Terms of Service

Short version: Fridge Buddy is a helpful general guide to storing groceries, not a substitute for food-safety judgment. When in doubt, throw it out. We are not responsible if you do not.

Accepting these terms

By downloading, opening, or using Fridge Buddy (the "App"), you agree to these Terms of Service and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the App.

What Fridge Buddy is

Fridge Buddy is a personal kitchen helper. It identifies groceries from photos you take, gives general guidance on how to store them, and reminds you when items are nearing the end of their typical shelf life. The information shown in the App is curated from authoritative sources (USDA, FDA, UC Davis Postharvest, Cornell Cooperative Extension, the National Center for Home Food Preservation, and chef and food-science publications), but it is presented in plain language for everyday use.

FOOD SAFETY — important

The storage advice, shelf-life estimates, cooking recommendations, and spoilage indicators in Fridge Buddy are general guidance only. They are not medical advice, professional food-safety advice, or a substitute for your own judgment.

• Shelf-life estimates are typical ranges. Actual freshness varies with how fresh the food was when you bought it, your refrigerator temperature, packaging, and handling.
• Spoilage cues in the App (smell, appearance, texture) are guides. If a food looks, smells, or tastes off, do not eat it regardless of what the App says about how many days are left.
• Cooking and preparation instructions for items that can be unsafe when undercooked (raw kidney beans, lima beans, cassava, taro, bamboo shoots, raw or undercooked meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood, and so on) are summaries of general guidance. Follow the specific instructions on the packaging of the food you actually bought and, when applicable, the most current USDA, FDA, or equivalent authority.
• If you have a food allergy, a medical condition that requires a specific diet, are pregnant, are immunocompromised, are very young or very old, or are cooking for someone in those groups, treat the App as a starting point and consult appropriate professional advice. Some foods carry risks that are not visible (Vibrio in raw oysters, Listeria in soft cheeses and unpasteurized dairy, scombrotoxin in mishandled tuna and mackerel, prions in venison and other game) and the App cannot detect them.
• The App does not inspect your food. It does not know how it has been stored before you bought it, whether the cold chain has been broken, or whether your specific item is contaminated.

You assume all responsibility for decisions you make about food storage, preparation, and consumption based on the App. When in doubt, throw it out.

Your license to use the App

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the App on devices you own or control, solely for your personal, non-commercial household use. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease the App, the source code, or its content, and you may not reverse-engineer or attempt to extract the source code unless local law permits it.

Acceptable use

You agree not to use the App in any way that violates the law or these terms, to attempt to disrupt or overload our services, to scrape or systematically extract the catalog content, or to use the photo-recognition feature to submit images that are illegal, obscene, or designed to test or abuse the system. We may rate-limit, suspend, or block use that we reasonably believe is harmful or abusive.

Third-party services

When you tap to scan groceries, the photo is sent through a service we operate to a third-party image-recognition provider that identifies the items. Use of that provider is governed by their own terms and privacy practices. We do not store the photos. See the Privacy Policy for details.

Intellectual property

The App, including its design, code, brand, illustrations, written content, and curated storage guidance, is owned by Chef Fatty (Chan Woo Kim) and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Third-party content cited in the App (USDA, university extension services, published food science) is owned by its respective authors and used under fair use for educational purposes. You retain ownership of any photos you take inside the App. By using the scan feature, you grant us a limited license to process those photos solely to identify your groceries and return the result to you.

Disclaimers

THE APP IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE APP WILL BE ERROR-FREE, UNINTERRUPTED, OR SECURE, OR THAT THE STORAGE GUIDANCE IS COMPLETE, ACCURATE, OR APPLICABLE TO YOUR SPECIFIC FOOD ITEM.

Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL CHEF FATTY OR ITS AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE APP, INCLUDING ANY ILLNESS, INJURY, OR LOSS RESULTING FROM FOOD YOU CHOSE TO PREPARE, STORE, OR EAT BASED ON GUIDANCE FROM THE APP. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE APP WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US FOR THE APP IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM (CURRENTLY ZERO; THE APP IS FREE) OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain warranties or liabilities, so the above limitations may not apply to you in full. In those jurisdictions our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Chef Fatty and its affiliates from any claim, loss, or expense arising out of your misuse of the App, your violation of these terms, or your violation of the rights of any third party.

Apple-specific terms

You acknowledge that these terms are between you and Chef Fatty, not with Apple. Apple is not responsible for the App or its content. Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the App. In the event of any failure of the App to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price (if any). To the maximum extent permitted by law, Apple has no other warranty obligation with respect to the App. Apple is a third-party beneficiary of these terms and, upon your acceptance, will have the right to enforce these terms against you as a third-party beneficiary.

Changes to the App and these terms

We may add, change, or remove features at any time. If we materially change these terms, we will update this page and bump the effective date at the top. Material changes will also be announced in-app where reasonably possible. Continued use of the App after a change means you accept the updated terms.

Termination

You can stop using the App at any time by deleting it from your device. We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these terms or use the App in a way that harms us, other users, or the providers we depend on. The sections that by their nature should survive (disclaimers, liability, indemnification, intellectual property, governing law) will survive any termination.

Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, U.S.A., without regard to its conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these terms or the App will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in California, and you and Chef Fatty consent to personal jurisdiction there. If you are an EU consumer, mandatory consumer-protection laws of your country of residence may also apply.

Severability and entire agreement

If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest will remain in effect. These terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Chef Fatty about the App and supersede any prior agreement on the same subject.

Contact

Questions, requests, or notices go to hello@getfridgebuddy.com.

Note from us

We wrote this in plain language so it is actually readable. It is a serious legal document, but our goal is the same as yours: you eat the food you bought, throw away less of it, and stay safe doing so.