymous, aggregate usage statistics — such as how many people use SmartList each week and how many lists are scanned. These are simple counters and dates stored on your own account and rolled up into anonymous totals; they are never linked to you, never sold or shared, and we use no third-party analytics or advertising SDKs. You can turn this off any time in Settings.
Crash reports
If the app crashes, we capture the technical error details (error message and stack trace) along with your app version and device type, so we can find and fix the bug. Reports are stored in our own Firebase project — not a third-party crash service — and never include the contents of your lists. You can turn automatic crash reporting off in Settings.
Data Sharing
We do not sell or rent your personal data. To run the app we rely on trusted service providers that process data on our behalf:
- Google Firebase — sign-in (Authentication), cloud database (Cloud Firestore), photo storage (Firebase Storage) and push messaging (Cloud Messaging).
- Google Cloud Vision & Generative Language (Gemini) — processing only the image you choose to scan.
- Google Maps Platform — store search and maps.
- Apple App Store / Google Play — Premium subscription processing.
Lists and photos are only visible to you and to any household members you explicitly invite to a shared week.
Data Storage and Security
Your data is stored in Google Firebase under your account, protected by Firebase security rules so only you and members you invite can access it, plus a local cache on your device subject to your device’s own security (screen lock, encryption). Data is transmitted over encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS).
Children’s Privacy
The app is not directed at children under 13, and you must be at least 13 to create an account. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13.
Your Rights
- Access — everything is readable within the app.
- Delete — use Settings → Account → Delete Account & All Data to permanently remove your account, cloud-stored lists, photos and history. You can also request deletion by emailing us. Uninstalling the app clears the local copy but does not delete cloud data held under your account.
- Portability — use the share / export feature to export your lists.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be noted with an updated date at the top of this page.
Contact
If you have questions about this privacy policy or want to request data deletion, email [email protected] or visit smartvibes.com.au/about.