Foodmarkd Privacy Policy

1. About This Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Foodmarkd collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information when you use the Foodmarkd application, website and related services, or contact us.

The Service is operated under the registered business name Foodmarkd. References to “Foodmarkd”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean the registered holder of that business name.

Personal information includes information or an opinion about an identified person or a person who is reasonably identifiable.

This Policy describes our information-handling practices. It does not remove any privacy rights you have under applicable law or replace any separate consent we are required to obtain.

Our Terms of Service separately explain the rules for using Foodmarkd and submitting content.

2. Information We Collect and How We Collect It

The information we collect depends on how you use Foodmarkd.

We collect information directly when you create an account, submit content, use features or contact us. Our systems and service providers also generate technical, security and moderation records when processing those interactions.

We may receive information about you from another user or restaurant representative—for example, where someone reports your content or includes information about you in a photograph or complaint.

Where a third-party sign-in or import feature is available and you choose to use it, we receive the information disclosed for that feature. This does not give us unrestricted access to your other accounts.

You do not need to make your real name public to use Foodmarkd. You may use a username, subject to our rules against impersonation. Account features still require the information necessary to operate and secure an account.

You may contact us anonymously or using a pseudonym where practicable. We may need to verify your identity before providing account access, changing protected information or completing a privacy request.

3. Why We Use Information

We use personal information to:

• Operate accounts and provide restaurant discovery, maps, saved places, visit history, lists, ratings, reviews and photographs.
• Personalise restaurant suggestions and other content using relevant preferences, contributions and activity.
• Display public contributions, support following features, and calculate contribution points and rankings.
• Screen content, investigate complaints, prevent manipulation and abuse, secure the Service and enforce our Terms.
• Respond to enquiries, send necessary account communications, diagnose problems and improve the Service.

We also use information where reasonably necessary and lawfully permitted to meet legal obligations, respond to lawful requests, protect people from serious harm, and establish or defend legal claims.

We may combine information from your account and activity for these purposes. For example, ratings and saved restaurants may help us suggest other places you might like.

We do not sell your personal information to advertisers or data brokers.

4. Public Profiles, Contributions and Private Information

Foodmarkd includes public profiles and community contributions. Public profiles are visible to other eligible, signed-in Foodmarkd users.

Your username, any display name or profile photograph you provide, published ratings, reviews and restaurant photographs can be visible to other users. Profile statistics, contribution points and leaderboard entries may also identify you by your public profile.

Public content may appear in restaurant listings, community galleries, profiles, search results and activity feeds. A restaurant photograph may also be selected as a cover image or thumbnail.

• Saved restaurants (Want) are private to your account and are not displayed to other users.
• Individual visit records and the actual visit dates you choose to record are private. Your Been count is visible on your public profile. When Recent Activity is enabled, other users may see which restaurant you logged a visit to and when the event was logged, but not the actual visit date.
• Spending information you submit with a published restaurant review, including the spend-per-person range and currency, is visible with that review.
• Custom lists, including their names and contents, are private to your account. Foodmarkd does not currently offer public sharing of custom lists or Want collections.
• Your Following and Followers counts and the lists of accounts you follow and that follow you are visible to other eligible, signed-in Foodmarkd users.

Recent Activity is enabled by default. You can turn it off in Privacy Settings to hide your public-profile Recent Activity panel. This does not hide your published ratings, reviews or restaurant photographs, your public profile statistics, or your restaurant opinions from current followers in Food Circle. Blocking another account restricts that account's access through Foodmarkd's profile and social features.

Your account email address and authentication information are not displayed as part of your public profile.

Restaurant representatives can see information available publicly, but the existence or claiming of a restaurant listing does not, by itself, give them access to your private account information.

Consider what your contributions reveal. A photograph, review or visit record may identify you or another person even without a real name.

Other people may copy or share material they can access. Removing it from Foodmarkd does not necessarily remove copies independently made elsewhere, although we remain responsible for information within our control.

5. Location and Map Features

With your device permission, Foodmarkd accesses location to centre the map, find nearby restaurants and calculate distances.

Our location features use foreground location while relevant app features are in use, rather than continuously tracking you when the app is closed.

Location permission is optional. You can refuse or withdraw it through your device settings and continue using features that do not require device location, such as manually searching for an area.

Using nearby features can transmit coordinates to our backend and providers supporting those requests. Viewing or searching an area on the map also communicates the area requested; that area is not necessarily your actual location.

Turning off device-location permission does not prevent ordinary technical collection of your IP address, or collection of an area you manually search.

We do not display your live device location to other users. Visit records are information you choose to log, rather than an automatic record of every restaurant you pass.

Location Information and Retention

With your device permission, we use your location to show nearby restaurants and support map features. Current coordinates are held temporarily in app memory. We do not maintain a continuous device-location history or track your location in the background.

Technical request logs may contain coordinates submitted for nearby searches, viewed map areas or approximate location inferred from your IP address. These logs are normally retained for up to 7 days. Logs relating to blocked or limited requests may be retained for 30 days for security and abuse prevention, then removed through scheduled cleanup.

6. Photographs, Automated Moderation and AI

We process uploaded photographs, including profile photographs, to store and display them and assess compliance with our content rules.

Processing can include creating thumbnails, resizing or converting files, detecting duplicate or prohibited content, and generating moderation results.

Photographs can contain personal information in the visible image or associated metadata, including faces, receipts, dates and location details. Do not upload unnecessary private information about yourself or others.

We use Microsoft Azure AI Content Safety and, where needed, Azure-hosted AI models to assess potentially unsafe content and distinguish legitimate food or restaurant imagery from prohibited material.

These services receive the image and information needed for the assessment. We limit the information sent to what is reasonably necessary for that task.

Automated results may cause content to be published, held for review, restricted or rejected. We may retain moderation classifications and records of decisions for the purposes and periods described in this Policy.

Authorised reviewers may inspect content when investigating a moderation result, complaint or safety issue. Relevant providers may also process or retain information under their applicable security and abuse-monitoring arrangements.

Automated assessments can be wrong. A moderation result is not a definitive finding about a person or their conduct. You may request reconsideration by contacting us.

This processing does not give us unrestricted permission to use uploaded photographs to train general-purpose AI models.

7. Sensitive Information and Information About Other People

You do not need to provide medical records, identity documents or other sensitive information merely to use Foodmarkd’s restaurant-discovery features.

However, a review, photograph, list or support message may reveal sensitive information—for example, an allergy, medical condition, religious belief or information about another person.

Avoid including sensitive information that is unnecessary for your contribution. Information intentionally included in a public contribution may be visible with that contribution.

We handle sensitive information in accordance with any additional requirements that apply. Where consent is required, we obtain it rather than relying on this Policy as blanket consent.

If we receive personal information we have no lawful basis to retain, we take reasonable steps to delete or de-identify it where lawful and appropriate.

You may contact us if content reveals your private information without permission, including where you do not have a Foodmarkd account.

8. Service Providers and Other Disclosures

We use external service providers to help operate Foodmarkd, including Supabase, Cloudflare, Microsoft, Resend, Apple and Google (Google Play). They support hosting, account services, security, email delivery and automated screening of uploaded photos.

We provide information reasonably necessary for those services. Some providers process information outside Australia, as explained in the Overseas Storage, Processing and Access section.

We take reasonable steps to assess providers’ handling of information and use appropriate contractual, access and security controls. Engaging a provider does not remove Foodmarkd’s responsibilities under applicable law.

We may also disclose relevant information:

• As you direct, including when you publish content or use a sharing feature.
• To professional advisers and others assisting with a complaint, investigation or legal matter, where necessary and lawful.
• To authorities or other recipients where legally required or authorised, or where another lawful exception permits disclosure.
• In connection with a genuine business transfer, subject to appropriate confidentiality, data minimisation and legal requirements.

For content complaints, we may share relevant allegations or evidence with the contributor or affected party where needed for a fair assessment. We do not automatically give a complainant access to the contributor’s private account details.

Links to independent restaurants or other services may take you outside Foodmarkd. Their own privacy practices apply to information you provide directly to them.

9. Overseas Storage, Processing and Access

Foodmarkd uses service providers that may store, process or access personal information outside Australia.

Some of these providers use distributed or global infrastructure, so it may not always be practicable for us to identify every country in which information is processed or accessed.

Our Azure Global model deployment may process uploaded images outside Australia even though the associated Azure resource is located in Australia East. Other service providers may also process or access information internationally as part of operating, securing or supporting their services.

Where practicable, we use providers and configurations with appropriate privacy and security protections and take reasonable steps required by applicable Australian privacy law when engaging overseas service providers.

Information processed overseas may be subject to different laws, including lawful government-access requirements in those jurisdictions. This does not require you to waive any rights you have under Australian law or release Foodmarkd from responsibilities that apply to us.

You may contact us at contact@foodmarkd.com for further information about overseas processing relevant to your personal information.

10. App Storage, Communications and Advertising

Foodmarkd uses technical storage and similar mechanisms necessary to maintain sign-in sessions, remember settings, operate features and protect the security of the Service.

Foodmarkd does not currently use non-essential advertising cookies or third-party behavioural analytics tools. We use only the technical storage, operational logs and limited diagnostic information reasonably necessary to operate, secure and maintain the Service.

We send communications needed to operate your account, including verification messages, security alerts, service notices and responses to support requests.

If we send marketing communications, we will do so with consent or another lawful basis where applicable and provide a way to unsubscribe. Opting out of marketing does not prevent essential account, security or service communications.

Foodmarkd may display advertising or sponsored restaurant placements. Advertising or sponsorship does not, by itself, give an advertiser or restaurant access to your private account information or history.

We do not currently use personal information for third-party behavioural advertising. If we introduce personalised advertising, advertising trackers, non-essential analytics or other features that materially change how personal information is handled, we will update this Privacy Policy before that processing begins and provide any notices, consent mechanisms or opt-out controls required by applicable law or platform rules.

This Privacy Policy does not constitute advance consent to future undisclosed tracking or materially different uses of personal information.

11. Retention, Content Removal and Account Deletion

How Long We Keep Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, including to operate the Service, maintain security, investigate misuse, resolve disputes and meet applicable legal requirements.

Different types of information are retained for different periods depending on why they are needed.

• Technical request logs are generally retained for 7 days, or up to 30 days for rate-limited, blocked or security-related requests.
• Restaurant photos and reviews deleted by a user, including through account deletion, may remain in restricted backend systems for up to 90 days before permanent deletion.
• Content rejected, reported or removed for moderation, safety or abuse reasons may be retained in restricted form for up to 12 months. Where this applies, the moderation retention period takes precedence over the ordinary 90-day deletion period.
• Content awaiting a moderation decision is retained until that decision is made.
• Moderation records may be retained for longer where reasonably necessary for safety, abuse prevention, dispute resolution, legal compliance or audit purposes.
• Support correspondence and records of Terms acceptance or Privacy Policy acknowledgement may be retained for up to 6 years where reasonably necessary for legal, compliance or dispute-resolution purposes.
• Specific information may be retained for longer where required by law or reasonably necessary for an unresolved legal, safety or regulatory matter.

When information is no longer needed for a lawful purpose, we take reasonable steps to delete or genuinely de-identify it.

Editing or Removing Contributions

You can use the available controls to edit or remove your contributions. Contact us if those controls are unavailable or not working.

When you delete a review, photograph or other publicly displayed contribution, it is removed from public view promptly. Removal from public view does not necessarily mean that all restricted backend copies, caches and backups are deleted at the same time.

User-deleted restaurant reviews and photographs may remain in restricted backend systems for up to 90 days before permanent deletion.

If content is subject to a moderation, safety, abuse, complaint or legal process, the applicable retention period for that process takes precedence.

Deleting Your Account

You can initiate account deletion in the app. You can also request deletion by emailing contact@foodmarkd.com, including if you can no longer access the app.

We may need proportionate verification to protect your account against an unauthorised deletion request.

When you request account deletion:

• access to the account is disabled;
• your public profile and public content are hidden promptly;
• account, profile, private saved and other account-associated information is deleted from active systems or, where retained for statistical or analytical purposes, aggregated or genuinely de-identified;
• restaurant reviews and photographs may remain in restricted backend systems for up to 90 days before permanent deletion; and
• content subject to moderation, safety, abuse, complaint or legal processes may instead be retained under the longer applicable retention period described above.

We normally complete removal of account and profile information from active systems within 30 days, subject to these limited retention periods.

Uninstalling the app does not, by itself, delete your Foodmarkd account or information held on our systems.

Limited Retention

We may retain specific information after content or an account is deleted where reasonably necessary and lawfully permitted for a defined purpose, including investigating serious misuse, preventing repeated abuse, handling an unresolved complaint or dispute, complying with a legal obligation or legal hold, or maintaining evidence of Terms acceptance.

Information retained for these purposes is restricted from normal use and retained only for as long as the relevant purpose continues.

Backups and Caches

Public cached copies of deleted information normally expire or are invalidated within 48 hours.

Restricted backups may retain deleted information for up to 30 days before being overwritten or removed through normal backup processes.

If a backup is restored, applicable deletion instructions and retention rules are reapplied before the restored information is returned to normal use.

Aggregated and De-identified Information

We may retain aggregated or genuinely de-identified information after account or content deletion where individuals are no longer reasonably identifiable.

This may include restaurant-level statistics and aggregated information used to improve recommendations, understand usage or operate the Service.

Removing an email address or replacing an account identifier does not, by itself, make information de-identified. Photographs, review text and other information capable of identifying a person are not treated as anonymous merely because they have been disconnected from an account.

12. Security and Privacy Incidents

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

These steps include appropriate access controls, secure transmission, protection of service credentials and use of relevant provider security features. Access to non-public information is limited according to the work being performed.

No online service can guarantee absolute security. This does not limit any obligation or remedy under applicable law.

If we become aware of a suspected privacy or security incident, we assess it, take appropriate containment and remedial action, and notify affected people and authorities where required.

Report suspected unauthorised access or privacy concerns to contact@foodmarkd.com.

13. Your Choices, Access and Correction

You can use available account controls to update account information, edit contributions and manage supported preferences.

You can also control device permissions, including location and access to photographs or the camera, through your device settings. Withdrawing permission affects future access but does not automatically delete information already submitted.

You may ask us to provide access to personal information we hold about you, correct inaccurate or incomplete information, or explain how it has been handled.

We may verify your identity and ask for enough information to locate the records. We will not request more verification information than reasonably necessary.

We aim to respond within 30 days, or any shorter applicable legal period. If more time is reasonably required and permitted, we will explain the delay.

Access or correction may be limited where the law permits—for example, to protect another person’s privacy. Where we refuse a request, we will explain the reason and available complaint options to the extent required and permitted by law.

There is no charge to lodge a request. If a lawful charge for providing access is proposed, we will explain it before proceeding.

14. Children and Young People

Foodmarkd is intended for users aged 13 and over, subject to any higher minimum age required for a particular service or jurisdiction.

A minimum age does not, by itself, establish that a young person can give legally valid consent to every form of information handling. Where necessary, we consider their capacity to understand the proposed handling and obtain appropriate consent.

Young people should avoid sharing their home address, school, live whereabouts or other unnecessary private information in public content.

If you believe a child has an account contrary to our eligibility rules, or that their information has been handled improperly, contact us. We will assess the concern and take appropriate action, including restricting access or deleting information where required.

Any limited records retained to address a child-safety or legal issue are handled under section 11.

15. Privacy Questions and Complaints

For privacy questions, access or correction requests, deletion requests or complaints, email contact@foodmarkd.com.

Please explain the concern and, where possible, identify the relevant account, content or interaction. Do not send unnecessary identity documents or sensitive material.

We will assess the complaint, investigate as appropriate and aim to provide a substantive response within 30 days. If further time is needed, we will explain why and provide an update.

Where a matter falls within its jurisdiction, you may complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Concerns about health information handled in Victoria may fall within the jurisdiction of the Health Complaints Commissioner.

You are not required to have a Foodmarkd account to contact us about your personal information. Our complaint process does not prevent you from exercising legal rights or seeking independent advice.

16. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy as Foodmarkd’s practices, services or legal obligations change.

The current version will be available through the app and website, with its last-updated date.

For a material change to how we handle personal information, we will take reasonable steps to notify affected users before the change takes effect where practicable. We will obtain fresh consent where required.

Publishing an updated policy does not, by itself, authorise an otherwise unlawful use or disclosure of information already collected.