SmartRezept – Privacy & Imprint

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Privacy policy

Last updated: November 6, 2026

This app (“SmartRezept”) stores your recipes, photos, plans and settings on your device. There are no user accounts; we do not analyze your usage behavior ourselves. The app only sends crash reports if you switch them on yourself (section 10). The app is free and is financed by advertising from Google AdMob (section 9). Data leaves your device in these cases: when you start a recipe scan – the selected photo or text is then sent to our server at simplecrafts.de and from there to Anthropic’s AI service (section 3); when you import a link – the app then retrieves the page or the video description (section 4); for advertising (section 9); if you use it, for backups (section 8); and, if you switch them on, for crash reports (section 10).

1. Controller

Björn Dau
SimpleCrafts Studio
Willy-Müller-Ring 16
38556 Bokensdorf
Germany
Email: Info@SimpleCrafts.de

2. What is stored on your device

Recipes with title, description, ingredients, preparation steps, category, tags, nutritional values, rating, note, cook counter and, where applicable, source address

Photos you add to a recipe yourself (in the app’s private folder)

Meal plan, shopping lists (checked-off and custom items), favorites

Settings such as appearance and the order of categories, as well as a random device identifier for scanning (section 3)

This data is kept in the app’s own storage on your device; SimpleCrafts Studio does not receive it. The pantry search works in memory only. Section 8 explains how you can back up your data.

3. Recipe scanning by artificial intelligence

When you photograph a recipe, choose a photo from the gallery, paste a text, load a .txt file, import a link, photograph your pantry or have a recipe invented from your pantry, the app transfers exactly this content – the reduced-size photo, the text, the text read from a link (section 4) or the ingredient list – to our relay service. Nothing is transferred without your active involvement. The rest of your recipe collection, meal plan, shopping lists and settings are not transferred.

The relay service runs on the SimpleCrafts Studio server at simplecrafts.de; the hosting provider is Alfahosting GmbH (Germany). It forwards the content to the AI service and returns the result to the app; it does not store the content itself. To limit free use (currently 10 scans per month), it stores, for each calendar month, a random device identifier together with the number of scans and the time of the last request. If you have received additional scans by watching a video ad (section 9), it also stores their number and the transaction IDs transmitted by Google, so that no credit is granted twice. The app generates the device identifier randomly during the first scan; it is neither an advertising ID nor a device number and is not assigned to any person. After a reinstallation or restore, the app generates a new device identifier. As with every server request, the hosting provider also processes technically necessary connection data (for example IP address and time) in server logs, which are deleted automatically after a short time.

The AI service is “Claude” from Anthropic Ireland, Limited (Dublin, Ireland), which acts as our processor; processing also takes place at Anthropic PBC in the USA. The basis is Anthropic’s data processing agreement with the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses (Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR). According to Anthropic, content submitted via the application programming interface is not used to train the models and is usually deleted within 30 days; if Anthropic’s safety systems detect a possible violation of the usage policies, it may be retained for up to 2 years.

Please note: A photo may show more than just the recipe – for example people, handwriting or objects in the background. So only photograph what is meant to be transmitted, and no sensitive documents.

Before a scan, the app usually shows a full-screen ad; the scan starts as soon as you have closed it (section 9). The advertising service does not receive your photos or texts.

4. Links from websites, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram

If you enter a web address or share a link with SmartRezept, the app first opens the page itself from your device and reads its text. For TikTok links, it requests the public video description and the channel name via TikTok’s public interface (tiktok.com). For YouTube links, it requests the video’s title, channel name and description via Google’s YouTube API Services. As with any page request, the respective operator may process your IP address and the requested address. Only the text read in this way is then sent for scanning to our relay service and to Anthropic (section 3); the app stores the address itself as the source with the recipe on your device.

SmartRezept uses the YouTube API Services for the YouTube import. By using this feature, you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service (https://www.youtube.com/t/terms). Processing by Google is governed by the Google Privacy Policy (https://policies.google.com/privacy). The app does not store the retrieved video description; it is used only for the scan.

The app does not retrieve Instagram posts, because Instagram requires a login for this. You can copy the description in Instagram yourself and paste it as text; section 3 then applies.

5. Permissions

Camera: only if you want to photograph a recipe or your pantry. The photo is taken by your device’s camera app.

You choose photos from the gallery via the Android system picker; the app does not get access to your other images.

Internet: for recipe scanning, loading web pages or TikTok and YouTube descriptions, for advertising and – if switched on – for crash reports.

Advertising ID: only for advertising (section 9). You can reset or delete it at any time in the Android settings.

Notifications (Android 13+, voluntary): Only for the cooking timer – “Timer running” with the time left and “Timer done” with a sound. No data is transmitted in the process.

The app does not ask for location, contacts or microphone. Read-aloud uses Android’s text-to-speech on your device. Online voices of Android text-to-speech send the recipe text to be read aloud to Google. You can revoke the camera permission at any time under “Settings & help” or in the Android settings. Without camera or internet access, scanning does not work; entering recipes manually still does.

6. Legal basis

Local processing, scanning and retrieving links take place to provide the feature you have expressly requested (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR); storing and reading the random device identifier on your device is strictly necessary for this (Section 25(2) No. 2 TDDDG). The app uses the camera only after you have granted permission (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). Limiting free use via the device identifier and the server logs are based on the legitimate interest in operating the service securely and protecting it from misuse and uncontrolled costs (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Additional scans are credited after a voluntarily watched video ad in order to provide the feature you have requested (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). The legal basis for personalized advertising and access to the advertising ID is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, Section 25(1) TDDDG); see section 9. The app only sends crash reports with your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, Section 25(1) TDDDG); see section 10.

7. Storage period and deletion

Your data remains stored on the device until you delete individual recipes or uninstall the app. Uninstalling removes all local data of the app, including the stored photos. The monthly counters and transaction IDs at the relay service are deleted after the end of the following calendar month, unredeemed one-time identifiers after one day at the latest. According to Anthropic, content submitted for scanning is usually deleted within 30 days (section 3). Backup files you create yourself remain until you delete them.

8. Backup

Under “Back up & restore” you can create a backup file (ZIP) with your recipes, photos, plans and settings yourself. It is saved wherever you choose in the Android picker – for example in device storage or in a cloud storage service such as Google Drive; its terms then apply. The file is not encrypted; keep it in a safe place. SimpleCrafts Studio does not receive it.

If Android backup is enabled on your phone, Android can also back up your recipes, plans and chosen app language in encrypted form to your Google account and restore them on a new device; photos and all other settings are excluded. If you transfer the app directly from your old phone to a new one (old phone running Android 12 or later), your photos are usually included as well. Your choices for “Send crash reports” and “Better voice online” and your ad consent (“Ad settings”) are never backed up: after a restore, both switches are off, and you need to turn them on again if you want to use them; the app asks for your ad consent again. This backup is controlled by Android or Google, not by the provider; the provider has no access to it. You can turn it off in the Android settings under “Backup”.

9. Advertising (Google AdMob)

The app is free and is financed by advertising. It uses Google AdMob, a service of Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. Ads appear as a banner at the bottom of the screen, as an entry labeled “Ad” in the recipe list, and full-screen: usually before a recipe scan, after you have started it, and occasionally when switching between areas of the app (for example when opening the statistics or leaving the meal plan). Additional full-screen ads when switching between areas appear no earlier than 90 seconds after the last full-screen ad; the ad before a scan is exempt from this. The scan starts as soon as you have closed the ad; if no ad is loading at the moment, it starts without one.

Video ad for additional scans. If you have used up your free scans for the month, you can voluntarily watch a video ad and receive 3 more scans for it (at most 3 videos per month). The video starts only if you tap it yourself; without the video, the app works as before, just without further scans this month. So that the credit reaches the right device, the app passes a one-time random identifier to Google AdMob, which our relay service has previously assigned to your device. After the video, Google reports this identifier together with a transaction ID and a signature to our relay service; it checks the signature, credits the scans and deletes the one-time identifier. Google receives neither your permanent device identifier nor recipes, photos or texts. The credit works regardless of whether you have consented to personalized advertising.

In doing so, Google processes device-related data, in particular the device’s advertising ID, the IP address and information about the device, the use of the app and the ad event. The provider of this app receives only aggregated reports that do not relate to individuals. Your recipes, photos and texts are never involved.

The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, Section 25(1) TDDDG). It is requested in a dialog after the welcome screen. You can change or withdraw it at any time under Settings → Permissions and privacy → Ad settings; the withdrawal takes effect from the time it is declared. Without consent, you will not receive personalized ads. If you live in a US state with its own privacy law, you can also object there to the use of your data for personalized advertising.

Data may be transferred to the USA in the process. Google is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework; in addition, the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses apply. For details, see Google’s privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy.

Without an internet connection, the ad space shows a note about other apps from SimpleCrafts Studio. Nothing is transmitted in this case; only tapping it opens Google Play.

10. Crash reports (Firebase Crashlytics)

The app can send crash reports to Firebase Crashlytics, a service of Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. This makes it possible to find errors that otherwise occur only on individual devices and would never come to the provider’s attention.

This transmission is switched off by default. It only begins once you turn on the “Send crash reports” switch in the welcome screen or under Settings → Permissions and privacy, and it ends as soon as you switch it off again; reports not yet sent are then discarded, as are reports created on the device before you switched it on. The switch is independent of your consent to advertising. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, Section 25(1) TDDDG), which you can withdraw at any time with effect for the future.

A report contains the technical course of the crash (stack trace), device model, Android version, language, memory state, the app version and a randomly generated installation identifier. This identifier is not linked to any account or person and becomes invalid when the app is uninstalled. Your recipes, photos, texts, links and settings are not transmitted. No analysis of your usage behavior takes place – Firebase Analytics is deliberately not included.

Transfer to the USA is possible. Google is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework; in addition, the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses apply. Google deletes reports after 90 days. For details, see Google’s privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy.

11. Disclosure to third parties

Apart from the transfers described in sections 3, 4, 8, 9 and 10, no data is disclosed. Recipients are: Alfahosting GmbH (hosting of the relay service), Anthropic (recipe scanning), Google (advertising, credit after video ads, YouTube retrieval, Android backup if applicable and – if switched on – crash reports) as well as TikTok or the operator of the website whose link you import. No analytics components are used; crash reports only with your consent (section 10). If you tap “Share” on a recipe, the shopping list or the meal plan, the app passes the text via the Android share menu to the app you choose (for example a messenger). SimpleCrafts Studio does not receive it; further processing is subject to the terms of the chosen app. Note: When downloading and updating via Google Play – including when the app checks at startup via the Play Store app whether an update is available – Google itself processes device-related data in accordance with Google’s privacy policy; the provider of this app has no influence on this.

12. Children

The app is intended for people aged 16 and over and is not specifically aimed at children. If you are younger, please use it only with your parents’ consent; this applies in particular to consenting to personalized advertising (section 9). The app does not require any personal details; sections 3 and 9 describe which data is processed for scanning and advertising.

13. Your rights

Under the GDPR, you have the right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability and objection (Art. 15–21 GDPR) as well as the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The competent authority is the State Commissioner for Data Protection of Lower Saxony (Die Landesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz Niedersachsen), Prinzenstraße 5, 30159 Hannover. You can also contact the supervisory authority in your country of residence. Since the provider holds no data that can be assigned to you, you exercise these rights in practice by deleting data in the app or by uninstalling it. For data processed by Google in connection with advertising and crash reports, please contact Google. If you have questions – including about processing at Anthropic – you can reach the controller at Info@SimpleCrafts.de.

14. Changes to this policy

If the app’s range of features changes – for example through additional online features, purchase options, other ad formats or a different AI service – this policy will be updated accordingly beforehand. The version shown in the app with the date stated above is authoritative.

Imprint

Information pursuant to Section 5 DDG

Björn Dau
SimpleCrafts Studio
Willy-Müller-Ring 16
38556 Bokensdorf
Germany
Email: Info@SimpleCrafts.de

SmartRezept is published by SimpleCrafts Studio, the sole proprietorship of Björn Dau registered on August 17, 2026. The app is free and is financed by advertising (Google AdMob).

Small business pursuant to Section 19 UStG (German VAT Act) – no VAT is shown.
VAT identification number pursuant to Section 27a UStG: DE464945989

Responsible for the content: Björn Dau, address as above.

Note on AI-generated content

Recipes created via photo, text or link scanning are generated automatically by an AI model. Such results may be incomplete or incorrect – for example in quantities, temperatures, cooking times, nutritional values or individual ingredients. Check the information yourself before cooking. You can report incorrect or inappropriate content via “Report content” in the menu of a recipe card.

Health and allergies

The app makes no statements about the tolerability or safety of foods. If you have allergies, intolerances or follow a special diet, never rely on the ingredient lists or nutritional values shown; instead, check the original source and the information on the packaging.

Liability for content

The content of this app was created with the greatest possible care. No guarantee is given for the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the recipes, quantities and nutritional values shown. You are responsible for recipes you enter yourself or import from third-party sources; please respect the rights of the respective authors.

Liability for links and copyright

In some places, this app refers to external pages (for example the website, the YouTube channel and the Facebook page of SimpleCrafts Studio, or the original page of an imported recipe). We have no influence on their content; the respective provider alone is responsible for it. At the time the links were set, no legal violations were apparent.

The content and works created by the provider in this app are subject to German copyright law. Reproduction, editing and distribution beyond the limits of copyright law require written consent.

Third-party terms

For importing YouTube links, the app uses the YouTube API Services; the YouTube Terms of Service (https://www.youtube.com/t/terms) and the Google Privacy Policy (https://policies.google.com/privacy) also apply.

Dispute resolution

We are neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.