Privacy policy

This policy explains how Berkeley Meals (“Berkeley Meals”, “we”, “us”) handles information when you use the Berkeley Meals iPhone app and website (together, the “Service”). Berkeley Meals is an independent student project that shows what UC Berkeley's dining halls are serving. It isn't affiliated with UC Berkeley or Cal Dining.

The short version: there are no accounts, ads, analytics or third-party trackers, we don't collect your name, email or other personal details, and what you tell the app stays on your device.

Information you give the app

To personalise menus, the app asks about things like your goals, calorie and protein targets, diet, allergens, food preferences, favourite dining halls and saved dishes. If you use the calorie or protein calculator, you may also enter your height, weight, age and activity level. All of this is stored only on your device (on the website, in your browser's storage). It is not sent to us, and we can't see it.

Information collected automatically

• Menu requests. To load a day's menu, the Service asks our server for that date's menu, or, if our server can't be reached, asks Cal Dining's website directly. These requests contain only the date.
• Server logs. Like any website or online service, the servers that answer these requests see your IP address, device and browser type, and the time of the request. Our hosting provider, Vercel, keeps standard logs like these for a short time for security and reliability. We don't use them to identify you or build a profile of you.

We don't use cookies for tracking or advertising, and we don't use analytics or crash-reporting tools.

Location

If you allow it, the app uses your location to notice when you walk into a dining hall so it can show that hall's menu, and to show walking times. With “Always” permission, iOS watches for dining halls in the background and wakes the app when you arrive. Location is processed only on your phone and is never sent to us or anyone else. The app works without it, and you can change the permission at any time in Settings › Berkeley Meals › Location.

Notifications

In the iPhone app, alerts about your saved dishes are scheduled on your phone; nothing about them is sent to us. On the website, if you turn on alerts, your browser gives us a push address, and we store it on our server with the names of your saved dishes and when you want to be notified, so we can send the alert. This record doesn't include your name or contact details. Turning alerts off deletes it.

How we use information

We use the limited information described above only to:

• show dining hall menus, nutrition information and recommendations;
• send the alerts you ask for;
• keep the Service secure, working and reliable.

We don't use your information for advertising, and we don't sell, rent or share it with anyone for their own marketing.

Who we share information with

We share information only with:

• Service providers that run the Service for us: Vercel (hosting and storage), plus Apple, Google, Mozilla or your browser's push service, which deliver notifications;
• Authorities, if the law requires it, or to protect the rights, safety or property of our users, the public or us.

If you rate the app with Apple's built-in prompt, Apple handles your rating under its own privacy policy, and we never learn what you chose.

How long we keep information

Information on your device stays until you delete the app or choose Start over in it (on the website, until you clear your browser's data). Website alert records are kept until you turn alerts off or the push service tells us the address no longer works. Server logs are kept only briefly by our hosting provider.

Security

All connections to our server use HTTPS. We keep as little information as possible, which is the best protection there is, but no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security.

Your choices and rights

Because your information lives on your device, you control it directly: you can change or erase it in the app at any time, turn location or notifications off in your device settings, or delete the app. Depending on where you live, you may also have the right to ask what information we hold about you, and to have it corrected or deleted. To make a request, email us. We'll respond within 30 days, and we won't treat you differently for exercising your rights.

Children

Berkeley Meals is meant for college students and isn't directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we'll delete it.

International users

Our service providers may process information in the United States and other countries, where data protection laws may differ from yours.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we'll change the date at the top of this page.

Contact

Questions or requests about privacy? Email krishivthakuria@gmail.com.