SSmackerel

Privacy Policy

Built for one person: you.

Last updated 10 June 2026

The short version. Smackerel collects nothing. There are no accounts, no Smackerel servers, and no analytics or tracking. Your meals, notes, and photos stay on your iPhone and in your own Apple Photos library. The only time anything leaves your device is if you choose to turn on the optional Claude feature with your own API key — and even then it goes straight from your phone to Anthropic, never through us.

Who we are

Smackerel is an iPhone app published by Cogware PBC (“we,” “us”). This policy explains how the app handles your information. It applies to the Smackerel app only.

What we collect

Nothing. Smackerel has no user accounts and operates no server of its own. We do not collect, receive, store, sell, or share any personal data. We include no analytics, advertising, or crash-reporting SDKs.

Where your information lives

Location

Smackerel does not request or track your location. When you import a photo that already contains location data (EXIF), the app uses that — on your device — to suggest nearby restaurants via Apple Maps. This happens locally; the location is not collected by us or sent to any server we control.

Artificial intelligence and your notes

Smackerel turns the notes you write into a taste profile using AI. There are two modes:

Notifications

If you allow notifications, Smackerel schedules a local reminder to rate a meal a couple of hours after you log it. These notifications are generated and delivered on your device; they are not sent from a server and contain no data we receive.

Data sharing and selling

We do not sell, rent, or share your data with anyone, because we do not collect it in the first place. There are no third-party advertisers or data brokers involved.

Data retention and deletion

Your data lives on your device and in your Apple Photos library, under your control. To remove Smackerel’s data, delete the app — its local journal data is removed with it. Your photos remain in Apple Photos (they belong to you, not the app) and can be deleted there if you wish.

Children

Smackerel is rated 4+ and does not collect data from anyone, including children. It is not directed at children under 13 and contains no accounts, messaging, or social features.

Your rights

Privacy laws such as the GDPR (EU/UK) and CCPA/CPRA (California) give you rights to access, correct, or delete personal data a company holds about you. Because Smackerel holds no personal data about you on any server, there is nothing for us to retrieve or erase — your information is already entirely in your hands on your own device.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we will update the date at the top of this page and post the revised version here.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email .


© 2026 Cogware PBC. Smackerel is an iPhone app. Apple, Apple Photos, and Apple Intelligence are trademarks of Apple Inc. Claude is a product of Anthropic.