Privacy policy
Last updated: 29 September 2026
This draft describes data processing across the Mealar website, owner dashboard, public menus, and in-restaurant ordering. The registered operator and its controller and processor details will be confirmed after company formation. Privacy questions can be sent to info@mealar.com.
What we collect
Account details from restaurant owners (name, email, phone, restaurant and business information), billing and tax data processed by Stripe, the menu content and photos owners upload, and order and accounting records where ordering is enabled. Diners can browse menus without an account. Placing an order — even without signing in — creates a lightweight guest order record: a random identifier that groups this device's orders so you can check their status and, if you save the access code shown after ordering, find them again later. It holds no name, email, or phone unless you choose to provide them. Diners may additionally sign in, leave reviews, and pay via a payment method that is sent directly to Stripe — card numbers never reach Mealar.
Ordering & the restaurant's role
When a diner orders from a menu, the restaurant is the seller: it is responsible for the food, prices, allergen information, and its guest relationship. Mealar processes order data to operate the platform, to route payment to the restaurant's own Stripe account, and to keep the legally required accounting records.
Legal basis (GDPR Article 6)
We rely on: performance of a contract to operate your account, billing, and ordering; legitimate interests for security and fraud prevention; your consent for optional menu analytics, withdrawable using privacy preferences in the footer; and legal obligation for retaining fiscal and tax records.
Menu analytics
Public menus record anonymous interaction events — menu opens, searches, dietary-filter use, and language changes — tied to a random visitor identifier stored on the device. These never include names, contact details, or precise location, and non-essential analytics run only with consent. AR viewing runs on your device; Mealar receives no camera images.
How we use data
To operate the service, generate 3D models from uploaded photos, create AI videos from a selected dish photo when an owner requests them, show owners how their menus perform, process subscriptions and orders, and provide support. We do not sell personal data. Uploaded photos pass automated content moderation before publishing; owners can contest a rejection via support.
Payments & card data
All payments are processed by Stripe. Card details are entered in Stripe-hosted fields, are tokenised by Stripe, and never touch Mealar's servers. Saved payment methods live at Stripe and can be removed from your account at any time. Identity documents that restaurants provide during payout onboarding go directly to Stripe. Beyond payments, data is encrypted in transit and access is role-restricted and logged. When you request support, authorised staff may access your account to help; every such access is logged.
Cookies & local storage
We use strictly necessary storage for sign-in sessions, your saved consent choice, and — on menus with ordering enabled — your order cart, a short-lived shortcut back to an order you have just placed, and the mealar.cs order cookie: a random identifier kept for up to 12 months that links this device's orders for status checks, the self-cancellation window, and abuse prevention, and that groups them into your guest order record. If you receive an order access code, a copy stays on the device so you can view it again; signing out removes it. Small functional preferences also live on your device: your menu language, one-time interface hints, and which design a menu code uses so the loading screen matches it on your next visit. None of these identify you by name or track you across sites. Optional menu analytics use a random visitor identifier only after acceptance. Rejecting optional analytics removes that identifier. External video services may receive connection data when their content is loaded; their own privacy practices apply.
Sub-processors
Mealar uses Stripe (payments, billing, tax, and restaurant identity verification), Firebase Authentication (sign-in), SendGrid (transactional and notification email), Microsoft Azure (hosting, storage, image moderation, AI menu extraction, and AI-video image preparation and prompt generation), Google Cloud Vertex AI with Veo (AI video generation using a prepared dish image and generated prompts), and a specialised AI provider that turns uploaded dish photos into 3D models. Providers that act as our processors are subject to contractual data-protection terms applicable to their role; Stripe also acts as an independent controller for payment and know-your-customer data it is legally required to hold.
International transfers
Some providers process data outside your country, including in the United States. Uploaded dish photos are shared with the 3D-generation provider to produce requested models. For AI video generation, Microsoft Azure processes the selected dish photo and relevant meal details to prepare the image and prompts; Google Cloud Vertex AI then processes the prepared image and prompts in its United States region to provide the requested video-generation service. Where personal data leaves the EEA/UK, we use the transfer safeguard applicable to the provider and transfer, such as an adequacy decision or Standard Contractual Clauses, together with supplementary measures where required.
Data retention
Account and menu data is kept while your account is active and deleted on verified request. Order accounting records are an exception: tax and bookkeeping law (for example Norway's Bokføringsloven) requires us to retain them for around five years even after an erasure request — in that case we anonymize the personal details but keep the fiscal order record. Guest order records expire automatically: after 12 months without an order or sign-in, the access code is revoked and the link between the guest record and its orders is severed. Anonymous menu analytics are kept in aggregate form.
Your rights
You have the right to access, correct, export (data portability), and request erasure of your personal data, to restrict or object to processing, and to withdraw consent. Owners can export their data and request deletion from account settings, or contact us below. Diners who saved an order access code can sign in with it and export or delete their order history from the account area at any time; without the code, contact us with your order number and payment details so we can verify the request. Subject to the fiscal-record exception above, we action verified requests and respond within 30 days; you may also complain to your local data protection authority.
Contact
Privacy questions and requests: info@mealar.com.