Last updated: 13 April 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how YoHugo ("we", "our", "us"), accessible at yohugo.com and via the YoHugo iOS app, collects and uses your personal information. For terms governing use of the service, see our Terms of Service.
1. Information We Collect
Account Information
When you create an account we collect:
- Email address — required for account creation and communication
- First name — used to personalise your experience
- Profile photo URL — sourced from Google Sign-In where available
Sign-In Providers
If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile photo from Google's OAuth service. If you sign in with Apple, Apple provides your name and email on the first sign-in only; on subsequent sign-ins Apple does not resend this data. We store what we receive at first sign-in and do not request additional data from either provider.
Recipe & Usage Data
- Saved recipes — stored to sync your collection across devices
- App preferences — dietary requirements, serving sizes, and supermarket preferences stored locally and in your account
- Chat/recipe history — stored per session to provide continuity
What We Do Not Collect
- Payment card or banking information (payments handled entirely by Apple or Stripe)
- Precise location data
- Contacts or calendar data
- Sensitive personal data (health, ethnicity, religion, etc.)
2. How We Use Your Information
- Provide, maintain, and improve the YoHugo service
- Authenticate your identity and secure your account
- Sync your saved recipes and preferences across devices
- Personalise your experience (e.g. greeting you by first name)
- Send important service communications (account updates, security notices)
- Improve AI recipe quality using anonymous, aggregated ingredient data
- Respond to support requests
We do not use your data for advertising, sell it to third parties, or use it for any purpose beyond providing the YoHugo service.
3. Payments & Subscriptions
YoHugo does not process or store payment information directly. All subscription payments are handled by trusted third-party processors:
- Apple In-App Purchase — for subscriptions purchased via the iOS app. Apple processes and stores your payment details. We receive only a confirmation of purchase status and a transaction token to verify your subscription. Apple's privacy policy applies to their data handling.
- Stripe — for subscriptions purchased on the web. Stripe processes and stores your payment details. We store your Stripe customer ID for billing management but never your card details. Stripe's privacy policy applies to their data handling.
4. Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services to operate YoHugo:
- Firebase (Google) — account authentication, database storage, and cloud infrastructure
- OpenAI — AI recipe generation. Your recipe prompts are sent to OpenAI's API to generate responses. OpenAI does not link these to your personal identity.
- PostHog — anonymous product analytics to understand feature usage and identify issues
- Google Analytics — anonymous website usage statistics
- Stripe — web payment processing (see above)
- Apple In-App Purchase — iOS payment processing (see above)
Each of these services has its own privacy policy. We only share the minimum data necessary for each service to function.
5. Cookies & Analytics
Types of Cookies We Use
- Authentication cookies — essential for keeping you signed in and securing your session
- Preference cookies — store your app settings (supermarket preferences, dietary requirements) locally
- Analytics cookies — anonymous usage data to help us improve the service
What We Track
- Pages visited and features used (anonymous)
- Recipe creation and interaction patterns (anonymous)
- Error occurrences and technical issues
- General device type and browser (for compatibility)
What We Do Not Track
- Personal identification via cookies
- Browsing history outside of YoHugo
- Cross-site or advertising tracking
All analytics data is anonymised and aggregated. You can disable non-essential cookies in your browser or device settings. Disabling authentication cookies will prevent access to saved features.
6. How We Store & Protect Your Data
Your data is stored on Firebase (Google Cloud Platform) using industry-standard encryption and security measures. We apply role-based access controls and security rules to prevent unauthorised access to user data.
Where possible, data is stored in UK and European Union regions in compliance with applicable data protection law, including UK GDPR.
7. Data Retention
We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the service. If you delete your account, your personal data and saved recipes will be permanently removed within 30 days, except where we are required to retain certain information by law.
8. Email Communications
We will not share your email address with third parties. Your email is used exclusively for:
- Account authentication and security notices
- Important service updates
- Responding to your support requests
- Transactional emails related to your subscription
We do not send marketing emails without your explicit consent and we do not sell, rent, or share email addresses with advertisers or marketers.
9. Your Rights (UK GDPR)
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- Correction — request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
- Erasure — request deletion of your account and personal data
- Portability — request your data in a portable format
- Restriction — request that we restrict processing of your data
- Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us via our contact form. We will respond within 30 days.
10. Children's Privacy
YoHugo is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy as the service evolves or as required by law. We will notify registered users of material changes by email or via the service. Continued use of YoHugo after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
12. Contact
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us via our contact form or visit yohugo.com/contact.