Privacy Policy
ShopBuddy ("we", "our", or "us") is a free shared shopping list app. This policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights.
1. What We Collect
When you create an account, we collect:
- Name and email address — used to identify your account
- Shopping list content — items you add to shared lists
- Authentication tokens — if you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive a token to verify your identity. We do not receive your Apple or Google passwords.
If you open a list that someone has shared with you by link, you do not need an account. We then collect:
- The name you give — shown beside the items you add, and to the people the list belongs to. You can leave it blank and appear as “Guest”.
- A random identifier — an anonymous account created automatically when you open the link, so that only the lists you have joined let you in. It is kept in your browser and is not linked to an email address.
- The items you add or change on that list
Your browser also remembers your name, the sort order you choose and your language, so you are not asked again.
We do not collect payment information, location data, contacts, or any other sensitive personal data.
2. How We Use Your Data
- To provide the app: syncing your list across devices and with family members
- To identify you within a shared family group
- To let you share a list by link with people outside your family, and let them use it
- To send transactional emails if necessary (e.g. password reset)
- To improve the price comparison: we count how many households have added each kind of product (for example milk or minced beef), so we know which shop prices to collect first. Only these totals are kept, and only for kinds of product at least three households have added — never what any one household buys.
We do not sell your data. We do not use your data for advertising.
3. Data Storage
Your data is stored in Google Firebase (Realtime Database and Authentication), hosted in the EU (europe-west1). Firebase is operated by Google LLC and subject to Google's privacy terms.
4. Data Sharing
We share your name and a display color with members of your family group so they can see who added each item.
If a list is shared by link, everyone who opens the link can see that list — its name and its items, including the names of the people who added them — and can add, change and remove items, until sharing is stopped. Nothing else in the account is visible to them. The members of the list can see the names of its guests. Anyone the link is passed on to gets the same access, so share it only with people you trust; stopping sharing locks every guest out at once.
We do not share your data with any other third parties, except as required by law.
We use Google Analytics 4 on getshopbuddy.com and in the web app to understand how ShopBuddy is used. Alongside page views, this records product events such as opening the sign-up form, creating an account, signing in, adding or checking off an item, starting shopping mode, creating a list, sharing an invite or a list, and joining a family. The page a list share link opens does not load Google Analytics.
These events carry only metadata — for example which button was used, or how many items were cleared at once. We do not send your item names, list contents, display name, or email address to Google. We do attach your account identifier, so that activity from the same account on different devices can be recognised as one person rather than several.
The iOS app uses Firebase Analytics to record the same product events, again as metadata only and never your item names or list contents. On iOS this is off by default and starts only if you agree to it, and you can withdraw that agreement at any time in Settings. We do not use advertising identifiers and do not track you across other companies' apps or websites.
Both Google Analytics and Firebase Analytics also record basic technical information automatically: your app or browser version, device type, operating system, language, and an approximate location — country or region, derived from your IP address rather than from location services. The app never asks for or uses your device's location. Firebase also assigns a random identifier to each app installation so repeat visits can be counted without knowing who you are.
5. Data Retention
Your account and shopping list data is retained for as long as your account exists. You can delete your account at any time from the app settings, which permanently removes all your personal data from our systems.
If you joined a list as a guest, your name is removed from the list’s guests when sharing stops. Items you added stay on the list, with your name beside them, until someone on the list removes them. Beyond that, the anonymous account records only when it was created and last used; to have it deleted, contact us.
6. Children's Privacy
ShopBuddy is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with their data, please contact us and we will delete it.
7. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete your personal data. To exercise these rights, or if you have questions, contact us at:
8. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top of this page will reflect any changes. Continued use of ShopBuddy after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.