Cookie Policy

Categories of storage we use

We group the things that are stored on your device into the categories below. Strictly necessary is always on because the site cannot work without it. First-party usage statistics run by default but you can switch them off at any time. Analytics is off until you agree. All of these are controlled from the Cookie preferences button in the page footer.

• Strictly necessary, sign-in tokens, theme preference, food-diary entries you have actively logged. Exempt from consent under PECR reg. 6(4) ("service explicitly requested" by the user).
• First-party usage statistics, our own cookieless measurement of which pages are visited and which key actions are used, kept only by us to improve the site. On by default; you can opt out. Permitted without consent under PECR Schedule A1 (statistical purposes), inserted by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. See below.
• Analytics, Google Analytics 4. Tells us how many people visit the site and which pages they reach, so we can decide what to improve. Off by default. Requires your consent.

First-party usage statistics

Separately from Google Analytics, we run our own lightweight, cookieless measurement so we can see which pages people reach and which key actions (search, comparing foods, signing up) they use, and therefore where the site is confusing or broken. This is first-party only: the data stays with us and is never shared with advertisers or used to build a marketing profile of you.

• What we store on your device: a single random session identifier in sessionStorage under the key foodinfo:sid. It contains no name, email or IP address, is not a cookie, and is erased when you close the tab. If you opt out we store a small foodinfo:usage-optout-v1 flag instead, solely to remember your choice.
• What we record: the pages visited in a session and named key-action clicks, with a coarse country (from Cloudflare) and whether the visitor looks like a bot. For signed-in users the events are linked to your account so we can understand the experience end to end.
• Retention: the detailed per-visit records are automatically deleted after 90 days. Only anonymous daily totals are kept longer.
• Legal basis: permitted without consent under PECR Schedule A1 (statistical purposes for improving the service), inserted by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, because it is first-party, we tell you about it here, and we give you a free, simple way to opt out.
• Opt out: open Cookie preferences, choose Manage, and switch off Usage statistics (first-party). It stops immediately.

Analytics cookies

If you allow analytics, Google Analytics 4 sets the following cookies. Processor: Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Dublin 4, Ireland), with Google LLC as a subprocessor in the United States under the UK International Data Transfer Addendum.

_ga

Distinguishes individual visitors so visit counts aren't double-counted. Set on the Food Info domain. Retention: 2 years from last activity.

_ga_<container-id>

Persists session state for Google Analytics 4 (replaces the older _gid). Retention: 2 years from last activity.

While analytics consent is denied (the default), Google's tag operates in "Consent Mode v2" and the cookies above are not set. We may still receive anonymous, aggregate pings without identifiers; those are used only to estimate total traffic.

Browser local storage (strictly necessary)

The site stores a few small items in your browser's localStorage. These are readable only by Food Info and never sent to advertisers or analytics services. They stay on your device until you clear them or sign out.

fi-theme

Your light / dark theme preference, so the page doesn't flash the wrong colours on reload.
Necessary (user preference, exempt from consent under PECR).

foodinfo:auth-v1

Your access and refresh tokens after you sign in, so you don't have to log in again on every page. Cleared automatically when you sign out.
Strictly necessary (authentication, exempt from consent under PECR).

foodinfo:dropdown-clicks-v1

A short list of foods you've opened from the search dropdown, so the homepage can offer them as quick chips. Anonymous users keep this on their device only; signed-in users have it synced to their account so the chips follow them between browsers.
Functional, used only to personalise the home page; not shared.

foodinfo:tracker-v1

Your food-diary entries, the foods you've logged, by date, with serving size in grams and a snapshot of the nutrient values. While signed out this lives only on your device; when you sign in, it is merged into your account so the diary follows you between browsers. Cleared when you sign out and clear browser storage, or by deleting entries from the Tracker page.
Functional (necessary for the Tracker feature you explicitly chose to use; covered by the PECR reg. 6(4) "service explicitly requested" exemption).

foodinfo:consent-v1

Records the choices you made on the consent banner, whether you allowed analytics, plus the date you decided. We need this so we can keep honouring your choice on later visits without re-asking. Cleared by re-opening the banner and rejecting all, or by clearing browser storage.
Strictly necessary (consent record; PECR reg. 6 exemption, we cannot prove your choice without it).

Third-party storage on Google domains

If you allow analytics, the Google scripts described above set cookies on Google-controlled domains (googletagmanager.com, google.com), not on Food Info's own domain. Those cookies are governed by Google's cookie policy and you can manage them in Google's My Activity dashboard.

If you choose "Sign in with Google", Google additionally sets cookies on accounts.google.com as part of its authentication flow. Those are separate from the analytics cookies and are loaded only when you click Sign in.

Changing your choices

• Click Cookie preferences (or the matching link in the site footer) to re-open the consent banner and accept, reject or change individual categories.
• Your decision is stored for 12 months. After that we'll ask again on your next visit.
• Sign out, this removes the auth token immediately. Your consent record survives sign-out so you don't have to re-decide.
• Use your browser's "Clear site data" / privacy controls to wipe everything Food Info has stored (including the consent record, the banner will re-appear on next visit).
• If you have an account and want server-side data deleted too, see the Privacy Policy for how to request erasure.