Last updated: July 30, 2026
BanScan screens product-label ingredients against a bundled reference database. BanScan does not require an account, display advertising, sell personal information, or track users across apps or websites.
BanScan offers two label-reading modes:
BanScan’s proxy processes the photo only to service the scan and does not intentionally save the request body or extracted ingredients to a database. AWS infrastructure may retain limited request metadata according to the logging and retention settings configured for the service. Google states that prompts, images, and responses submitted to paid Gemini API services are not used to improve its products, but may ordinarily be retained for a limited period for abuse monitoring unless Zero Data Retention has been approved and enabled for the project.
Users choose whether AI analysis is allowed. The saved choice can be changed at any time under AI Privacy Settings in BanScan or from BanScan’s page in the iOS Settings app. Choosing Ask Next Scan makes BanScan request permission again, while On-Device Only prevents label photos from being sent for AI analysis.
When a user scans or enters a product barcode, BanScan sends that barcode to Open Food Facts to request available product and ingredient information. BanScan does not attach an account identifier or advertising identifier to that request. Open Food Facts handles requests under its own privacy practices.
BanScan stores the user’s AI-analysis preference on the device. Scan photos, parsed ingredient lists, and search queries are not saved by BanScan as a persistent history.
Data sent for AI analysis or barcode lookup is used only to provide the requested app functionality, operate and secure the service, and comply with applicable law. BanScan does not use this data for advertising or cross-app tracking. BanScan does not maintain user accounts or a server-side user database from which scan data can be retrieved or deleted. Third-party service providers apply their own operational and legal retention periods as described above.
BanScan is not directed to children and does not knowingly collect personal information from children.
This policy may be updated when BanScan’s features or service providers change. The date at the top identifies the latest revision.
Privacy and support questions can be submitted through the support channel listed with BanScan in the App Store.