How FoodBuddy uses AI for calorie tracking

Which features use AI

Feature	What the AI does	What you send	Where the numbers come from	Per day (account / guest)
Label scan	Reads the nutrition table	A photo of the label	The label itself; you confirm each value	5 / 2
Describe it	Splits what you typed or said into foods and amounts	Your text	Food databases	30 / 5
Snap a meal	Lists the components on the plate with an amount range for each	A photo of the meal, and an optional hint	Food databases	5 / 1
Recipe import	Reads the ingredient list	A link, or a photo of a cookbook page	Food databases	10 / 2

Label scan

What the AI does: Reads the nutrition table
What you send: A photo of the label
Where the numbers come from: The label itself; you confirm each value
Per day (account / guest): 5 / 2

Describe it

What the AI does: Splits what you typed or said into foods and amounts
What you send: Your text
Where the numbers come from: Food databases
Per day (account / guest): 30 / 5

Snap a meal

What the AI does: Lists the components on the plate with an amount range for each
What you send: A photo of the meal, and an optional hint
Where the numbers come from: Food databases
Per day (account / guest): 5 / 1

Recipe import

What the AI does: Reads the ingredient list
What you send: A link, or a photo of a cookbook page
Where the numbers come from: Food databases
Per day (account / guest): 10 / 2

Not AI: barcode scanning and search (database lookups), your calorie target and the weekly check-in (standard formulas and your own logs), and Buddy (every line is written by people).

Who the provider is

FoodBuddy uses OpenAI through its API. Requests go to OpenAI's servers in the USA.

We send every request with storage of responses turned off.
OpenAI does not use API data to train its models.
OpenAI may keep inputs for up to 30 days to detect abuse, then deletes them.
The transfer is covered by OpenAI's data processing terms, see section 6 of the Privacy Policy.

What is sent, and what never is

Sent: only the photo or text for the feature you are using. For a recipe link, our server fetches the page and sends its ingredient list, not your details.

Never sent: your diary, weight, targets, profile, Apple Health data, email, name or any account identifier.

What is never AI

AI is good at recognising food. It is not a nutrition database, and it can sound confident while being wrong. So for describe it, snap a meal and recipe import, the AI only says what and how much. FoodBuddy then matches each item to a real food from Open Food Facts, CIQUAL, USDA or the community database, and the calories and macros come from there. Every food shows its source.

Label scan is the exception, on purpose: the numbers are printed on the pack in front of you. The AI reads them, and you check each value against the label before saving. FoodBuddy also compares the calories with what the macros add up to, so a misread number stands out.

Accuracy, and why you check

Photo estimates are the least precise. The app says so on the review screen, word for word:

Estimates from a photo are rough, typically ±20–30 %. Check each component and amount before logging.

Nothing from an AI feature is saved until you have seen it. On the review screen you can change any item or amount, remove what's wrong and add what's missing. Text and label results are usually closer, but the rule is the same: you have the last word.

Each AI feature asks before its first use. There are separate consents for label photos, for text (describe it and recipe imports) and for meal and cookbook photos. You can turn each one off at any time in Settings → Privacy. Our server refuses any AI request without your consent, so a missing consent can't be bypassed.

Photos

Photos are uploaded only when you use an AI feature. They are deleted from our storage right after reading, on every path, success or failure. A cleanup job removes anything left over within 24 hours. Please photograph only food, labels and recipes, and avoid faces, documents and receipts.

Daily limits

The limits in the table above keep FoodBuddy free and fair for everyone. With an account you get more than as a guest. If you reach a limit, barcode scanning, search and manual logging still work.

Voice input

You can speak instead of typing in describe it. FoodBuddy uses Apple's speech recognition: on your phone when your language supports it, otherwise Apple processes the audio and the app tells you so. FoodBuddy never records or keeps audio; only the text goes on to describe it.

What the AI doesn't do

There is no chatbot in FoodBuddy. The AI gives no advice, makes no diagnosis, does not set or change your targets, and never sees your diary.

How FoodBuddy uses AI