Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 22, 2026
Meal Steals is operated by an individual under the Meal Steals name. This policy covers our website, mobile app, App Clip when available, historical newsletter records, and support communications.
1. Information We Collect
Through the website and historical newsletter:
- Website usage events, such as page views and clicks on app download links. Google Analytics uses cookies and browser identifiers to measure visits and interactions, and receives technical information such as browser, device, page URL and referring-page information. Our events can also include campaign, shared-link and deal identifiers, referral tags, and the page or link used to reach us.
- Email address and city of residence for historical newsletter subscribers. The newsletter has been sunset, but we retain this list for unsubscribe handling, support, audit, and legally required notices.
- Newsletter click metadata when you tap a tracked email link, such as campaign, variant, link type, destination host, UTM parameters, likely bot/scanner classification, user-agent family, click time, and a recipient hash if one is provided. We do not store raw email addresses in newsletter click records.
Through the mobile app (Meal Steals on iOS/Android):
- A pseudonymous push notification token for deal alerts, and device registration information for notification delivery and preferences. The app does not require an account or ask for your name or email address.
- App usage events such as deals viewed, taps, redemption attempts, errors, and session length. Firebase Analytics uses app-instance identifiers and, on Android where available, advertising identifiers. It also derives approximate location from network information. These records are pseudonymous, not necessarily anonymous, and are used to understand app usage.
- If you allow location access, we use your location to show nearby deals, center the map, and check whether you are in our service area. Your coordinates are sent to our server for the service-area check. We retain approximate statistics grouped into 0.05-degree geographic cells and hourly counts, rather than the precise coordinates in those statistics. Location access is optional and can be changed in your device settings.
- Install source and referral attribution: when you arrive through a campaign or shared deal link, we record referral tags (such as UTM parameters), campaign and shared-link identifiers, the deal identifier and type, the landing path, and information about how the app was opened or the referral was received. We send these selected fields to analytics to understand which links lead to app use. A full referring URL may also be stored locally for debugging. It is not sent as part of these attribution events.
- Preferences and local session counts are stored on your device. For devices registered for notifications, hidden restaurants, hidden deals and stadium choices are also synchronized with our server to filter deal notifications. Theme and local session counts are not part of that preference sync. Preference changes may separately be included in analytics events.
Through an App Clip, when you use one:
- The Clip requests the selected offer from our Firebase service so it can display the deal and its redemption details. It can open a restaurant's app or website when you choose to redeem.
- The offer identifier and the time of the Clip visit are saved in storage shared with the full Meal Steals app on your device. When you later use the full app, this information can help us measure a Clip-to-app conversion. Conversion analytics includes the offer identifier, elapsed time since the Clip visit, platform and app version. For devices registered for notifications, Clip attribution may also be saved with the device record.
App-collected information includes identifiers, usage events, diagnostics, and location information. If you choose to email support, we receive your email address, message and any diagnostic information you include. The app opens a draft in your email app for you to review before sending.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use this information to send app deal notifications, maintain unsubscribe records, improve the app, measure marketing effectiveness, and diagnose errors. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
3. Third-Party Services
Third parties that receive user information from Meal Steals must provide the same or equal protection described in this policy and required by the applicable App Store guidelines.
Website:
- Firebase and Google Cloud for website hosting, data storage, and server operations. Privacy Policy
- Google Analytics for website analytics. Privacy Policy
- Postmark for legacy email unsubscribe handling and historical delivery records. Privacy Policy
Mobile app:
- Firebase and Google Cloud for data storage and server operations, and Google Analytics for Firebase for app analytics. Privacy Policy
- Apple Maps for the iOS map. Privacy Policy
- Google Maps for the Android map. Privacy Policy
- Expo Push Service for notification delivery. Privacy Policy
Our hosting and server providers process network information, including IP addresses, to deliver and protect the Service. Security and operational logs may contain request and error information. The approximate location statistics described above do not describe all provider logs or recovery copies.
Support email is processed through our Google-hosted mailbox. When you open a restaurant's app or website, that service's privacy practices apply to information it collects.
Cookies and browser privacy signals
You can block or clear cookies in your browser. This does not delete information already collected. Our website does not currently change its analytics behavior in response to a browser's Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signal. This statement describes current behavior. It does not limit any legally required opt-out right.
Google receives information through our analytics integrations and may also receive information about your activity on other websites or services that use its products. Its use of that information depends on its policies and the applicable service settings. See how Google uses information from sites and apps.
4. Data Retention
Turning off notifications in your device settings prevents notification alerts on that device. It does not delete your push token, registered device record or previously collected data. Invalid push tokens are removed when delivery receipts identify them. Uninstalling the app does not directly notify us or delete every record associated with the device.
Approximate service-area statistics have a 30-day expiration period. Automatic deletion runs asynchronously. Notification measurement events have a 90-day expiration period.
Our app and website Google Analytics properties are configured for two months of event-level retention and 14 months of user-level retention. New activity resets the user-level retention period. These limits do not cover all aggregate reports or exports. App Analytics exports in BigQuery have no automatic expiry configured. This setting does not override retention commitments made when information was collected. Those prior commitments and applicable retention and deletion requirements continue to apply. We may retain aggregate statistics that cannot reasonably identify a person or household indefinitely. The website property has no configured BigQuery export link. Historical or manual copies may still exist.
Support email is normally retained and archived. Archiving does not delete it. Historical newsletter records are retained for unsubscribe handling, support, audit and legally required notices. Backups and provider logs have separate retention periods. Current app recovery history lasts seven days, scheduled backups 98 days, and archived exports 180 days with a further seven-day recovery period. Settings were last checked on October 6, 2026. Automatic cleanup may take longer. See our deletion request page for current limits.
5. Your Choices
You can disable notification alerts in iOS/Android settings, and change location access there as well. Turning off or declining notifications does not by itself turn off app analytics. These choices do not by themselves delete previously collected data.
California residents have the right to know, delete, correct, and opt out of sale/sharing of their personal information, and to be free from discrimination for exercising these rights. Other rights may apply under applicable law. To make a privacy request, email hello@mealsteals.co. You do not need an account, the app, or enabled notifications to contact us.
We review privacy requests and respond within the timeframes required by applicable law. We may ask for information needed to verify a request, depending on its scope and risk.
We assess requests individually. We may retain information where necessary and legally permitted, including a limited record of a request and our response. We do not currently offer a verified deletion process for app notification records, app or website Analytics history, or historical newsletter click records. We explain what we can identify and delete, what remains, and why. These limits do not remove rights or obligations under applicable law. See Privacy and deletion requests for instructions.
6. Data Security
We implement reasonable security measures to protect your personal information. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure.
7. Age
Meal Steals is intended for users 18 and older. If we learn that a user is under 18, we will delete their data. If you believe a minor has provided us data, email us and we will delete it.
8. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this policy for any change. For material changes, we will also post an in-app notice before the change takes effect.
9. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at hello@mealsteals.co