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Privacy Policy

Last updated: 27 May 2026

1. Who we are

Fermenta is operated by Merlijns Solutions, an eenmanszaak registered in the Netherlands with the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce under KVK number 99525992 and VAT ID NL005394819B52. In this Privacy Policy, “Fermenta”, “we”, “us”, and “our” mean Merlijns Solutions.

For questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, contact us at hello@getfermenta.com. For GDPR purposes, Merlijns Solutions is the controller of the personal data described in this Privacy Policy, unless stated otherwise.

2. What this policy covers

This Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal data when you use the Fermenta website, mobile app, account features, emails, support channels, and related services. It does not cover the privacy practices of Apple, Google, RevenueCat, Supabase, Netlify, Simple Analytics, Resend, Expo, GitHub, or other third-party services, except to explain how we use them in connection with Fermenta.

3. Short summary

  • We do not sell your personal data.
  • We do not use advertising pixels or cross-app advertising trackers.
  • Website analytics are handled with Simple Analytics, which is designed to work without personal tracking cookies.
  • App accounts and fermentation data are stored with Supabase; our main Supabase project is EU-hosted.
  • Subscriptions are processed by Apple App Store or Google Play. We do not receive or store your payment card details.
  • You can delete your Fermenta account from the app settings or contact us by email.

4. Personal data we collect

The personal data we collect depends on how you use Fermenta.

  • Website, waitlist, and newsletter data. If you sign up through the website, we collect your email address and related form, consent, subscription, unsubscribe, and delivery information.
  • Website analytics. We use Simple Analytics to understand aggregate website usage, such as page views, referrers, approximate location, device type, and browser information. We do not use this for personal advertising or individual profiling.
  • Account and authentication data. When you create or use a Fermenta account, we process your email address, unique user ID, sign-in method, authentication metadata, and related account records. If you sign in with Apple or Google, those providers may send us information such as your email address and provider identifier, depending on your settings.
  • Fermentation and app content. We store the fermentation projects, recipes, batch logs, notes, reminders, ingredients, measurements, timestamps, progress, and other information you enter or generate in the app. Fermenta does not currently offer photo uploads or public sharing features.
  • Subscription and entitlement data. We process app-store purchase and entitlement information through RevenueCat, Apple App Store, and Google Play, such as product ID, subscription status, trial status, purchase or transaction identifiers, renewal status, cancellation status, refund status, and app user ID. We do not handle payment card data directly.
  • Device, usage, diagnostics, and security data.We may process technical data needed to operate, secure, troubleshoot, and improve Fermenta, such as IP address, app version, operating system, device model, language or region settings, log data, crash or error reports, performance data, and feature usage events.
  • Local notifications. Fermenta may use local device notifications for fermentation reminders. These are scheduled on your device. We do not currently use remote push notification marketing.
  • Support communications. If you contact us, we process your email address, message content, attachments, and any information needed to respond.

Please do not enter sensitive personal data, medical information, or information about other people in your fermentation notes unless it is necessary for your own use of Fermenta.

5. Why we use personal data and legal bases

If the GDPR applies, we rely on the following legal bases.

  • To provide Fermenta. We use account, authentication, fermentation, subscription, and technical data to create your account, store your projects, sync your data, provide paid features, send service messages, and run the app. Legal basis: performance of a contract.
  • To provide reminders, tracking, and food-safety warnings. We use the fermentation data you enter to show progress, reminders, educational guidance, and warnings. Legal basis: performance of a contract and our legitimate interest in providing a useful and safer service.
  • To process subscriptions. We use subscription and entitlement data to start trials, verify premium access, restore purchases, prevent fraud, handle customer support, and comply with financial and tax obligations. Legal basis: performance of a contract, legal obligation, and legitimate interests.
  • To improve Fermenta. We may use app usage, diagnostics, support, and fermentation data to fix bugs, improve recipes, improve warnings, understand which features are useful, and develop future features. Where practical, we use aggregated, anonymized, or minimized data. Legal basis: legitimate interests. You may object to this processing by contacting us.
  • To send marketing emails. We may send newsletters, launch updates, and product updates if you have opted in or where otherwise permitted by law. Legal basis: consent or, where allowed, legitimate interests. You can unsubscribe at any time.
  • To secure and protect Fermenta. We use technical, log, and account data to detect abuse, prevent fraud, enforce our terms, debug incidents, and protect users and the service. Legal basis: legitimate interests and legal obligation.
  • To comply with law. We may process and retain data where necessary for tax, accounting, consumer protection, app-store, legal, regulatory, or dispute-resolution purposes. Legal basis: legal obligation and legitimate interests.

6. Food-safety related data

Fermenta may use the fermentation information you provide, such as recipe type, timing, temperature, salt level, pH, notes, and progress, to provide tracking, reminders, educational content, and food-safety warnings. These features are informational and depend on the accuracy and completeness of the data you enter. Fermenta does not provide medical, nutritional, professional food-safety, regulatory, or commercial production advice, and it cannot guarantee that any food or drink is safe to consume.

7. How we share personal data

We share personal data only where needed to operate Fermenta, comply with law, protect Fermenta, or with your consent. Our current service providers and relevant third parties include:

  • Supabase for account authentication, database hosting, and storage of app data. Our main Supabase project is EU-hosted.
  • RevenueCat for subscription and entitlement management.
  • Apple App Store and Google Play for app-store distribution, subscriptions, trials, payments, refunds, and account sign-in where you choose Apple or Google sign-in.
  • Netlify for website hosting and form handling.
  • Simple Analytics for privacy-focused website analytics.
  • Resend for transactional or product-related emails.
  • Expo for app build, deployment, update, or diagnostic infrastructure.
  • GitHub for development, source-code hosting, and issue tracking. GitHub is not intended to store ordinary user account or fermentation data, but support or diagnostic information may be included in development workflows if needed to investigate an issue.
  • Email marketing providers. We may use an email marketing provider, such as MailerLite, to manage newsletters and unsubscribe lists.

We may also disclose data if required by law, court order, app-store rules, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of Fermenta, users, or others. If Fermenta is ever sold, merged, reorganized, or transferred, personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this Privacy Policy and applicable law.

8. International transfers

Fermenta is operated from the Netherlands and is available worldwide through the app stores. Some service providers, app-store partners, and support infrastructure may process data outside the European Economic Area. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards such as data processing agreements, European Commission standard contractual clauses, adequacy decisions, or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

9. How long we keep personal data

We keep personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described above, unless a longer period is required or permitted by law.

  • Account and fermentation data: kept while your account is active. When you delete your account, we delete your account and fermentation data from our active Supabase database.
  • Backups and residual logs: deleted or overwritten on normal cycles, usually within 30 days, unless a longer period is required for security, legal, or technical reasons.
  • Subscription and financial records: kept as needed for app-store, tax, accounting, fraud-prevention, refund, and legal purposes. Dutch business administration records may need to be kept for up to 7 years.
  • Newsletter and marketing data: kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it. We may keep a suppression record or consent record where necessary to honor your opt-out and demonstrate compliance.
  • Support emails: usually kept for up to 2 years after the last contact, unless we need them longer for a dispute, legal obligation, safety issue, or abuse prevention.
  • Technical, diagnostic, and server logs:usually kept for up to 90 days. Security or fraud-related logs may be kept longer if needed to protect Fermenta or users.
  • Aggregated or anonymized data: may be kept indefinitely because it no longer identifies you.

Deleting your Fermenta account does not delete records held by Apple, Google, RevenueCat, or other third parties where those records are needed for payment, subscription, tax, accounting, fraud-prevention, or legal reasons.

10. Account deletion and data export

You can delete your Fermenta account from the app settings. Account deletion is intended to be permanent and will delete your profile and fermentation data from our active database. You can also request deletion or a copy of your data by contacting hello@getfermenta.com. We may need to verify your identity before completing certain requests.

Deleting the app or deleting your Fermenta account does not cancel an active App Store or Google Play subscription. You must cancel subscriptions through the relevant app-store account settings.

11. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, object to, or receive a portable copy of your personal data. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal. You also have the right to object to direct marketing at any time.

To exercise your rights, contact hello@getfermenta.com. If you are in the EU or EEA and believe we have not handled your request properly, you may lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. In the Netherlands, this is the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens.

12. Cookies and tracking

Fermenta does not currently use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, remarketing tags, or cross-site behavioral advertising tools on the website. We use Simple Analytics for aggregate website analytics without personal tracking cookies. If we add technologies that materially change how we collect data, we will update this Privacy Policy and, where required, ask for consent.

13. Children

Fermenta is not intended for children under 16. If you are under 16, you may use Fermenta only with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16 without appropriate consent. If you believe a child has provided personal data to Fermenta without appropriate consent, contact us and we will take appropriate steps.

14. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal data, including access controls, limited administrative access, secure service providers, and encrypted connections where available. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or disclosure will never occur.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the “Last updated” date above. If a change is material, we will take reasonable steps to notify you, such as through the app, website, or email.

16. Contact

Questions, requests, or complaints about privacy can be sent to hello@getfermenta.com.