Privacy Policy
Status: March 2026
This Privacy Policy explains the nature, scope, and purpose of the processing of personal data within the "Squil" app.
1. Data Controller
Julian Kern
Stuttgarter Str. 27
76137 Karlsruhe, Germany
Email: mail@kern-julian.com
2. Core Functions & AI Processing (Google Cloud Vertex AI)
To provide our services (e.g., automatic recipe creation), we utilize state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence. We strictly distinguish between local and cloud-based processing:
A. Social Media Imports (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube)
- Phase 1 (Local): The extraction of text information from URLs takes place exclusively local on your end device. We do not transfer login data, cookies, or session IDs to our servers.
- Phase 2 (AI Cloud): Only the extracted raw text data is transmitted to Google Cloud Vertex AI to be structured by Gemini models.
B. Camera Imports (Photo Function)
When you take a photo (e.g., of a cookbook), this image is transmitted directly to Google Cloud Vertex AI (Gemini Vision). Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and content analysis take place there to digitalize the data for you.
We use the Enterprise Infrastructure of Google Cloud. This means:
- No Model Training: Your data (texts/images) is not used to train Google's global base models.
- Data Sovereignty: Data sovereignty remains with Squil; permanent storage at Google for their own purposes does not occur.
- Server Location: Processing takes place on servers within the European Union.
3. Infrastructure & Third-Party Providers
| Service | Purpose | Data Categories |
|---|---|---|
| Google Firebase | Authentication & Database | User ID, source URLs, imports, folders, email address. |
| RevenueCat | In-App Subscriptions | Purchase status (we have no access to payment data). |
| Vertex AI | AI Analysis (Gemini) | Text strings, image data (for analysis only). |
4. Legal Basis & Data Retention
The processing of your data is based on Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (Performance of a Contract). The AI-supported analysis is an essential part of the contractually agreed app function.
Your data remains stored as long as your user account exists. Upon deletion of the account, all personal data is immediately removed from our databases (Firebase/Firestore).
5. Your Data Subject Rights
You have the right to:
- Access to your data stored by us.
- Rectification of incorrect data.
- Erasure of your data ("Right to be forgotten").
Deletion Request: To permanently delete your account and all associated data, please send an informal email to:
We will process your request immediately and confirm the deletion.
6. Data Security
We secure our app and data transmission through technical and organizational measures (e.g., TLS encryption) against loss, destruction, or unauthorized access.