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Buds helps you discover food one dish at a time — you rate dishes you've eaten, Buds learns your palate, and it connects you with the people whose taste mirrors yours. This policy explains what we collect when you use our website (eatwithbuds.com) and our mobile app on iPhone and Android, why we collect it, and the control you have over it.
1. Who we are
Buds is built and operated by Copains LLC ("Buds," "we," "us," or "our"), based in New Hampshire, United States. Questions about this policy or your information? Reach us anytime at hello@eatwithbuds.com.
2. What we collect
Information you give us
- Waitlist & beta signups. Your email address, your first name (if you share it), and whether you're joining the seacoast beta or the launch waitlist.
- Account details. Your email address and a display name, with sign-in handled through our authentication provider.
- Your ratings and taste data. The heart of Buds: the dishes you rate, the bucket you place them in (not for me, liked it, loved it), the flavor attributes you tag, and the taste profile we build over time.
- Content you add. Dishes, restaurants, notes, or photos you contribute, and the friends you add to your Table.
- Messages to us. Anything you send when you contact support or share feedback.
Information we collect automatically
- Usage activity. Which dishes and restaurants you view, features you use, and how you move through the app — so we can make recommendations and improve Buds.
- Device & technical data. Device type, operating system (iOS or Android), app version, and diagnostic or crash information.
- Location. With your permission — see the next section.
3. How we use your information
- To build your taste profile and generate dish recommendations tailored to you.
- To connect you with your "taste buds" — people whose ratings consistently align with yours — and surface the dishes they loved.
- To power the Table, so you can see what the friends you've added have enjoyed.
- To create and secure your account and sign you in.
- To operate, maintain, debug, and improve the app and website.
- To send you the notifications and emails you've opted into, and important service notices. We don't sell your data, and we won't send marketing you didn't ask for.
- To protect Buds and our users from fraud, abuse, and security threats, and to comply with the law.
4. Location services
If you grant location permission, Buds uses your device location to show you nearby dishes and places and to make recommendations more relevant to where you are. On iPhone and Android you're asked before any location is accessed, and you're always in control:
- You choose whether to allow location, and (on supported devices) whether to share precise or approximate location.
- Buds requests location only while you're using the app — we don't track your location in the background.
- You can change or revoke this permission at any time in your device settings, and Buds still works without it.
5. Push notifications
With your permission, Buds may send push notifications to your device — for example, when a friend joins your Table, when there's a new recommendation matched to your taste, or with occasional updates about the app. To deliver them, a notification token for your device is processed through Apple Push Notification service (iOS) or Firebase Cloud Messaging / Google (Android).
Notifications are optional. You're asked before we send any, and you can turn them off at any time in your device settings or within the app. Turning them off doesn't affect your ability to use Buds.
6. Who we share it with
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers who help us run Buds, and only as needed to do so:
- Google Firebase — authentication, database, hosting, analytics, crash reporting, and push messaging on Android. Your account and app data are stored on Google's infrastructure under their terms.
- Apple — the App Store and TestFlight for distribution and beta testing, and Apple Push Notification service for iOS notifications.
- Google Play — for Android distribution and testing.
- AI providers — see the next section.
- If required by law — to comply with legal obligations, enforce our terms, or protect the rights and safety of our users and the public.
- In a business transfer — if Buds is ever acquired or merged, information may transfer as part of that deal; we'll notify you if that changes how your data is handled.
7. AI & dish classification
Buds uses a third-party AI service (currently Anthropic's Claude) to help categorize and organize dishes — for example, to sort a dish into flavor attributes and tidy up how it's labeled. When this happens, dish- and menu-related text may be sent to that provider to be processed and returned. We limit what's shared to what's needed for classification, and this processing structures food data — it isn't used to identify you personally.
We also use it to estimate a dish's likely flavor notes from the dish name. As with categorization, only dish and menu text is shared with the AI provider; never your personal profile. These estimates are about dishes, not people.
8. Friends & the Table
Buds includes social features. When you add someone to your Table, or a friend adds you, certain information — like your display name and the dishes you've loved — may be visible to the people you're connected with. Consider what you share before you rate publicly or connect with others. You control your Table connections and can remove them at any time.
9. Your choices & rights
- Access & correction. You can view and edit much of your profile and ratings directly in the app.
- Deletion. Ask us to delete your account and associated personal data by emailing hello@eatwithbuds.com. We'll honor verified requests as required by law.
- Notifications & email. Manage push notifications in your device settings, and unsubscribe from non-essential email any time via the link in each message.
- Location & permissions. Manage location and other permissions in your device settings.
- State privacy rights. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights (to access, delete, correct, or limit the use of your personal information). Contact us to exercise them; we won't discriminate against you for doing so.
10. How long we keep it
We keep your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide Buds to you. If you delete your account, we'll delete or de-identify your personal data within a reasonable period, except where we're required to keep certain records to comply with the law, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements.
11. Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures — including protections offered by our infrastructure providers — to safeguard your information. No method of transmission or storage is ever completely secure, so we can't promise absolute security, but we work to protect your data and respond promptly if something goes wrong.
12. Children's privacy
Buds is not directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we'll delete it.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as Buds grows. When we make material changes, we'll update the "last updated" date above and, where appropriate, let you know in the app or by email. Continuing to use Buds after an update means you accept the revised policy.
14. Contact us
Questions, requests, or concerns about your privacy? We'd like to hear from you:
Copains LLC
Email: hello@eatwithbuds.com
New Hampshire, United States