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Privacy Policy

Last updated: 26 September 2026

This notice explains what personal data MakanApa collects, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it and what you can do about it, as required by Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA). MakanApa is operated by Muhammad Hakeemi bin Mohd Ridza in Malaysia ("we", "us"), who is responsible for your data.

This notice is also available in Bahasa Malaysia. If the two versions differ, the English version applies.

01. What we collect

Account information

When you create an account, we collect your name, email address and the avatar you pick from our set. If you sign in with Apple or Google, we store the account identifier they give us so we can recognise you, and for Apple, a sign-in grant (stored encrypted) so we can revoke it if you delete your account. If you set a password, we store only a secure hash of it. We also store your settings, such as your halal preference and notification choices.

A guest account has none of this: just a random account identifier tied to the app on your device.

Location

If you allow location access, the app sends your device's location with requests to find nearby places, pick a place, search, and show what's popular in your community. We store your exact location with each pick you ask for, linked to your account. We use this to give you recommendations, and in aggregate to understand which areas people look for food in. Your location is never shown to other users.

Your picks and activity

When you use MakanApa we record what you asked for and what happened: your mood, budget and distance, the recommendations we showed you, the place you chose, how you interacted with a pick (for example, rerolling or tuning it), places you save, vibe votes, the words you searched when you chose a place from search, and how you opened a place (for example, from a shared link or a notification). We also note the context of a pick, such as the time of day and whether it was raining in your area.

Taste profile ("Selera")

From your activity, MakanApa builds a taste profile so recommendations fit you better. You can see what it has learned, correct it, and reset it in the app.

Community and contributions

If you use community features, we collect what you share and do there:

  • your community (a university or area) and its verification status;
  • community posts and replies (with an optional place tag), and your reactions;
  • reports you make (the reason and an optional note), and the people you block;
  • places you add or edit, and photos you upload;
  • halal vouches: your claim, comment, certificate details and photos;
  • ownership claims and the proof you attach;
  • requests to add a university or area that isn't listed;
  • which version of our Terms of Use and Community Guidelines you agreed to, and when.

Notifications

If you allow notifications, we store your device's push token, a random identifier for your installation of the app, and whether it's a test or live build. We keep a record of the notifications we send you, and, if you turn on mealtime picks, when your next one is due.

App usage

We record when you open and close the app, with the random identifier for your installation. This is a MakanApa-generated identifier, not your device's advertising identifier. We use these records only for our own statistics, such as how many people use the app each week. We don't use third-party analytics or crash-reporting tools.

Searches with no results

When a search finds nothing, we keep the search words and a rough area (about 1 km), with no link to you, so we can see which places MakanApa is missing.

Support and this website

If you email us, we keep the emails. This website keeps an anonymous count of page views and download-button clicks. It doesn't set cookies or store IP addresses or device identifiers for this.

02. Where it comes from

  • From you, when you sign up, use the app or contact us.
  • From your device, such as its location and push token, when you allow them.
  • From Apple or Google, if you sign in with them (your name, email and account identifier).
  • From how you use MakanApa, such as your picks and your taste profile.
  • From our team, such as the verification status of your community.

03. Why we use it

  • To run your account and sign you in.
  • To find places near you, recommend one and remember the places you save.
  • To personalise recommendations through your taste profile.
  • To run the community: show posts, handle reports and blocks, filter content and enforce our Terms of Use.
  • To check restaurant and halal information before it's shown.
  • To send the notifications you've chosen.
  • To understand how MakanApa is used and improve it, using our own statistics only.
  • To keep MakanApa secure and prevent abuse, such as spam and rate-limit evasion.
  • To comply with the law and respond to lawful requests.

04. What other people can see

  • Your community posts and replies, with your display name and avatar, are visible to people in the same community.
  • Once approved, your halal vouches are shown on the place with your display name, comment and photos.
  • Once approved, places, details and photos you contribute become part of MakanApa's restaurant information.
  • Reports are anonymous: the author isn't told who reported them. The people you block aren't told.
  • Shared place pages on this website show restaurant information and how many people picked the place, never who.
  • Your location, email and activity are never shown to other users.

05. Who we share it with

We share only what each service needs to do its job for us:

  • Apple: Sign in with Apple, and delivering push notifications (your push token and the notification).
  • Google: Google Sign-In; Google Places, which our servers ask for restaurant information using your search words and a location in your area (which can be your location); and the Google Map in the app, which Google provides directly under the Google Privacy Policy.
  • OpenRouter and the AI model provider it routes to: the text of cravings you type (up to 200 characters), so we can understand them; and the details of halal vouches (the claim, comment and certificate details, never your name or account), so our team gets a suggested review. AI suggestions never change a halal status or remove content by themselves.
  • Open-Meteo: a rough area of about 5 km, sent from our servers, to check whether it's raining. Never your exact location.
  • Hosting and storage providers: run our servers and store uploaded photos.
  • Email provider: handles emails you send to our support address.
  • Authorities: when the law requires it, or to protect people's safety.

Some of these providers process data outside Malaysia, for example in the United States or Europe. We only send them what they need, and they handle it under their own privacy and security commitments.

06. Photos

Photos you upload are re-encoded on our servers, which removes hidden metadata such as GPS coordinates and device details. They stay private until our team approves them, and are then stored in S3-compatible object storage. Restaurant photos from Google Places are streamed to your device and aren't stored by us.

07. Notifications

You choose which notifications you get in Settings in the app:

  • Updates about places and halal vouches you submitted: on by default
  • Account and admin notices: on by default
  • Replies to your posts: on by default
  • Reactions to your posts: off by default
  • Mealtime picks, at most one a day: off by default
  • News and release announcements: off by default

You can also turn notifications off completely in your iPhone's Settings.

08. How long we keep it

  • Account information: until you delete your account.
  • Picks and activity: kept to improve MakanApa. When you delete your account, they're kept without any link to it.
  • Guest accounts: deleted automatically after 90 days without activity.
  • Sign-in sessions: expire after 90 days, and expired ones are removed daily.
  • Text sent for AI review: removed from our records after 90 days.
  • Unfinished submissions: drafts are removed after 7 days. Photos from cancelled submissions are removed, and photos from rejected ones after 30 days.
  • Searches with no results: kept anonymously, with no link to anyone.

09. Your choices and rights

  • See and correct your data: edit your name, avatar and community in the app, and see or reset your taste profile. To ask for a copy of your data or to correct anything else, email us. We'll reply within 21 days.
  • Limit what we collect: turn off location or notifications in your iPhone's Settings, choose notification types in the app, reset your taste profile, or use MakanApa as a guest.
  • Withdraw consent: delete your account in the app at any time (see below).
  • Complain: contact us first. You can also contact Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Commissioner at pdp.gov.my.

What's required and what's optional

  • An email address (or Sign in with Apple or Google) is required to create an account, and a name for email sign-up. Without them, you can still use MakanApa as a guest.
  • Location is optional, but without it we can't find places near you.
  • Notifications, community features and contributions are optional.

10. Age

MakanApa is for people aged 13 and over. If you're under 18, you need your parent's or guardian's agreement to use it. If we learn that someone under 13 has an account, we'll delete it.

11. Security

Data is sent over encrypted connections. Passwords and sign-in tokens are stored as secure hashes, and Apple sign-in grants are encrypted. Only a small admin team can access personal data. If a data breach puts your data at risk, we'll notify you and the authorities as the law requires.

12. Deleting your account

You can delete your account in the app (Settings → Delete account). Deletion is immediate and permanent, and can't be undone.

What's deleted:

  • Your name, email, avatar and password
  • Your Apple or Google account identifiers (your Apple sign-in grant is revoked)
  • Your sign-in sessions
  • Your community, notification settings and mealtime-pick schedule
  • Your taste profile and the activity it was built from
  • Your app open and close records
  • Your community posts, replies, reactions, the reports you made, and your blocks
  • Your community requests and any ownership of places
  • Photos you uploaded, both the files and the records

What's kept, with no link to your account:

  • Your picks, including their location, and vibe votes (with the random installation identifier)
  • Places you saved (with the random installation identifier)
  • Places, edits, halal vouches and ownership claims you submitted. Approved vouches are then shown as from "a MakanApa user"
  • Your device's push token, so notifications stop but the record remains
  • Records of notifications we sent you

We keep these because restaurant information and overall statistics stay useful to other people after an account is gone.

What we retain:

One record with your email address and the date of deletion, for security and to answer questions about a deleted account. We don't keep this for guest accounts, which have no email.

13. Changes to this notice

When we change this notice, we update the date at the top. If a change is significant, we'll also tell you in the app.

14. Contact

Questions, requests or complaints about your data? Email hakeemiridza@gmail.com.