Why Radish has no user account
In brief
Radish opens directly — no sign-up, no password, no email address to hand over. That's not a shortcut taken to keep things simple: it's an architecture decision made on day one. With no account, there's no user database sitting on a server — so there's nothing of that kind to leak. Your food log stays on your phone — never sent to our servers (except AI or barcode scanning, if you use them); counting, recipes and the Nutri-Score work without a connection.
Most nutrition apps start with a form: email, password, sometimes an SMS check. Radish opens straight onto the food search screen. That choice isn't a development shortcut — it's a direct consequence of how the app is built, and it changes something concrete about what can, and can't, happen to you.
What "no account" means technically
In a typical app, a user account is a record kept on a remote server: an email address, a password (or its hash), a unique identifier, and everything attached to it — history, preferences, sometimes health data. Radish creates none of these records. There is no sign-up form in the app, no password field, no "forgot password" screen. Your food log, tracked weight, goals and personal recipes are stored directly on the device and never sent to our servers (except AI or barcode scanning, if you use them) — in the app's own storage, the same mechanism any app uses to keep your settings between two launches.
The most direct consequence: there is no list, sitting on a Radish server, of accounts with email addresses and their associated food logs. That list doesn't exist because it was never built — not because it's "well protected".
What that actually changes for you
Three practical consequences, in the order you'd notice them:
- Nothing to remember. No password to choose, forget, or reset by email from another device. Opening the app is using the app.
- Nothing to hand over. No email address to provide, so no inbox receiving reminders, marketing notifications, or a breach alert for an account you never created.
- Nothing to leak on the server side, for that data. A data breach almost always starts with a compromised account database — passwords, emails, sometimes more. Radish has no account database: that incident vector doesn't exist for your food log, because there's nothing to steal at that location. This isn't a claim of absolute security across the whole service — see below — it's the absence of one specific, documentable risk.
What this choice does NOT mean
Precision matters here. "No account" doesn't mean "nothing ever leaves the phone" — that absolute phrasing would be false, and we don't use it. Two features in Radish genuinely need the network: scanning a barcode absent from the built-in database, which queries Open Food Facts, and the optional AI assistant which, if you choose to use it, sends the meal you described or photographed to an AI provider for analysis. Anonymised usage statistics are also sent to Google (in the EU, only if you agree); your diary, foods and weight never are. Both exchanges are one-off, triggered by your action, and create neither an account nor a profile anywhere — they don't change the no-account fact described here. The full line-by-line detail is on the Our Promise page.
"No account" also doesn't mean "no technical data is ever sent": an audience measurement tool (Firebase Analytics) sends anonymous usage counters — screens viewed, time since install — to understand how the app is used overall. That's not an account, that's not your log, and it's detailed in our legal notice.
Why this choice was made from day one
Building an account system, the server hosting it, and the authentication that goes with it is a development cost — and a permanent maintenance one: security updates, access requests, forgotten-password handling. That cost is worth it when an app genuinely needs an account to function: syncing data across multiple devices, sharing a profile, running a social leaderboard. Radish offers none of these three — no shared profile, no leaderboard, no multi-device sync at launch — so the reason to build an account never existed. The business model follows the same logic: Radish is funded through a subscription (advanced features) or a one-time payment where the AI runs with your own key, not by monetizing a user profile. With no economic incentive to collect a centralized log, there was no reason to build the infrastructure that would have allowed it.
See everything that leaves your phoneThe full table, line by line, on the Our Promise page.Read the Our Promise page →What happens if you switch phones?
With no account, there's no automatic sign-in on a new device that would pull your history from a server — that's the logical trade-off of having no account. Radish offers a manual backup, exportable and re-importable in the app, free, to move your log yourself from one device to another. It's one extra step compared to automatic account sync; it's also a step you fully control, without depending on a remote server.
General information about how the app works, not a formal security assessment. Accurate as of August 31, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Can I lose my data if I accidentally delete the app?
Yes, as with any data stored only on the device without a prior backup. That's why Radish offers a free manual export feature — use it before switching phones or uninstalling the app.
Does Radish have a hidden password somewhere?
No. There is no authentication system in the app at all: no username, no password, no login screen.
If I have no account, how does Radish know it's me using the app?
It doesn't, and it doesn't need to: the app works for the device it's installed on, without identifying a person in the sense of a user account.
Does this mean nothing ever leaves the phone?
No. Two features need the network — scanning an unrecognized barcode (Open Food Facts) and the optional AI meal analysis — triggered by your action, without ever creating an account. Anonymised usage statistics are also sent to Google (in the EU, only if you agree); your diary, foods and weight never are. Full detail on the Our Promise page.
Here's the essential part: no account means no database of passwords and emails to leak server-side, for the food log. It doesn't mean zero network exchange — two specific features need it, triggered by your action, documented on the Our Promise page. Anonymised usage statistics are also sent to Google (in the EU, only if you agree); your diary, foods and weight never are.
General information about how the app works, not a formal security assessment.
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