Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Privacy Policy
1. Who we are
Carcino (“the App”) lets you scan food and other consumable products to check whether they contain ingredients linked to cancer or other harm. The App is operated by Jayanth Krishna Dharan Khannan, an individual developer based in India (“we,” “us,” “our”).
This policy explains what information the App collects, how we use it, and the choices you have. By using the App, you agree to this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the App.
The App does not require you to create an account, and we do not ask for your name, email address, or other contact details to use it.
2. Information we collect
Camera and scans. The App asks for camera access so you can scan product barcodes or ingredient labels. Camera images are processed on your device and are never sent to us or anyone else. However, the barcode itself does leave your phone: when you scan a product, the App sends its barcode number to Open Food Facts, a public product database, to look up the product and its ingredients. Like any internet request, this also passes along basic technical details such as your IP address. We store a record of the products you scan on your device only so you can see your scan history. You can turn off camera access at any time in your iPhone’s Settings.
Usage and analytics data. When you use the App, we automatically collect information about how you use it, such as screens viewed, features used, session length, and crash or error reports. This includes which products you scan: each scan is recorded in our analytics along with the product’s barcode number.
Device information. We collect basic technical details such as device model, iOS version, app version, language and region settings, and anonymous app installation identifiers. We do not collect Apple’s advertising identifier (IDFA).
Information we do not collect. We do not collect your name, email address, precise location, contacts, photos outside the scan screen, or health records. Scan results describe products, not you, and we do not use them to draw conclusions about your health.
3. How we use information
We use the information above to:
Identify scanned products and show their ingredient information
Keep the App working, fix bugs, and diagnose crashes
Understand which features people use so we can improve the App
Improve the accuracy and coverage of our product and ingredient data
Protect the App against fraud, abuse, and security threats
Comply with legal obligations
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for targeted advertising.
4. Third-party services and sharing
We share information only in these cases:
Service providers. We use trusted companies to run the App, under contracts that limit their use of the data to providing services to us. These are TelemetryDeck (TelemetryDeck GmbH, Germany), which receives anonymized usage signals, including the barcode numbers of products you scan, and device details for analytics, and Firebase Crashlytics (Google LLC), which receives crash reports, device details, and an app installation identifier when the App crashes. We also look up products in Open Food Facts, a public database run by the non-profit Open Food Facts association in France. It receives the barcode number of each product you scan so it can return that product’s details, and it handles those requests under its own privacy policy.
Apple. Apple may collect information when you download or use the App under Apple’s own privacy policy.
Legal reasons. We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or government request, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of our users, us, or others.
Business transfers. If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, information may transfer to the new owner, who will remain bound by this policy.
We may share aggregated or de-identified data that cannot reasonably identify you, for example statistics on which ingredients are most often flagged.
5. Retention, security, and your choices
Retention. We keep crash reports for up to 90 days and analytics data for up to 24 months, then delete or de-identify it. Scan history stored on your device stays there until you delete it or delete the App.
Security. We use reasonable technical and organizational measures, including encryption in transit, to protect information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Children. The App is intended only for people aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe someone under 18 has used the App and provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.
Your choices.
Turn off camera access in iOS Settings > Carcino > Camera (scanning will stop working).
Limit ad tracking and app tracking requests in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking.
Turn off analytics at any time in Carcino’s settings.
Delete your scan history in the App, or delete the App to remove locally stored data.
Your rights, including California and other U.S. states. Depending on where you live, you may have the right to know what personal information we hold about you, request a copy, ask us to correct or delete it, and opt out of its sale or sharing for targeted advertising. We do not sell or share personal information for those purposes. To make a request, email contact@carcino.app. We will verify your request and respond within the time required by law, and we will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.
Users in India. Under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you may ask for a summary of the personal data we process about you, ask us to correct, complete, update, or erase it, and nominate another person to exercise these rights on your behalf. If you have a complaint about how we handle your data, contact our grievance contact, Jayanth Krishna Dharan Khannan, at contact@carcino.app. We will respond within the time required by law. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India.
6. International users, changes, and contact
International users. The App is not offered in the European Union, European Economic Area, or United Kingdom. We are based in India, and information may be processed there or wherever our service providers operate. By using the App, you understand your information may be transferred to and processed in those countries, which may have different data protection laws than where you live.
Changes to this policy. We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the new version in the App and at carcino.app/privacy-policy/, and change the “Last updated” date. For significant changes, we will give notice in the App.
Contact us. Questions or requests about privacy can go to:
Jayanth Krishna Dharan Khannan, India