Privacy Policy
MealieMobile is an iOS and iPadOS app for people who run their own Mealie recipe server. This policy covers the MealieMobile app, its "Save to Mealie" share extension, and this website at mealiemobile.com. The short version: MealieMobile collects no data. The app talks only to the Mealie server you sign in to, and we, the developer, never receive anything you do in it.
1. Data We Collect
None. MealieMobile has no account with us, no analytics, no crash reporting, no advertising, and no third-party SDKs. We operate no server that the app connects to, so there is nowhere for your data to reach us.
2. Your Mealie Server
Everything the app shows and changes (recipes, photos, ratings, meal plans, shopping lists, and On Hand foods) lives on your own Mealie server, at the address you enter when you sign in. The app reads and writes that data through Mealie's API, and it is stored and governed by whoever operates that server, which is usually you or your household.
Some Mealie features run on your server and may contact other services, depending on how your server is configured:
- Importing from a link asks your Mealie server to fetch and scrape that web page.
- Importing from photos or text sends the photos or text to your Mealie server, which passes them to whichever AI provider its administrator has configured. That may be a third-party service such as OpenAI, which handles them under its own privacy policy. MealieMobile does not choose or contact that provider. The app asks your permission before the first AI import, and you can withdraw it at any time by turning off Allow AI Import in the app's Settings.
3. Sign-in & Credentials
You can sign in with your Mealie username and password, or with an API token you create in Mealie.
- If you use a password, it is sent only to your Mealie server, used once to create a long-lived API token named "MealieMobile", and then discarded. Your password is never stored.
- The API token and your server address are stored on your device in the iOS Keychain and in storage shared only with the app's own share extension, so "Save to Mealie" can reach your server.
- Signing out deletes them from your device and, if the app created the token, revokes it on your server.
4. Reminders
If you turn on Reminders sync, the app asks for access to Reminders so it can keep one list you choose in sync
with a Mealie shopping list. It reads and changes only that list. Item names and checked state are copied between
Reminders and your Mealie server, and each synced reminder stores a mealiemobile:// link in its URL
field so the pair can be matched later.
Your reminders are stored by Apple on your device and, if you use iCloud, in your iCloud account, under Apple's Privacy Policy. A small record of which reminder is paired with which Mealie item is kept on your device. You can turn sync off at any time, and you can revoke access in iOS Settings.
5. Camera & Photos
The app asks for camera access only when you take a photo of a recipe to import. Photos you choose from your library, for importing or as a recipe's picture, use the iOS photo picker, which gives the app only the photos you select. In every case the app uploads the photo only to your Mealie server. If you import it with AI, that server then passes it to its AI provider, as described in section 2.
6. Local Network
If your Mealie server is on your home network, iOS asks permission for the app to connect to devices on your local network. It is used only to reach the server address you entered.
7. Alarms, Notifications & Background Refresh
- Cook timers use Apple's AlarmKit if you allow alarms. iOS runs the countdown and alarm on your device and can show the step and recipe name on the Lock Screen, in the Dynamic Island, and on a paired Apple Watch. If you don't allow alarms, the app uses local notifications scheduled on your device instead. Nothing is sent to a push service.
- Background App Refresh lets the app sync your grocery list with Reminders while it's closed, by contacting your Mealie server. You can turn it off in iOS Settings.
8. Siri & Shortcuts
The "Add to groceries in MealieMobile" and "Sync groceries" actions run inside the app and send the item to your Mealie server. Requests you make through Siri are handled by Apple under Apple's privacy policy.
9. Share Extension
When you use "Save to Mealie" from the share sheet, the extension reads only the link you shared and sends it to your Mealie server to import. It does not read anything else from the app you shared from.
10. Data on Your Device
The app keeps a few settings on your device, such as your display preferences, Reminders sync options, sync state, and your AI import choice. It also saves any running cook timers, including their step and recipe name. Signing out cancels your timers and clears your AI import choice, and deleting the app removes all of these. Diagnostic logs are written to the device's own system log and are not sent anywhere.
11. This Website
This website uses no cookies, analytics, or tracking. It loads fonts from Google Fonts and the App Store badge from Apple, which receive the standard information any web request includes, such as your IP address.
12. Data Sharing
We do not sell, rent, or share data with anyone, because we never receive any. The only parties involved in using the app are the operator of your Mealie server, any AI provider that server is set up to use, and Apple, for Reminders, iCloud, Siri, and the App Store.
13. Data Retention & Deletion
Your recipes, plans, and lists are kept on your Mealie server for as long as its operator keeps them. Signing out deletes the stored token from your device and, if the app created the token, revokes it on your server. Deleting the app removes its settings and sync records, but iOS may keep Keychain items after an app is deleted, so sign out first if you want the token gone. To delete data on your server, use Mealie itself or ask its administrator. We hold no copy of anything to delete.
14. Children's Privacy
MealieMobile does not knowingly collect information from children under 13. It collects no personal information from users of any age.
15. Changes to This Policy
If we update this policy, the revised version will be posted at this URL with a new date. We can't notify you in the app, because we hold no contact information.
16. Contact
Questions about this policy? Email support@mealiemobile.com.
MealieMobile is an independent app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Mealie project. Apple Inc. is not responsible for the content of this privacy policy.