Ovine & Faye, Privacy Policy

Who we are

Ovine with Faye is an independent UK business run by Steven Partlett, a sole trader (currently registering with HMRC). We build Faye, an AI guide that helps people understand what's really in the products they buy, using rules we wrote from our own research. No brand can pay for a letter. No result is sponsored. This policy covers the Ovine app, the Faye Safari and Chrome extensions, and ovinewithfaye.com.

Single purpose of the Faye extension

Faye reads the product page a shopper is currently viewing, grades the product from fixed rules, explains what is in it and checks its certifications, then suggests better-graded alternatives.

What Faye reads

When you visit a regular web page, the Faye extension renders a small pinned tab on the right edge of the page. This tab is drawn locally from assets bundled inside the extension. At this point no page content is read; the only network request fetches Ovine's own list of the products and brands Faye knows, which contains nothing about you or the page.

Page content is only extracted and sent to our analysis service after you click the tab to open the panel (or open the toolbar popup) on that tab. We then read product descriptions, fibre/ingredient composition, and certification information from the page you’re currently viewing. Faye does not read your browsing history, does not read other tabs, and does not run in the background.

What we collect

• Page content for analysis the page's address and its visible product text, sent with your sign-in to our analysis service to produce your result. It isn't used to build a profile of what you browse.
• Feedback if you use thumbs up/down, your rating, any comment, and the page it relates to are sent to us to help improve Faye.
• Email address if you sign up for app news (for example, to hear when the app is in the App Store) or the newsletter, we store your email solely to contact you about Ovine. Collected with your consent for that purpose; you can unsubscribe or ask us to delete it at any time.
• Local preferences settings like Kids Safe mode, pregnancy-safe mode and theme are stored locally in your browser. When you ask Faye to read a page, whether the Kids Safe and pregnancy-safe modes are on is sent with that request so she can apply them.
• Account & sign-in token the app and both extensions need you to be signed in. A sign-in token is stored in the extension's local browser storage (or, for the Safari extension, shared securely by the app) and sent with each request, so our server can confirm who you are and whether you're a member before returning the analysis. The Chrome extension shows a short preview to anyone signed in; members get Faye's full analysis.
• Subscription status (subscribers only) when a signed-in request arrives, we check whether your account has an active subscription or free trial. Lawful basis: performance of a contract (delivering the paid service you've signed up for). The token can be cleared at any time by signing out of the extension or removing it; the underlying account can be closed by emailing us.
• Personal care shelf (personal_care_products). Skincare, haircare, and cosmetic items you save to your shelf, stored against your account so you can revisit them.
• Wishlist (wishlist_items). Things you are thinking about buying, whether you saved them from the members' catalogue or added them yourself in a shop. A catalogue save stores a link to our record, not a copy of it. Photos you take of a shop item stay on your own device unless you choose to back them up (wishlist_photo_uploads).
• Wardrobe items (wardrobe_garments). Garments you've added to your digital wardrobe, kept for you to view and manage.
• User profile (user_profile). Profile fields you've filled in (e.g. onboarding preferences), stored against your account.
• Frequently eaten / frequently used items (frequently_eaten, frequently_used). A shortcut list of foods and personal-care products you interact with often, kept against your account so we can surface them quickly.
• Sensitivity profile and allergen flags, health data. If you set a sensitivity profile (eczema, pregnancy, breastfeeding, allergy, sensory, baby-skin) or turn on food allergen / dietary flags (e.g. coeliac, milk, peanut), this is special-category health data under UK GDPR Art. 9. See Health & special-category data below.
• Food diet logs, health data (logged_meals). The meals you add (photo-estimated or scanned) describe what you eat, so they are treated as special-category health data under UK GDPR Art. 9. See Health & special-category data below.

Community product contributions

When you photograph a product label and confirm the reading, the extracted text, product name, brand, ingredients, and nutrition where applicable, is saved to help identify that product in future. This applies to community contribution tables including community_products, garment_composition_contributions, catalogue_verifications, unmatched_tag_reads, and off_contribution_queue.

• Shared with other users. The contributed product information is shared with other Faye users who scan the same product, so Faye can recognise items she couldn't before. What's shared is the product information, not personal information. Other users don't see who contributed it.
• Contributor audit trail. Your account identifier and a timestamp are stored alongside each contribution. This identifier is not shown to other users; it's retained server-side so we can maintain data quality and prevent abuse (moderation).
• Lawful basis. Legitimate interests, building a shared product database that improves the service for everyone, together with your explicit action to submit the contribution. The audit trail relies on the same legitimate-interests basis for moderation.
• Removal. You can ask us to remove your contributions at any time under the rights described in Your rights below.

Product photos

If you choose to share a product photo with Faye, it's uploaded to our secure storage and processed once by an AI image service (via our platform provider Lovable and Google's Gemini API) to create a clean catalogue image. Under the applicable terms, these providers don't use your photo to train their AI models; Google may retain it briefly solely for abuse-prevention checks. Your care label, ingredients, and nutrition photos are different: they're read entirely on your device and never leave your phone. Only the extracted text is sent to us.

The cleaned image is published. The tidied image made from your photo goes into Ovine's public catalogue, where anyone using the app or the site can see it. Your original photo is never published. Only the cleaned version derived from it.

A person at Ovine looks at your photo. That's the honest bit. Before a catalogue image goes live, someone here opens your original alongside the AI version and checks the machine hasn't invented a logo, a colour or a word that isn't on the real pack. There's no way to do that check without a human seeing the photo you sent.

Why we're allowed to do this. We rely on the permission you give when you tap to share the photo. The short grant shown on the capture screen, which says you're giving Ovine permission to use the photo to create and own the catalogue image. That wording is versioned, and the version you agreed to is recorded on your contribution, so we can always show you exactly what you were asked. If we ever change the wording, we write a new version rather than editing the old one.

Where they're stored. In private storage hosted by Supabase on servers in the EU (Ireland). The same place as your wishlist photos.

How long we keep the original. Not indefinitely, in any case:

• Once the catalogue image is approved, your original is deleted straight away.
• If the image is rejected, both the original and the AI version are deleted and the product simply has no image.
• If the AI clean-up fails, we keep the original to retry for up to 30 days, then it's deleted automatically.
• If we hold an image for more work, the original is kept as the source for up to 90 days, then it's deleted automatically.

What's kept after the photo has gone. A small record of the contribution stays: which account sent it, when, and which version of the sharing wording was shown. No image, just the record. We keep it so we can prove the catalogue image was properly licensed, credit and rank contributors, spot abuse, and find your contributions again if you ask us to remove them. You can ask us to delete any photo you've shared, or the record of it, at support@ovinewithfaye.com.

Wishlist photos backed up to your account

Label photo OCR (mobile app)

When you photograph a food nutrition panel, a clothing care label, or a skincare / personal-care ingredient panel, the image is processed on your device using Apple's Vision framework (iOS) or Google ML Kit (Android) to read the text. These label photos are not uploaded, transmitted, or stored anywhere off your device only the text read from them is sent to Faye for grading, and only after you review and confirm the reading. This includes INCI lists: cosmetic label photos never leave the phone. Front-of-product photos you choose to share are the exception, see Product photos above.

The photograph is never kept. The text read from it is, for twelve months. We keep that raw text so we can check our reader took the right thing off the pack, and so a change to the reader can be tested against real reads. It is stored on your own contribution record. It is never shown to you or to anyone else, never published, never put into a feed, and never given to Faye to answer with. Only two people at Ovine can read it, for that one purpose, and only by looking up a single record. It is not browsable as a list. After twelve months the raw text is erased and only the tidy ingredients list you confirmed remains, and it goes sooner if you delete the contribution or close your account. Why we say all this: the reader sees the whole frame, not only the pack, so a label photographed on a kitchen table can pick up words that were never on the packaging. We cannot tell in advance when that happens, which is why the read is kept briefly, kept closed, and tied to your account so deleting your account deletes it too.

Reference photos the optional photo you can attach to an item in your wardrobe or skincare shelf so you recognise it later, are saved only on this device, inside the app's private sandbox (iOS Filesystem / Android app storage on the native app; browser IndexedDB on the web). They are never uploaded, never backed up to our servers, and the database stores only a local reference. Never the image bytes. You can delete a reference photo at any time from the item, or clear every reference photo in Preferences → Privacy. Uninstalling the app removes them all.

Data types under Chrome Web Store categories

For clarity with the Chrome Web Store user-data disclosure, here is how what we collect maps to Google’s data-type categories:

• Website content the text content of the product page you actively choose to analyse.
• User activity anonymous, aggregated usage statistics (e.g. which features you used, how often you returned). Not linked to your identity.
• Personally identifiable information your email address, which is your Ovine account, and any email you give us for Ovine news.
• Authentication information the sign-in token the extension sends with each request, so we can confirm your account.

The Chrome extension itself does not collect financial information, personal communications, location data, web history, or any other category of user data beyond those listed above. The extension's own Kids Safe and pregnancy-safe settings are kept on your device, and whether they are switched on is sent with a read so Faye can apply them. Health-related information held by the Ovine app and website (sensitivity profile, food diet logs) is covered separately in Health & special-category data below and is not accessed by the browser extension.

Health & special-category data (UK GDPR Art. 9)

Some Ovine features involve information about your health, body, or diet. Under UK GDPR this is special-category data and needs a separate, explicit lawful basis. For every feature below, the lawful basis is Art. 6(1)(a) (your consent) and Art. 9(2)(a) (your explicit consent for special-category data). We ask for this consent separately, in a discrete affirmative step, it is not bundled into acceptance of our general Terms, and we do not use a single "accept all" prompt. You can withdraw any of these at any time in Preferences → Health data & consent; withdrawal stops the processing immediately and, where the data is held on our servers, we offer to delete it.

• Sensitivity profile & allergen / dietary flags. What you tell us about eczema, pregnancy, breastfeeding, allergies, sensory sensitivities, baby skin, and food allergen / dietary needs (e.g. coeliac, milk, peanut, egg, tree nuts, soy, gluten, fish, shellfish). Used only to flag matching ingredients on scans. Your food allergen and dietary choices are stored on our servers against your household member profile (user_profile.food_allergens), so they work across every device you sign in on; access is restricted to your own household by row-level security. Your skin sensitivity profile is still held on this device (ovine.sensitivityProfile). Consent record: ovine.healthDataConsent.*, stored on-device with the copy version and timestamp. Retention: until you withdraw, or you ask us to remove your account. Withdrawal in Preferences deletes the server-side allergen record and clears the on-device preferences.
• Food diet logs (logged_meals). The meals you add, photo-estimated, scanned, or typed, describe what you eat, so we treat them as health data. Stored against your account on our servers so Faye can show your daily and weekly view. Retention: until you delete them, or ask us to remove your account. Withdrawal in Preferences deletes every meal you have logged.

We do not use any of the above to make automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects about you, and we do not sell or share it for advertising.

Where your data goes, processors we use

We use a small number of third-party processors to run Ovine. Each is bound by a written data-processing agreement and only acts on our documented instructions:

• Supabase our managed database, authentication, and storage backend (Supabase, Inc., US, with EU data-residency for our project). Stores your account, catalogue saves, wardrobe, personal-care shelf, food logs, and community contributions.
• RevenueCat subscription infrastructure for the Ovine subscription (RevenueCat, Inc., US). Receives your Apple-issued subscriber ID and receipt so we can confirm your subscription is active. Does not receive your email, name, or Ovine account contents.
• Apple App Store, in-app purchases, and (on the iOS app only) Sign in with Apple (Apple Inc., US, with EU data-residency for App Store data). Apple is the seller of record for the Ovine subscription and issues the durable-medium receipt for your purchase.
• LLM provider. Google Gemini via the Lovable AI gateway writes Faye's plain-English explanations and tips. Letters are set by fixed rules, not by the language model. We send the page or label text; we do not send your email, name, or Ovine account identifier. Requests are not used to train the model.
• Lovable Cloud the managed application platform on which our analysis backend runs (Lovable AB, EU).
• Brevo keeps the email list for app news and the newsletter, and sends those emails (Brevo, France). Receives your email address and where you signed up.
• Resend sends the email you receive when you sign up for product updates (Resend, Inc., US). Receives only your email address.
• Open Food Facts independent non-profit food database queried server-side by us so your IP address is not passed on. See openfoodfacts.org.

Data is transmitted over HTTPS. We do not sell user data, and we use and transfer it only for the purposes described in this policy.

International data transfers

Some of the processors above are based in the United States. Where personal data leaves the UK / EEA to reach them, we rely on the following safeguards to meet UK GDPR Chapter V and EU GDPR Chapter V:

• For transfers to the US, the UK, US Data Bridge (the UK extension to the EU. US Data Privacy Framework, in force from 12 October 2023), where the recipient is self-certified under the DPF. This is the case for Apple and Google.
• Otherwise, the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (2021/914) plus the UK International Data Transfer Addendum (IDTA / UK Addendum) issued by the ICO, together with a documented Transfer Risk Assessment.

You can request a copy of the safeguards for a specific transfer by emailing us at the address in the Contact section.

Usage statistics

We collect anonymous usage data to help us understand how Faye is used and to improve her. Including which types of products are analysed, which features (like Kids Safe or Sun Safe) are used, and how often people return to use Faye. This data is aggregated and not linked to your identity or browsing history.

Ovine scanner (app)

The Ovine scanner reads product barcodes (food, skin & body, cleaning and air fresheners) and photographs of clothing care labels. It is available in the app, and to signed-in members on the website. We treat camera and scan data as follows:

• Camera access the camera is only activated when you open the scanner. The video feed is processed entirely on your device to detect a barcode. No video or camera frames from scanning are uploaded to us or to any third party (front-of-product photos you deliberately choose to share are covered under Product photos above).
• Barcode (GTIN) lookup once a barcode is detected, only the resulting digits (the GTIN) are sent to our backend to look the product up, together with your sign-in so we can confirm your membership. The lookup isn't used to build a profile of what you buy.
• Scan history a list of barcodes you have scanned (found or not found) is stored locally on your device so you can review your scanned wardrobe. It is not sent to us and is not backed up to the cloud. You can clear it at any time from the scan history screen. We keep a maximum of 200 recent scans.
• "Help map it" submissions if a barcode is not in our catalogue yet, you can optionally tell us the brand and product name you see on the label. This is sent to our review queue so we can verify and add the item. It is submitted anonymously. Not tied to your name, email, or device identifier.
• No background scanning the scanner only runs while you have the scanner screen open, and stops the moment you leave it.
• Local preferences app and site settings (e.g. theme) are stored locally on your device and are not sent to us.

You can revoke camera permission at any time in your device or browser settings; the rest of the app and site continues to work without it.

Food scanning (mobile app & web)

When you scan a food product, Faye reads the barcode on your device and looks it up in Open Food Facts, an independent non-profit product database. We treat food scan data as follows:

• Camera & barcode same as our clothing scanner: the camera is only on while the scan screen is open, and no video frames from scanning leave your device (front-of-product photos you deliberately choose to share are covered under Product photos above).
• Open Food Facts lookup once the barcode is read, only the digits (the GTIN) are sent, via our backend, to Open Food Facts to fetch product name, ingredients, and nutrition. The lookup is made server-side, so your IP address is not passed on to them. See openfoodfacts.org for their own privacy notice.
• The shop you're in when Faye asks "Which shop are you in?", your answer is saved in your browser's sessionStorage under faye.food.currentStore so she can tune tips and "better options" to the shelf you're standing in front of. It never leaves your device and is cleared automatically when you close the tab. You can clear or change it any time via the "Change shop" link on any food result.
• AI grade & tips the product data (name, nutrition, ingredients) is sent to our Lovable AI gateway to write the one-line verdict and Faye's tips. Nothing about you personally is attached to the request.

Stored nutrition panels. When a panel is read for a product, we keep it against that product along with the date it was read and where it came from, so the next person scanning the same barcode is not waiting on a fresh lookup. A pack can change without the barcode changing, so the read date is shown on the product and we re-read panels on a schedule. If the date looks old to you, that is the point of showing it. Nothing in a stored panel is about you. It belongs to the product, not to your account.

What other people can see

Your username, if you set one. A username is optional, and it is the only part of your profile that can appear in front of other people. It shows beside items you nominate to the catalogue, as the credit for finding them. Your real name and your email address are never shown. You can turn the credit off in Settings, which makes your nominations anonymous, and you can leave the username unset entirely.

Your household. A household can hold more than one person. Each adult member signs in to their own account and sees only their own wardrobe, shelf and food log. Children set up as managed members are different: the person who owns the household can see and manage what is on a managed child's shelf and in their food log, because they are the one keeping it. No other member of the household, and no member of any other household, can see your items.

What we don't do

• Signing in isn't used for tracking. The app and the extensions need an account. Signed-in requests include a secure sign-in token so our server can confirm your account and membership before returning Faye's analysis. That token is used to deliver the service; it isn't used to build a browsing profile or to track the pages you visit for advertising.
• We do not sell or transfer user data to third parties outside of the approved use cases described above.
• We do not use or transfer user data for purposes that are unrelated to Faye’s single purpose.
• We do not use or transfer user data to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes.
• We don’t track your browsing outside the page Faye is actively analysing.

How long we keep it, retention

You can ask us to delete anything ahead of these periods at the email in Contact below. Subject to legal-retention obligations (mainly the 7-year VAT / accounting period for paid subscriptions).

Children

Faye isn’t directed at children. The Kids Safe toggle is designed for parents and guardians to use on behalf of children, not for children to use the extension themselves.

Faye Safari extension (iPhone)

Ovine ships a Safari web extension bundled with the iOS app. It gives members Faye's full in-page analysis. It behaves the same way: the pinned tab is drawn from bundled assets and reads no page content until you tap it, at which point the page's address and its visible text are sent to our analysis backend. If you're signed into the app, the extension reads a shared sign-in token from the app's App Group container (an Apple-provided secure area shared between the app and its extension) so you don't need to sign in twice. No browsing history is collected, no other tabs are read, and the extension does not run in the background. The categories of data listed under What we collect apply to the Safari extension in the same way.

Chrome Web Store, Limited Use

The use of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Contact

Ovine with Faye. A UK-based sole trader. Lytchett House, 13 Freeland Park, Wareham Road, Poole, Dorset, BH16 6FA. Questions, rights requests, or deletion requests? Email us at support@ovinewithfaye.com.