Privacy Policy

Shio, operated by Celestial Meridian, LLC · Last updated October 20, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how Celestial Meridian, LLC (“Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use the Shio mobile application and related web experiences (the “Service”). By using the Service you agree to the practices described here.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the minimum information needed to run the Service.

Account information. An account is required to use the Service. When you sign in with email, Apple, or Google, we receive your email address and a unique account identifier. If you sign in with Google, Supabase Auth may also store your Google name and a link to your profile photo with your account when Google provides them.
Dietary and nutrition information. Dietary preferences or restrictions you save, and nutrition estimates you request or store. Depending on what you enter, this may reveal health-related information.
Content you create. Recipes, cookbooks, meal-plan entries, grocery items, notes, edits, and the messages you send to in-app AI features (such as recipe chat).
Content you import. When you paste a link, use the share sheet, or import a photo or screenshot, we send that content to our servers to extract the recipe. The source URL, detected platform, uploaded images, and the parsed recipe are stored as part of your library.
Photos. Images you upload as recipe covers, and screenshots you import for text recognition, are uploaded to and stored with your account.
Subscription information. If you subscribe to Shio Pro, our subscription provider processes the purchase status and provides us your subscription status and purchase history. Apple or Google processes the payment itself, and we never receive your card or bank details.
Identifiers. Your account identifier and the application or device identifiers used by our subscription provider to deliver and restore your subscription. We do not collect advertising identifiers such as Apple's IDFA or Google's Advertising ID.
Product-interaction and diagnostic data. We count basic in-app events (for example, that an import was attempted or an onboarding screen was reached) and technical failures to operate and improve the Service. General product-event analytics are stored without an account, device, or session identifier. The separate Android referral measurement described below is linked to your account for a limited period. Onboarding measurements are aggregate daily counters containing only the screen milestone, app version, native build number, onboarding flow revision, and operating system; they contain no imported content or survey answers. Detailed diagnostics are retained only for accounts specifically designated for internal pre-release testing.
Crash and performance data. We collect crash reports and performance diagnostics to find and fix problems. This data is configured to exclude personal identifiers: no email, IP address, or advertising identifier is attached.
Launch waitlist. If you submit your email address on tryshio.com to be notified when Shio launches, we store that address, which part of the page you submitted it from, and whether your browser appeared to be iOS, Android, or something else. We also store a one-way fingerprint of your IP address to limit automated signups; it is not reversible into an IP address. We use this only to email you about the launch, and you can ask us to remove your address at any time.

Your onboarding goals, notification permission, and trial reminder remain on your device. Your optional referral-source answer contributes only to separate aggregate counts of first launches, source selections, onboarding completions and first saved imports, grouped by installation week and operating system. These counts have no account or device identifier. Separate retry receipts expire after 14 days. Previously local answers are not uploaded. Older Android versions may store a new answer with your account only when you explicitly choose “Share answer.”

Newly installed Android versions can read Google Play referral details: source, medium, campaign, website placement, and click/install times. We capture these within seven days of installation, accepting clicks up to 30 days earlier. If you create an account within seven days of first launch, we link those limited details to your first account to measure signup, onboarding, first recipe saves/imports, repeat recipe activity and production subscription payments using existing service records. Linked referral records are deleted after 180 days or account deletion. Details awaiting sign-in stay on your device for up to seven days and are removed when acknowledged or on the next app use after expiry. We do not retain the raw referrer, ad click IDs or a new device identifier, or reconstruct historical click-to-account matches.

Some earlier app versions included an optional, account-linked setup measurement after signup, and before that a random installation identifier that followed setup steps to an account. Both have been discontinued. No app version collects either one, their records have been deleted, and earlier activity is not linked to accounts.

Our website keeps a recognized discovery channel and limited campaign label in session storage for a 30-minute referral window. This lets a source such as TikTok continue into the store link. We do not retain the full referring URL for this measurement. Apple campaign download reports are aggregate data and cannot identify or match individual Shio accounts. We do not use fingerprinting for acquisition attribution.

We do not collect precise or coarse location, your contacts, your browsing history across other apps or websites, or advertising identifiers.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Provide and maintain the Service, including authentication, syncing, and recipe import, translation, and adaptation.
Manage your subscription and restore purchases.
Deliver on-device reminders you request.
Send transactional messages related to your account (for example, password resets and security notices).
Understand how the Service is used so we can improve features and reliability.
Diagnose, debug, and fix problems, including crashes and sync issues.
Enforce our Terms of Service and respond to lawful requests.

We do not sell your personal information, we do not use it for third-party advertising or tracking, and we do not use your content to train third-party large-language models beyond the transient processing needed to fulfill your request, described below.

3. Third-Party Services

The Service relies on a small number of third-party providers, each with its own privacy policy. We share only what is necessary for each to perform its function, and we require them to protect your information consistently with this Policy.

Hosting and infrastructure. Our hosting provider runs our database, authentication, file storage, serverless functions, and first-party analytics.
Subscriptions. Our subscription provider manages in-app purchase status and receives your purchase history and application or device identifiers needed to deliver and restore Shio Pro. Apple or Google processes the underlying store payment.
Diagnostics. Our crash-reporting provider collects crash reports and performance data to help us fix bugs, configured to exclude personal identifiers (no email, IP address, or advertising identifier).
AI processing. Third-party AI providers parse, translate, adapt, and transcribe the recipe content you import or create. Your content is processed to fulfill your request and is not used by these providers to train their models.
Content retrieval. Third-party retrieval providers fetch the public social-media posts, web pages, and videos you choose to import.
Distribution. Apple and Google provide app distribution and process store purchases under their own privacy policies.
Website analytics. Microsoft (Clarity) provides first-party website analytics and session heatmaps on our marketing website (tryshio.com) so we can see how visitors navigate the site and improve it. Clarity's scope is the tryshio.com website only; it is separate from the first-party analytics our hosting provider runs inside the mobile app (described above).
Website experiments. When we compare versions of a website page, we store a random browser identifier, the version shown, the site language, a broad screen-size category, and basic link-click events with timestamps in Shio's database. These experiment records do not contain your account identifier, recipe text, imported URLs, or dietary preferences.

A current list of our sub-processors is available on request at support@tryshio.com.

4. Data Retention

We retain your account and content for as long as your account is active. If you delete a recipe, cookbook, or other item, it is removed from our primary database; copies may persist in encrypted backups for up to 30 days before being purged. If you close your account, we delete associated content on the same 30-day schedule, except where a longer retention period is required by law.

5. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or export your personal information, and to withdraw consent. You can delete your account and all associated content at any time from within the app (Settings → Delete account). Full deletion instructions and a web request option are available on our account deletion page. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@tryshio.com. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

6. Security

We use industry-standard measures such as HTTPS in transit, encryption at rest, and scoped authorization to protect your information. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Children

The Service is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 in regions where that is the applicable age). We do not knowingly collect personal information from such children. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

8. International Users

If you use the Service outside the country where our servers are located, your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in that country. By using the Service you consent to such transfer.

9. Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be announced in-app or by email at least 7 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

10. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy can be sent to support@tryshio.com, or by mail to Celestial Meridian, LLC, 9169 W State St #1219, Garden City, ID 83714.

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