MenuQuest Privacy Policy
Effective November 14, 2026
The short version: MenuQuest has no ads or tracking, and signing in is optional. Your restaurants, ratings, and notes stay on your device and in your own iCloud. A few things leave your device to make features work: menu photos you choose to scan (passed to Anthropic to read the menu), and restaurant searches and, if you allow it, your location (passed to Google to find restaurants). These go through MenuQuest's server, which knows your app only by a random ID and doesn't keep what you send. None of it is tied to your identity.
What stays on your device
Everything you create in MenuQuest — restaurants, menus, the dishes you've tried and the dates you had them, ratings, notes, quest progress, and saved menu photos — is stored on your device. MenuQuest keeps only the date of each meal, never the time or where you were. If iCloud is turned on for MenuQuest, the same data syncs through your private iCloud database so it's backed up and available on your other devices. That data is stored by Apple under Apple's privacy policy; the MenuQuest developer cannot access it.
What leaves your device, and why
Requests go to MenuQuest's server (hosted by Supabase), which passes them on to the service that does the work and sends back the result. The server doesn't store your photos, searches, or location.
| Data | Sent to | When and why |
|---|---|---|
| Menu photos, and the text your device reads from them | MenuQuest's server → Anthropic (Claude API) | Only when you tap “Read menu,” to turn the photos into a list of sections and dishes. |
| Restaurant search text | MenuQuest's server → Google (Places API) | Only when you search while adding a restaurant, to find and verify it. |
| Your current location | MenuQuest's server → Google (Places API) | Only if you allow location access, when you open “Add Restaurant,” to list restaurants near you. MenuQuest doesn't save your location or use it in the background. |
| Your current location | Apple Maps (on your iPhone) | Only if you allow location access, when the Restaurants screen is open and you aren't at one of your restaurants, to guess which restaurant you're at (“Are you at…”). This goes to Apple, as with any map on your iPhone, under Apple's privacy policy; it doesn't go to Google or MenuQuest's server. When you tap Add, the restaurant's name and your location are sent to Google, through MenuQuest's server, to confirm it. |
| The menu you scanned: section and dish names, descriptions, prices, and dish tags | MenuQuest's server (Supabase) | After you scan a verified restaurant's menu, so the next person who adds that restaurant gets the menu ready-made. Stored with the restaurant's Google Place ID and your random app ID (so bad uploads can be removed). Never includes your photos, ratings, notes, or which dishes you've tried, and isn't shown to other users with anything that identifies you. |
| Menu problem reports (the reason you pick and an optional note) | MenuQuest's server (Supabase) | Only if you report a problem with a shared menu, to fix or hide bad menus. Stored with your random app ID so each person counts once. |
| Names and descriptions of dishes on a restaurant's current menu | MenuQuest's server → Anthropic (Claude API) | When you open a restaurant whose menu was saved before MenuQuest started describing dishes, to describe its dishes (cuisine, cooking style, flavors). The whole current menu is sent, so it doesn't reveal which dishes you've tried. Your ratings, notes and history are not sent; recommendations, quests and points are worked out on your device. |
| A random app ID, and how many scans and lookups you made today | MenuQuest's server (Supabase) | The first time you scan or look up a restaurant, the app gets a random ID with no name, email, or other details attached. The server counts uses per day to keep the service fair and affordable. The counts are only used for that. |
These requests don't include your name or contact details. Anthropic and Google receive only the request itself, not your app ID. Everything is used only to provide the feature you asked for. Each provider handles the data under its own terms: Anthropic's privacy policy and Google's privacy policy; MenuQuest's server runs on Supabase (Supabase's privacy policy). Your photos, notes, and ratings are never shared with other users, and your notes and ratings never leave your device except through your own iCloud.
When you add a restaurant that has no menu in MenuQuest yet, MenuQuest's server may read that restaurant's own public website to find its menu, and adds it to the shared library. The only thing it uses from you is which restaurant you added.
Your account (optional)
You can use MenuQuest without signing in. If you choose to sign in, with Apple or with a link sent to your email, MenuQuest's server (Supabase) stores your account's email address (with Sign in with Apple, this can be a private relay address Apple creates for you) and links your app ID to it. Your daily usage counts and any menus or menu reports you share are then linked to your account. Your restaurants, ratings, and notes still stay on your device and in your iCloud.
You can sign out or delete your account at any time in Settings › Account. Deleting it removes your account and email address from MenuQuest's server; menus you shared stay in the library but are no longer linked to you.
The MenuQuest website
menuquest.app has no ads, analytics, or tracking cookies. If you request a beta invite there, we store the email address and first name you enter, the date, and that it came from the website, on MenuQuest's server (Supabase). We use them only to invite you to the beta and to tell you when MenuQuest launches. We don't share or sell them. To be removed, email us at the address below.
What we don't do
- No advertising and no tracking across apps or websites.
- No analytics SDKs.
- No selling or sharing of your data.
- No background location, and no access to your contacts or photo library beyond the photos you pick.
Location
MenuQuest asks for location access only “While Using the App.” It uses it to show places near you on the Add Restaurant screen, to tell when you're at one of your saved restaurants, and to guess the restaurant you're at with Apple Maps. You can say no and search by name instead, or change this anytime in Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services.
Camera and photos
MenuQuest asks for camera access so you can photograph menus, and lets you pick photos from your library. It only receives the photos you take or select.
Beta testing
If you test MenuQuest through Apple's TestFlight, Apple may share crash reports and any feedback you choose to submit with the developer, as described in TestFlight's terms.
Deleting your data
You can delete any dish or restaurant in the app. Deleting the app removes its data from your device; to remove the iCloud copy, go to Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Manage Account Storage → MenuQuest → Delete Data.
Children
MenuQuest is not directed at children under 13 and doesn't knowingly collect their data.
Changes
If this policy changes — for example, when community ratings arrive — the updated version will be posted here with a new effective date before the change ships.
Contact
Questions? Email jeff@jeffherb.com.