AllergyLens: Allergen Scanner · FAQ

AllergyLens is an information-reference camera. Point it at a dish or packaged food and it will surface potential allergens, with a clear confidence level — Detected / Suspected / Not Detected / Uncertain. We never tell you whether something is safe to eat. The decision is always yours, based on the actual ingredient label.

AllergyLens uses on-device vision and a backend LLM to look at the dish's appearance and (when available) the menu name or label text. It is best at identifying visible whole-form allergens (peanuts, eggs, shrimp). It is far less reliable for trace amounts, processed ingredients, or hidden allergens behind the visible surface. This is why every result comes with a confidence label and a permanent disclaimer: please verify against the actual ingredient label or ask the staff. AllergyLens is a clue, not a verdict.

No app is a substitute for medical-grade ingredient verification. If your allergy is anaphylactic-grade (history of severe reactions, EpiPen prescribed), please always: • Read the actual ingredient label, or ask the staff to bring it. • Carry your EpiPen. • Use AllergyLens as an extra check — never the only check. AllergyLens shows a permanent SOS shortcut for severe-grade profiles, with a one-tap dialer for the local emergency medical number, your emergency contact, and the saved hospital location.

Your profiles, history, and photos live primarily on your device. They are encrypted by iOS at rest and only travel to our backend if you explicitly enable cloud sync (planned). When identification needs the cloud LLM, we send the cropped image plus your declared allergen list to our gateway. We do not store the image after the request completes. Sign-in tokens are kept in iOS Keychain. Delete account from the Account page to wipe all on-device profiles, history, photos, and sign out.

Open Me → tap your profile card → the editor appears. Scroll down to "Custom allergens" → tap "+". In the popup you can pick any emoji (or type one yourself in the circle) and a name like "mango", "celery", "pollen-syndrome fruit". Each allergen has its own severity (Severe / Moderate / Intolerance). Tap a chip to pick severity from the menu.

AllergyLens supports up to 5 profiles per account — yourself plus 4 family members. Each profile has its own allergen list and severity, its own EpiPen location, emergency contact, and hospital. Switch active profile from the "Me" tab; identification will use that profile's allergen list. History items remember which profile they were captured against, so you can review them grouped per person.

Open iOS Settings → tap your Apple ID at the top → Subscriptions → AllergyLens Pro → Cancel. Within AllergyLens, Me → Manage Subscription opens the same Apple sheet. The cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period — no Pro feature is removed before then.

When the camera image is dark, blurry, or doesn't actually show a meal, AllergyLens explicitly returns Uncertain instead of guessing. We will never silently downgrade an Uncertain result into Not Detected. "Looking unclear" ≠ "safe to eat". If you see Uncertain often: try better lighting, fill more of the frame with the dish, or wipe the lens.