SSmackerel

Support

A private food journal that learns your palate.

A small, personal project. Smackerel is made by one person for friends, family, and anyone who enjoys it. Most questions are answered below. There’s no support team and no help line, but you’re welcome to send a note — I read them and fix what I can, as time allows. Please don’t expect a guaranteed or immediate reply.

Common questions

How do I log a meal?
Tap the olive camera button in the center of the tab bar, take (or pick) a photo, give the dish a name, choose the restaurant, and tap Save. That’s it — the rating comes later.
When and how do I rate a meal?
A couple of hours after you log a meal, a notification asks “How was it?” You can tap Love, Good, Mid, Meh, or No right from the lock screen — no need to open the app. You can also rate or add a note any time by opening the entry in your Journal. You can change the reminder timing in Settings → Reminders.
What is the Palate tab?
It’s your taste profile, built automatically from the notes you write. As you log meals, Smackerel sketches your taste — Spice, Salt, and Richness dials, the flavors you gravitate to, the ones you steer clear of, and a running feed of small discoveries. It gets sharper the more you log.
Where are my photos stored? Will deleting an entry delete them?
Your photos live in your own Apple Photos library, in a Smackerel album. The app only references them — it never deletes your photos. Deleting a journal entry (or the whole app) leaves your photos safe in Apple Photos.
Is my data private?
Yes. No accounts, no servers, no ads, no tracking. Everything stays on your device. See the Privacy Policy for details.
How does the AI work? Does it send my notes anywhere?
By default the taste profile is built entirely on your iPhone using Apple Intelligence — nothing leaves the device. There’s an optional setting to use Anthropic’s Claude with your own API key; only if you turn that on does an entry’s note get sent (straight from your phone to Anthropic) to analyze it. It’s off unless you enable it.
Can I import meals I’ve already photographed?
Yes. In the Journal, open the import tray and pick photos from your library (up to 20 at a time). Smackerel reads each photo’s date and location and suggests the restaurant for you to confirm.
Why does it need iPhone 15 Pro or newer / iOS 26?
The on-device taste engine uses Apple Intelligence, which requires Apple-Intelligence-capable hardware (iPhone 15 Pro and later) and iOS 26.
How do I delete my data?
Delete the app and its journal data is removed with it. Your photos remain in Apple Photos and can be deleted there if you’d like.
Does it cost anything?
No. Smackerel is free, with no ads and no in-app purchases. The optional Claude feature uses your own Anthropic API key, so any usage there is billed to you by Anthropic.

Still stuck? Have an idea?

Send a note and I’ll take a look when I can. Feature ideas are welcome too — this app grows with the people who use it.

© 2026 Cogware PBC. Smackerel requires iPhone 15 Pro or newer on iOS 26 or later. Apple, Apple Photos, and Apple Intelligence are trademarks of Apple Inc. Claude is a product of Anthropic.