Frequently Asked Questions

Start simple! Take a photo of your fridge or pantry - our AI will identify items and add them to your inventory. Then immediately tap "Generate Recipes" on the Recipes screen to see recipe suggestions. You'll be cooking within minutes, and you can always refine your inventory later.

No! Focus on the items you actually use. Start with your perishables (things that expire) and proteins. The app works great even with a partial inventory - you'll get recipe suggestions based on what you've added, and you can always add more items later.

Our AI-powered photo scanning can identify multiple items at once:

• Open your fridge/pantry: Take a clear photo with good lighting
• AI identifies items: The app detects products, estimates quantities, and suggests categories
• Review & confirm: Check the items found, adjust quantities if needed
• Batch add: Add all items at once with smart expiration dates

Barcode scanning is the fastest way to add individual items:

• Quick Add Mode: Scan items rapidly as you unpack groceries - we'll look up product details automatically
• Auto Categories: Products are automatically categorized (dairy, produce, meat, etc.)
• Smart Expiration: AI estimates and suggests expiration dates based on the product type

Yes! The "Scan to Delete" feature makes it super easy to remove items as you use them:

• Scan the barcode of what you just used
• If you have multiple of the same item, choose which location to remove from
• Adjust quantity (remove 1 egg or all 12)
• Items are instantly removed from inventory

This keeps your inventory accurate without manual searching through lists.

The app uses smart expiration tracking to help reduce food waste:

• Auto-Estimates: AI suggests expiration dates based on product type and typical shelf life
• Color-Coded Alerts:
  • 🟢 Green: Fresh (7+ days remaining)
  • 🟡 Yellow: Use Soon (3-6 days)
  • 🔴 Red: Expiring (0-2 days)
• Recipe Priority: "What Can I Cook?" prioritizes recipes using items expiring soon, if selected as a filter
• Notifications: Get alerts before items expire (Premium feature)

This is our AI-powered recipe engine that creates custom recipes based on YOUR inventory:

• Smart Matching: Analyzes your current inventory to suggest recipes
• Prioritizes Expiring Items: Recipes highlight ingredients that need to be used soon
• Missing Ingredients: Recipes are categorized by how many items you're missing:
  • ✅ Ready to Cook: You have everything!
  • 🛒 Almost Ready: Just 1-2 items missing
  • 📝 Need Shopping: 3-5 items missing
  • 💡 Inspiration: 6+ items missing (for future planning)
• Dietary Filters: Set preferences for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc.

Free users: AI-generated recipes don't include AI photos to keep costs low and the service free for everyone.

Premium users: Get AI-generated recipe images with every recipe! ✨ Premium

Yes: Save unlimited individual recipes to your favorites.

All users: Scale recipes up or down with automatic ingredient calculation. Cooking for 2? For 8? The app recalculates all quantities for you.

Free users can plan up to 3 days ahead from today:

• If today is Monday, you can plan Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
• Tomorrow (Tuesday), you unlock Thursday
• The 3-day window moves forward with each day

Premium users get unlimited meal planning - plan weeks or months ahead! ✨ Premium

Tap the sparkle ✨ button to let AI create your meal plan:

• Select preferences: Number of meals per day, dietary restrictions
• Generates balanced plan: Variety across meals, uses what you have
• Auto shopping list: Creates list for missing ingredients

Build your cooking streak by completing planned meals:

• Mark meals as "completed" after cooking
• Complete all main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) in a day to count
• Your streak shows consecutive days of completed meal plans
• Track your progress and stay motivated!

Free Tier:

• 3-day planning window
• One active meal plan at a time
• 7-day meal plan history
• Basic meal completion tracking

Premium Tier: ✨ Premium

• Unlimited days ahead - plan your entire month!
• Multiple simultaneous meal plans (week 1, week 2, special events)
• Complete meal plan history forever
• Weekly/bi-weekly planning templates
• Recurring meal plans (repeat weekly patterns)
• Meal prep mode with batch cooking optimization
• Calendar view with drag-and-drop scheduling

Shopping lists can be generated from your meal plans and recipes (available to ALL users):

• Smart Detection: Compares meal plan ingredients against your inventory
• Missing Items Only: Only shows what you don't have
• Organized by Category: Grouped by produce, dairy, meat, pantry, etc.
• Quantity Calculation: Combines quantities if multiple recipes need the same ingredient

For Now: There is no difference but more to come later on shopping enhancements!

Households let you share inventory, shopping lists, and meal plans with family/roommates:

• Shared Inventory: Everyone sees the same items in real-time
• Collaborative Planning: All members can view and edit meal plans
• Shopping Lists: Shared lists everyone can access
• Shared Favorites: Add favorite recipes and see everyone elses favorites too

Free users can join a household as an invited member. They'll share the household inventory and meal plans but can't create their own household.

Premium users can:

• Create and own a household (up to 5 people total)
• Invite 4 additional members
• Manage household settings

Premium household owners can invite members using a secure invite code:

1. Go to Profile → Household Settings
2. Your current invite code will be displayed (or tap "Generate New Code" if expired)
3. Share the unique 8-character code with the person you want to invite
4. They enter the code in their app (Profile → Join Household)
5. You'll receive a notification to approve their request
6. Once approved, they'll join your household instantly

Important details:

• Invite codes expire after 24 hours for security
• You can generate unlimited new codes anytime
• Join requests must be approved within 15 minutes
• You can remove members at any time from Household Settings
• Maximum 4 members can be invited (5 total including owner)

Premium ($3.99/month) includes everything in Free PLUS:

• Unlimited Meal Planning - Plan weeks or months ahead (free tier limited to 3 days)
• Household Management - Create and manage a household with up to 5 total members (1 owner + 4 invited)
• AI Recipe Images - Beautiful AI-generated photos for every recipe (free users get stock photos)
• Smart Notifications - Expiration alerts (1-day, 3-day, 7-day warnings) and household notifications
• No Ads - Clean, distraction-free experience
• Priority Support - Faster response times from our team

Yes! All Premium subscriptions include a 7-day free trial. Try all Premium features with no commitment - cancel anytime before the trial ends and you won't be charged.

Absolutely! Cancel your Premium subscription anytime through the app settings or your device's subscription management:

• iOS: Settings → [Your Name] → Subscriptions
• Android: Google Play Store → Subscriptions

When you cancel:

• You keep Premium access until the end of your billing period
• No refunds for partial months
• You revert to Free tier features

Try these troubleshooting steps:

• Camera permissions: Ensure the app has camera access in your device settings
• Lighting: Make sure the barcode is well-lit and in focus
• Clean lens: Wipe your camera lens
• Distance: Hold device 6-8 inches from barcode
• Angle: Keep the camera parallel to the barcode

If scanning still fails, you can manually enter the barcode number or add items without barcodes.

Your privacy is important to us:

• Data encryption: All data is encrypted in transit and at rest
• No selling: We never sell your personal data. Free tier users may see non-personalized advertisements through Google AdMob. Premium users see no ads.
• Minimal collection: We only collect what's needed to provide the service
• Account deletion: Delete your account anytime - all data is permanently removed

View our Privacy Policy

My Bare Cupboards is available on:

• iOS: iPhone and iPad (iOS 17.0 or later)
• Android: Phones and tablets (Android 8.0 or later)

We're here to help:

• Email: support@mybarecupboards.com