The short version. Ovelle collects what it needs to give you a meal plan, one-swap suggestions and insights, and nothing more. That includes health information: your meal photos, cycle dates and symptom check-ins. We use it only to run Ovelle for you. We never sell it, never use it for advertising, never track you across other apps or websites, and never use it to train AI models. You can export or delete it at any time.
1. Who we are
Ovelle (“Ovelle: PCOS Diet Tracker” on the App Store) is made by Cihat Karaboğa, an independent developer based in Istanbul, Türkiye (“we”, “us”). We are the data controller for the personal data described here. You can reach us about anything in this policy at cihat@karaboga.dev.
This policy covers the Ovelle iPhone app and this website. Ovelle is a food and wellbeing app. It does not diagnose or treat any medical condition.
2. What we collect
We only collect what you give us in the app, and a small amount of technical information needed to keep the service running.
| Data | What it includes | Why we need it |
|---|---|---|
| Account | A random account ID. If you sign in with Apple: Apple’s user identifier, and the name and email (or Apple private relay address) you choose to share. If you sign up with email: your email address and password (stored only as a secure hash), and the account emails we send, such as email confirmation and password reset. | To keep your data together and let you restore it on a new iPhone. |
| Your answers | What you tell Ovelle during set-up and in Settings: when you were diagnosed, what your doctor said, what bothers you most, when cravings hit, how you eat, foods you dislike, meals per day, weekday cooking time, whether you want to track weight, and your time zone. | To build your meal plan and tailor suggestions. |
| Meals and meal photos | Photos you take or choose, the foods Ovelle identifies, the protein, fibre and carb levels it estimates, any swap you apply, and the meal’s time and slot. | To give you one-swap suggestions and show your meals. See Meal photos. |
| Cycle data | Your period start dates, either read from Apple Health (if you allow it) or entered by you, and whether they came from Apple Health, from you, or are estimated. | To match your plan and heads-ups to your cycle phase. |
| Symptom check-ins | How you rate energy, cravings, skin, mood, bloating and sleep, and the date. | To show patterns in your weekly insights. |
| Weight (optional) | Only if you turn on weight tracking: the weights you enter. | To show your own trend, if you want it. |
| Plans and progress | Your weekly plans, shopping list, which lessons you’ve read, and your notification settings and quiet hours. | To run those features. |
| Notifications | If you allow notifications: your device’s push token. | To send the nudges you’ve switched on. |
| Subscription | Which plan you’re on, when it renews or ends, and whether it’s a trial or offer. Apple handles payment; we never see your card details. | To unlock the features you’ve paid for. |
| Technical | IP address, app version and request times in our server logs. | To keep the service secure, limit abuse and fix errors. |
| Messages to us | Your email address and whatever you write to us. | To answer you. |
We don’t use analytics or advertising SDKs, and we don’t collect your advertising identifier (IDFA), contacts, precise location or browsing history. This website uses no cookies, no analytics and no third-party scripts.
3. Meal photos
Meal photos are the heart of Ovelle, so here is exactly what happens to them.
- Only when you ask. Ovelle uses your camera only while you’re taking a meal photo, and reads from your photo library only the single photo you pick.
- Sent securely. The photo is uploaded over an encrypted connection (TLS) to our server.
- Read by AI. We send the photo to Google’s Gemini API, which identifies the foods and estimates protein, fibre and carbs. We use Google’s paid API service, under which Google does not use your photos or results to train or improve its models. Google may keep them for a limited time only to detect abuse, as its terms describe.
- Stored privately. The photo is saved in private storage on our servers in Germany, linked to that meal, so you can see it in Today and Insights. Only you can see it through the app. It is never public and never shared.
- Deleted with the meal. Your photo is kept until you delete that meal, delete your data or delete your account. Then we delete it from our storage.
We never use your photos to train AI models, and nobody reviews them unless you ask us to look at one for support. Please try to keep people, faces and documents out of your meal photos.
4. Cycle, symptoms and Apple Health
Your cycle dates, symptom check-ins, weight (if you track it), meal photos and the answers you give about PCOS are health data. Data protection law treats this as a special category of personal data. We process it only because you explicitly agree when you set up Ovelle, and only to provide the app to you. You can withdraw that consent at any time by deleting your data (see Deleting your data).
Apple Health
- Connecting Apple Health is optional. Ovelle works without it.
- If you allow it, Ovelle reads only your menstrual cycle data (period dates). It never reads anything else and never writes to Apple Health.
- We copy only your period start dates into your Ovelle account, so your plan can follow your cycle phase.
- Data from Apple Health is never used for advertising or marketing, never sold, and never shared with third parties, including the AI service in section 7.
- You can turn access off at any time in the Health app: tap your profile picture, then Apps, then Ovelle.
Weekly insights and recipes
To write your weekly insight in plain words and suggest recipes, we may send the Gemini API a summary with no name, email or account details attached, for example “cravings lower on 4 of 5 days with a protein breakfast” or “vegetarian, 20 minutes, no mushrooms”. The same no-training terms apply. Your period dates are never sent.
5. How we use your data
We use your data only to:
- build your meal plan, shopping list, swap suggestions and weekly insights;
- show your cycle phase and send the notifications you’ve switched on;
- unlock the subscription you’ve bought and restore it on a new device;
- answer your messages and help when something goes wrong;
- keep Ovelle secure, prevent abuse and fix errors.
If you’re in the UK or EU, our legal bases are: performing our contract with you (running the app you signed up for); your explicit consent (for health data); our legitimate interests (security and fixing problems, balanced against your rights); and legal obligations where they apply. If you’re in Türkiye, we process your data under the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) on the same grounds, with your explicit consent for health data.
6. What we never do
- Sell or rent your personal data, or share it with data brokers.
- Show ads, or use your data for advertising or marketing profiles.
- Track you across other companies’ apps or websites.
- Use your photos or health data to train AI models, ours or anyone else’s.
- Share your data with employers, insurers or anyone else who isn’t helping us run Ovelle for you.
7. Who helps us run Ovelle
A few trusted providers process data for us, only on our instructions and only for the purposes below:
| Provider | What they do | Data involved |
|---|---|---|
| Hetzner Online GmbH (Germany) | Hosts our servers, database and private photo storage. | All app data described above, stored in Germany. |
| Google (Gemini API) | Reads meal photos and helps word insights and recipes. | Meal photos; anonymous summaries of check-ins and preferences. Not used for training. |
| RevenueCat, Inc. (USA) | Checks and manages your App Store subscription. | Your random account ID and subscription status. No health data. |
| Apple | App Store payments, Sign in with Apple, push notifications and Apple Health on your device. | As described in Apple’s own privacy policy. |
We may also disclose data if the law requires it, for example in response to a valid court order. If that ever happens we will tell you, unless the law forbids it.
8. Where your data is stored
Your data is stored on servers in Germany, in the European Union. Some providers above (Google and RevenueCat) may process data in other countries, including the United States. Where that happens, we rely on recognised safeguards such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, and on transfer mechanisms permitted under Türkiye’s KVKK and Australia’s Privacy Act.
9. How long we keep it
- App data (profile, meals, photos, check-ins, cycle dates, plans): for as long as you have an account, or until you delete it.
- After you delete your data or account: removed from our live systems straight away, and from backups within 30 days.
- Server logs: kept for a short period for security and troubleshooting, then deleted.
- Emails to us: kept while we help you, and for up to 2 years in case you get in touch again, unless you ask us to delete them sooner.
10. Your choices and rights
Wherever you live, you can:
- See and export your data: in Ovelle, go to Settings → Privacy → Export my data, or email us.
- Correct it: change your answers in Settings at any time.
- Delete it: see below.
- Withdraw consent to health data processing, by deleting your data. This doesn’t affect processing that already happened.
- Turn things off: Apple Health access, camera, photos and notifications can each be turned off in iPhone Settings.
Depending on where you live, you may also have the right to object to or restrict processing, and to data portability. We answer requests within one month and don’t charge for them.
If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your data, please tell us first so we can put it right. You can also complain to your data protection regulator: in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO); in Australia, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC); in Türkiye, the Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK); or in the EU, your local supervisory authority.
11. Deleting your data
- In the app: Settings → Privacy → Delete my data. This deletes your meals, meal photos, check-ins, cycle dates, weights, plans and profile, and your account.
- By email: write to cihat@karaboga.dev. We’ll confirm when it’s done.
- A single meal: deleting a meal also deletes its photo.
Deleting the app from your iPhone does not delete the data on our servers, and deleting your data does not cancel a subscription. Cancel that in iPhone Settings → your name → Subscriptions.
12. Security
All data is encrypted in transit (TLS). Photos are kept in private storage that is not publicly reachable, and only your signed-in app can request them. Access to production systems is limited to the developer and protected by strong authentication. No system is perfectly secure, but if a breach ever puts your data at risk, we will tell you and the relevant regulator as the law requires.
13. Children
Ovelle is not intended for anyone under 16, and we don’t knowingly collect data from children. If you think a child has given us data, email us and we’ll delete it.
14. Changes and contact
If we change this policy, we’ll update the date at the top. If a change affects how we use your health data, we’ll tell you in the app before it takes effect and, where needed, ask for your consent again.
Questions or requests: cihat@karaboga.dev
Cihat Karaboğa, Istanbul, Türkiye