Last updated: 31 August 2026
Bakala (“the app”, “Bakala Web”, “we”) helps people in Bahrain rescue surplus food from local shops, bakeries, and cold stores at a discount before it’s thrown away, and also offers a secondary grocery price-comparison tool. This policy covers both the mobile app and this website, and explains what data we collect, why, and how it’s handled.
| Data | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A random per-device identifier | Automatically, the first time you reserve a surplus bag (app or web) | There are no shopper accounts — reservations are tied to this anonymous identifier (not your name, email, or phone) so a shop can confirm your reservation at pickup. On the web, this is a separate identifier stored in your browser, not linked to the app’s. |
| A leaderboard nickname | Only if you choose to set one, in Profile or after a reservation | Shown publicly on the savings leaderboard alongside your total saved and bags rescued, so other users can see it. Optional — reservations work without one. You can change or ask us to remove it at any time (see “Your rights” below). |
| Email address (waitlist) | If you join the waitlist on this website | Used only to notify you when Bakala launches near you or to follow up on partner interest. Not used for marketing beyond that, not sold or shared with advertisers. |
| Precise location (GPS) | Only when you open the Rescue map, tap “use my current location” while registering a shop, or open “Worth The Drive” for a store | On the Rescue map, shown only as a “you are here” dot, never stored or sent anywhere. For shop registration, captured once as that shop’s pickup address. For “Worth The Drive”, used on-device only to estimate trip cost/distance. Never collected in the background. |
| Camera images | When you scan a barcode or photograph a product to identify it (Price Compare’s “Scan” tool) | Sent to an AI vision service (Google Gemini, or Anthropic Claude if configured) to identify the product. Not stored by Bakala after identification. |
| Barcode numbers | When you scan a product | Used to look up product details locally or via Open Food Facts. |
| Shopping list & price reports | When you use the Price Compare tool | Stored locally on your device only. |
| Email address, password, shop name, phone | Only if you create a “Shop Owner” account (app or web dashboard) | Used to authenticate you and operate your shop listing. Stored with our backend provider, Supabase. |
| Shop and surplus-bag photos | Only if you’re a shop owner posting a bag or featuring a product | Stored publicly (they’re meant to be shown to shoppers browsing Rescue) with Supabase. |
Shop-owner account data, waitlist emails, and leaderboard nicknames may be stored outside Bahrain. This is disclosed here and, for shop owners, consented to explicitly at sign-up, consistent with Bahrain’s Personal Data Protection Law (Law No. 30 of 2018).
Every surplus bag reservation requires you to explicitly acknowledge, via a checkbox, that the item is near its best-before date (never past its use-by date) before you can confirm the reservation. This is shown at the point of reservation, every time, on the app and the web.
You can delete your on-device shopping list, price reports, and reservation history at any time by clearing the app’s data in your device settings, or clearing this site’s data in your browser settings. You can remove your leaderboard nickname at any time by clearing it in Profile, or by asking us (see Contact below). Shop-owner account holders can request full account deletion — see our account & data deletion page.
If this policy changes in a way that affects what data is collected or how it’s used, we’ll update the “Last updated” date above and, for material changes, notify users in-app or on this site.
Questions about this policy: 3den.org@gmail.com
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