Sauce Hunter Privacy Policy

Effective October 12, 2026 · Updated October 19, 2026

Sauce Hunter: Hot Sauce Log ("Sauce Hunter", "the app") is made by Cognito Labs. This policy explains what the app collects, why, who helps us run it, and the choices you have. We don't sell your personal information.

Without an account

You can use Sauce Hunter without signing in. Your sauces, ratings, notes and badges are then stored only on your iPhone. Browsing the community catalog sends search requests to our server but doesn't identify you.

With an account (Sign in with Apple)

Account: the anonymous identifier Apple gives us for your account, and the display name you choose. We don't store your email address.
Your collection: the sauces you log, your ratings, tasting notes, flavor tags and bottle photos, so they're backed up and available on your devices. Bottle photos are private to you unless you choose to share one.
Shared bottle photos (optional): if you choose to share a bottle photo, your phone removes the background before uploading, and after review it becomes the sauce's public picture, shown with your first name. You can ask us to remove it anytime, and it's deleted if you delete your account.
Buy link suggestions (optional): product links you suggest for a sauce are reviewed and, if approved, shown to everyone (without your name).
Public reviews and your hunter profile (optional): if you turn on "Post as a public review" when rating a sauce, your notes, heat and star rating are shown on that sauce's page with your first name, after an automatic check. Other people can open your hunter profile, which shows only your first name, when you joined, your badges, counts of what you've rated and added (approved photos, store links, public reviews), and your public reviews. Private notes and ratings you didn't post are never shown. Turn the switch off to take a review down.
The shared catalog: when you log a sauce that isn't in the catalog yet, its details (brand, name, peppers, country, heat claim) are added to the public catalog, and your ratings count toward its community averages. Your display name may be shown on sauces you discover.
Safety: reports you send and contributors you block.
Subscriptions: if you subscribe to Pro, Apple handles payment. We receive the subscription's transaction details to confirm it's active and link it to your account. We never see your payment information.

AI features

Before you first scan a bottle, the app asks for your permission and explains the following.

Label scanning: the label photo you take is sent through our server to Anthropic (Claude) to read the brand, name and peppers. We don't store scan photos.
Barcode lookups: the barcode number is checked against our catalog and, if needed, Open Food Facts. Only the number is sent.
Character cards: card art is generated by OpenAI from a sauce's details (pepper, heat and flavor tags). Your photos are never sent to OpenAI.
Moderation: text and photos added to Sauce Hunter are automatically checked by Anthropic for harmful content before they're shown to anyone.

Anthropic and OpenAI process this data to provide the service to us and don't use it to train their models.

Crash reports and usage statistics

To find and fix bugs, the app uses Google Firebase Crashlytics and Google Analytics for Firebase. If the app crashes or something goes wrong (for example a purchase or a video that fails), it sends a report with technical details: your device model, iOS version, the app's version and what it was doing at the time. It also sends simple usage statistics, such as which features you use, such as logging or rating a sauce. These are tied to a random identifier for your copy of the app, never your name, email or advertising ID, and we use them only to improve the app. Advertising data is only shared if you allow tracking in Apple's prompt. See how Firebase handles data.

The free version shows ads from Google AdMob: a banner in Discover and optional video ads that unlock a sauce's card. Google may collect device information, approximate location from your IP address, and ad interactions to deliver and measure ads.

Personalized ads are used only if you allow tracking in Apple's prompt. You can change this any time in Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking.
In the EEA, UK and Switzerland, Google's consent form lets you choose how your data is used, and you can change your choice in the app under Settings › Ad privacy choices.
Pro members don't see ads.

See how Google uses data in ads.

Shopping links

Sauce pages can link to stores such as Heatonist and Amazon. Those links may include an affiliate tag, and the stores' own privacy policies apply once you leave the app.

Who helps us run Sauce Hunter

Cloudflare: hosts our server, database and photo storage.
Anthropic: label reading and content moderation.
OpenAI: character card art.
Google AdMob: ads and ad consent.
Google Firebase: crash reports and usage statistics.
Apple: Sign in with Apple and subscriptions.
Open Food Facts: product lookups by barcode.

Keeping and deleting your data

We keep your account data while your account exists. You can delete your account in the app under Settings › Account › Delete account. That permanently deletes your profile, collection, ratings, notes, photos (including any you shared) and sessions. Sauces you added stay in the shared catalog without your name. You can also delete all your sauces without deleting your account.

Your rights

Depending on where you live (including under the GDPR and CCPA), you can ask to access, correct, export or delete your personal data, or object to how it's used. Email us and we'll respond within 30 days.

Children

Sauce Hunter isn't directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their personal information.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update the date above, and we'll tell you in the app if the changes are significant.

Contact

Cognito Labs · support@cognitolabs.io