ShelfScout Privacy Policy

Introduction

ShelfScout compares supermarket prices in New Zealand. We are committed to protecting your privacy, and we collect as little about you as the app can work with. This policy explains exactly what we collect, why, who we share it with, and how to get rid of it.

Information We Collect

You can browse and search prices, and compare a shopping list, without an account and without giving us anything.

If you create an account, we collect and store:

• Your email address and password. These are held by our authentication provider, Supabase. Your password is stored only as a cryptographic hash — we never see it.
• Your shopping lists — the products you add and how many of each.
• The supermarkets you select, so we can compare the stores you actually shop at.
• Your price watches — the products you asked to be alerted about, your alert settings, and a record of which alerts have fired, so we do not send you the same one twice.

We do not ask for your name, your phone number, your address, or any payment details. We never see what you actually buy — ShelfScout has no connection to your supermarket loyalty account or your receipts.

Location and Camera

Location. If you grant location permission, we use your device's location to show which supermarkets are near you when you are choosing your stores. It is used on the spot for that search and is not stored on our servers or shared with anyone. You can refuse the permission and search for stores by name instead.

Camera. The mobile app's Scan tab uses your camera to read a product barcode. Scanning happens on your device; only the resulting barcode number is sent to us, to look the product up. No photo or video is recorded, stored, or transmitted.

How We Use Your Information

We use what we collect only to run the service you asked for: to sign you in, to keep your lists, stores and watches in sync across your devices, and to send you the price alerts you set up. We do not use it for advertising, we do not build a profile of you, and we do not make automated decisions about you.

Sharing and Third Parties

We do not sell your data, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers. We share it only with the service providers we need to operate:

• Supabase — authentication and database hosting.
• Google Maps Platform — used to place supermarkets on a map. Store addresses are sent to Google; your account details are not.

We may also disclose information where we are legally required to. The supermarkets whose prices we compare are not our partners and receive nothing about you from us.

Analytics

ShelfScout does not use third-party analytics or advertising SDKs, and does not track you across other apps or websites. Our servers keep ordinary technical logs (such as IP address and request time) for security and debugging, and these are retained for a short period.

Data Retention

We keep your account data for as long as your account exists. When you delete your account it is removed as described below. Supermarket price and product data is not personal to you and is kept indefinitely as part of our price history.

Deleting Your Account and Data

You can delete your account at any time, and doing so deletes your data:

• In the app: Account → Delete account.
• On the web:www.shelfscout.nz/delete-account.

Your account is first scheduled for deletion and you are signed out. For 30 days nothing is deleted yet — signing in again within that window cancels the deletion and restores everything, so a mistaken tap is recoverable. After 30 days we permanently delete your shopping lists, your selected stores, your price watches and their alert history, and your sign-in credentials. This cannot be undone.

You can also ask us for a copy of your data, or ask us to correct it, by emailing the address below.

Children

ShelfScout is not directed at children and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

Data Security

Traffic between your device and ShelfScout is encrypted in transit, and sessions are held in an encrypted, HTTP-only cookie. We take appropriate measures to protect your information from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We encourage you to review this page periodically for any changes. Any updates to this policy will be effective immediately upon posting. The policy was last updated on 31 July 2026.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at hello@shelfscout.nz.