Privacy Policy
HopDrop is built privacy-conscious: there are no ads inside the app, and we never sell your data. To back up and sync your shopping, you sign in with an account, and your lists are stored securely in our backend. We also use a small number of services to understand how the app is used and to measure our own ads. This page explains what we collect, who handles it, and how to switch the optional parts off.
What stays on your device
Your pantry, saved list templates and app preferences are stored locally on your phone. Your pantry stays on your device until you join or create a household; templates and preferences aren’t uploaded to our servers.
What we store in our backend
Because HopDrop uses an account, your lists and the items on them are stored in our backend once you sign in. This is what lets them back up, sync across your devices, and be shared with people you invite. When you join or create a household, your shared pantry is stored there too so household members can see it. We also keep your subscription status (from Apple or Google) and which ad or link led you to install the app, if any (see “Measuring our ads” below). We store the minimum needed to make these features work.
- Photos you add: photos you attach to an item or use as a list cover are uploaded so everyone on that list can see them.
- Recipes: recipes you import or save to your household’s recipe book, and the links you imported them from.
- Notifications: if you allow notifications, your device’s push token, your language, time zone and app version, so reminders arrive at sensible local times.
- Shops you share: when you send saved shops to a household member, they’re held in our backend only until that person adds them.
Our backend runs on Supabase, which hosts our database and server functions and processes this data only on our behalf.
Account & sign-in
HopDrop requires an account. You can sign in with Apple or Google. We receive a basic identifier and, where you allow it, your name and email so household members can recognize you. We never receive your password.
Location
Location features are opt-in. If you enable nearby-shop reminders, your device sets up geofences around the shops you choose and notifies you locally when you’re near one with an active list. Your precise location is used on-device for these reminders and is not sold or shared.
Recipes and AI
When you ask for recipe ideas, a list of your pantry item names is sent to our AI provider (OpenAI) to generate suggestions. When you import a recipe from a link (for example a TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or website post), the link is sent to our backend, which fetches that public post and uses AI providers (OpenAI, Google and Groq) to transcribe its audio, read its text and video, write out the recipe, and translate it into your language. Imported recipes are cached so the same link isn’t processed twice. None of this is used to advertise to you.
Product analytics (PostHog)
To see which parts of HopDrop help people and where they get stuck, the app sends usage events to PostHog, a product analytics service. We use PostHog’s EU cloud, so this data is stored in the European Union. PostHog processes it only on our behalf and doesn’t use it for advertising.
- What’s sent: actions in the app (for example “created a list”, “checked off an item”, “started a trial”), which screen you’re on, your device type, operating system and app version, a random ID for your install, and your account ID once you sign in. Events never include the text of your lists, items, tasks or recipes, or your name or email.
- Your analytics profile: once you sign in, PostHog keeps a profile for your account ID with a few details about your use of the app: your plan and subscription status, the app language, when you last opened the app, how far you got through the welcome tour, and which ad brought you in, if any. If you cancel your free trial, your email address is added to this profile so we can ask you why (see “Emails we may send” below). That’s the only case in which your email reaches PostHog.
- Surveys: the app may show a short, optional survey, for example asking why you cancelled your trial. Your answers, including anything you type, are saved to your analytics profile.
- Approximate location: PostHog works out your country and city from your IP address. It never sees your precise location.
- Short screen recordings: during an install’s first 3 days, the app may record how its screens are used, so we can fix confusing parts of the setup. Anything you type and all photos are hidden in these recordings. Other text shown on screen, such as list items, can appear in them.
- How long we keep it: usage events and survey answers for up to 1 year, recordings for up to 1 month. Your profile is kept until you delete your account.
- Turning it off: Settings ▸ Share usage analytics. When it’s off, the app stops sending usage events, recordings and survey answers right away.
Emails we may send
We don’t send newsletters. If you cancel your free trial and don’t open HopDrop again within 3 days, we send you one short email asking why, so we can make the app better. It comes from [email protected], contains no offers, and replying goes straight to us. It’s sent through PostHog’s messaging service to the email on your account. If you signed in with Apple and chose Hide My Email, it goes to your private relay address, and Apple forwards it to you. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and once you unsubscribe we won’t email you again.
Measuring our ads
We advertise HopDrop on other platforms, and we measure which of those ads lead to installs and subscriptions so we can spend less on the ones that don’t work.
- Meta (Facebook and Instagram): the app uses Meta’s SDK to tell Meta when the app is opened, when a free trial or subscription starts (including the plan’s price), and when a new trial turns into real use, such as finishing a list in the first few days. Meta also receives your device type, operating system and a random ID Meta’s SDK creates for your install. On Android, Meta also receives your device’s advertising ID, unless you’ve limited or deleted it. On iPhone, HopDrop never asks to track you, so Meta doesn’t receive your iPhone’s advertising identifier. Meta measures iPhone ads through Apple’s privacy-preserving reporting, which only gives totals. Meta handles this data under its Privacy Policy.
- Purchases that happen later: a trial turning into a paid subscription, a renewal or a refund happens with the app closed, so our server reports it to Meta instead (the event and the plan’s price). So Meta can match it to the same install, the app saves with your account the install ID Meta’s SDK created, your Android advertising ID (unless limited), your IP address, and basic device details (such as model, operating system version, language, time zone and screen size). On iPhone, these reports tell Meta that you haven’t allowed tracking. We delete these details when you delete your account.
- Which ad brought you here: when you install from an ad, Apple (Apple Ads), Google Play or Meta tells the app which campaign it came from, and we save that with your account. This tells us which ads bring people who actually use HopDrop. Apple’s report doesn’t identify you.
On Android, you can reset or delete your advertising ID in your phone’s settings (Settings ▸ Google ▸ Ads, or Settings ▸ Privacy ▸ Ads on some phones). On iPhone, there’s nothing to switch off, because HopDrop doesn’t use the advertising identifier.
What we don’t do
- No ads inside the app.
- No selling or renting your personal data.
- No tracking you across other companies’ apps and websites on iPhone.
- No sending the contents of your lists, pantry or recipes to analytics or advertising services.
Your choices
You can leave a household, stop sharing a list, disable location features, turn off usage analytics in Settings, unsubscribe from our emails, or delete your account at any time. Deleting your account removes the data associated with it from our backend, including the install details saved for Meta, and we also delete your analytics profile, including any email address and survey answers in it. To request deletion or ask a question, email [email protected].
Contact
Questions about privacy? Reach us at [email protected].