Health Disclaimer

Overview

Swipe is designed to help college students and community members make more informed dining choices. It is a convenience tool that presents publicly available nutrition data in an accessible format. The information we provide is intended to supplement, not replace, your own judgment and the advice of qualified health professionals.

This disclaimer is part of our Terms of Service. By using Swipe, you acknowledge and agree to the limitations described on this page.

Not Medical or Nutritional Advice

Despite the use of health-related terminology throughout the app (including "health score," "healthy," "good for blood pressure," "helps with weight loss," "supports mood regulation," and similar language), nothing in Swipe constitutes medical advice, nutritional counseling, or dietary therapy.

• Swipe has not been evaluated, cleared, or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), any state health department, or any regulatory body
• Swipe is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease, disorder, or health condition
• The app's content has not been reviewed or endorsed by any registered dietitian, licensed nutritionist, physician, or healthcare professional
• Health-related language in the app (e.g., "good for bone health," "low sodium") reflects general nutritional principles only and should not be interpreted as clinical recommendations for your specific health situation

The developers of Swipe are not licensed healthcare providers, registered dietitians, or certified nutrition professionals.

About Health Scores

Swipe assigns each food item a health score from 0 to 99 and labels items as "Excellent," "Good," "Moderate," or "Poor." It is critical to understand what these scores are and are not:

What Health Scores Are

• Algorithmic output: Scores are calculated using a proprietary formula that considers macronutrients (protein, fiber, fat, sugar, sodium), micronutrients, and ingredient quality
• Relative comparisons: A higher score generally indicates a food is more nutrient-dense relative to other options, using a simplified model
• One data point: Scores should be considered one factor among many when making food choices

What Health Scores Are NOT

• Not clinical assessments: Scores do not reflect how a specific food will affect your individual health, body, or medical condition
• Not dietitian recommendations: No registered dietitian or nutritionist has reviewed, approved, or contributed to the scoring algorithm
• Not comprehensive: Scores do not account for portion context, overall meal balance, caloric needs, individual metabolism, medication interactions, food preparation methods, or bioavailability of nutrients
• Not always accurate: Scores are only as reliable as the underlying nutrition data, which is sourced from university dining records and third-party databases that may contain errors
• Not universal: What scores as "healthy" by our algorithm may not be appropriate for your individual health situation, a food that scores highly may be harmful for someone with a specific medical condition, and a low-scoring food may be beneficial for someone with different nutritional needs

Nutrition Data Accuracy

The nutrition information displayed in Swipe is aggregated from multiple external sources:

• University dining records: Scraped and parsed from publicly available UConn Dining Services data using automated methods
• Restaurant-published information: Sourced from restaurant websites, published nutrition guides, and paper menus
• USDA FoodData Central: U.S. government nutrition database used for barcode-scanned products
• Open Food Facts: Community-maintained, open-source product database

We cannot guarantee that any nutrition value displayed in the app is accurate, complete, or up to date. Specific limitations include:

• Recipes, ingredients, and preparation methods change frequently without notice to us
• Serving sizes displayed may not match actual portions served
• Nutrition data is extracted from external sources using automated parsing methods that may introduce errors
• Community-maintained databases (like Open Food Facts) may contain user-submitted errors
• Published nutrition information from restaurants and institutions may itself be inaccurate
• Micronutrient data may be incomplete, as not all sources report all micronutrients

Always treat nutrition values displayed in Swipe as rough estimates, not precise measurements.

Daily Nutrition Targets

Swipe calculates suggested daily targets for calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat, and various micronutrients based on your self-reported age, gender, height, weight, activity level, and fitness goals.

These targets do not account for:

• Pregnancy, breastfeeding, or postpartum recovery
• Medical conditions affecting metabolism or nutrient requirements
• Medications that affect appetite, absorption, or nutrient needs
• Metabolic disorders or hormonal conditions
• Surgical history (e.g., bariatric surgery)
• Training load for competitive athletes
• Age-specific needs for adolescents whose bodies are still developing
• Recovery from illness, injury, or surgery

If you have specific nutritional requirements due to any medical condition, life stage, or athletic training, do not rely on the app's calculated targets. Work with a registered dietitian or healthcare provider to establish appropriate nutrition goals.

Allergen Information

Swipe displays allergen information and provides allergen filtering based on data available to us. However, this system has critical limitations:

• Incomplete data: Allergen information is sourced from university dining records and restaurant-published data, which may not list all allergens present in a food item. Some allergens may be present in sub-ingredients, processing aids, or shared equipment that are not disclosed
• Cross-contamination: Cross-contamination from shared cooking equipment, preparation surfaces, fryers, serving utensils, and kitchen environments is extremely common in institutional and restaurant settings and is not tracked, predicted, or displayed by the app
• Recipe and ingredient changes: Dining halls and restaurants may change recipes, substitute ingredients, or alter preparation methods at any time without notice. The data in Swipe may not reflect these changes
• Automated parsing errors: Allergen data is extracted from external sources using automated methods (including HTML parsing and text pattern matching) that may misidentify, omit, or incorrectly categorize allergens
• "Safe For Me" limitations: When Swipe labels a food as "safe" for your allergens, or when you use the "Safe For Me" filter, this means only that the allergen is not present in the data available to us. It does not mean the food has been tested, verified, or certified to be free of that allergen
• Allergen score override: When Swipe shows a red "Allergen" label and a score of 0, this is based on the allergen data we have. An allergen conflict not being shown does not mean one doesn't exist

Users with anaphylaxis, epinephrine auto-injector prescriptions, or any life-threatening food allergy must independently verify all food safety information before consuming any item. We strongly recommend:

• Speaking directly with dining hall staff or restaurant employees about ingredients and preparation methods
• Reading original ingredient labels when available
• Asking about cross-contamination risks in the specific kitchen environment
• Carrying prescribed emergency medication (e.g., EpiPen) at all times
• Having an allergy action plan reviewed by your allergist

Used alongside verification with dining staff, Swipe's allergen filtering can help you narrow down options faster. It is meant to support your decision-making process, not to replace the verification step.

Score Personalization & Health Conditions

Swipe allows you to select health conditions (such as celiac disease, diabetes risk, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, PCOS, and others) to receive adjusted health scores and personalized notes.

Important limitations of personalized scoring:

• Not medical prescriptions: Score adjustments reflect general dietary guidance (e.g., "people with high blood pressure are often advised to limit sodium"), not your specific medical needs as determined by your doctor
• Not reviewed by your doctor: Your healthcare provider has not seen, approved, or contributed to these adjustments. They do not know you are using these settings
• Oversimplified: Real dietary management for medical conditions involves many factors that a simple score adjustment cannot capture, including medication interactions, disease severity, comorbidities, lab values, and individual response
• May conflict with medical advice: The app's score adjustments may not align with the specific dietary recommendations you have received from your healthcare team
• Not validated: The effectiveness or safety of using these score adjustments for managing any health condition has not been studied, validated, or peer-reviewed

If you have any medical condition that requires dietary management, your healthcare provider's recommendations must take precedence over anything displayed by this app.

Wellness Mode & Eating Disorder Recovery

Swipe includes a "Wellness Mode" feature designed for users who self-identify as being in eating disorder recovery. When enabled, this mode:

• Reduces the prominence of health scores (setting minimum score thresholds)
• Changes labels to more encouraging language ("Great Choice," "Good Choice")
• Filters out negative or judgmental personal notes
• Adds supportive messages like "Every meal counts"

Critical limitations:

• Wellness Mode cannot prevent all potentially triggering content, the app still displays food items, nutrition information, and calorie data that may be triggering for some users
• Wellness Mode is not a substitute for professional treatment including therapy (CBT, DBT, etc.), nutritional counseling from an ED-specialized dietitian, medication management, or inpatient/outpatient treatment programs
• Using a nutrition-focused app during eating disorder recovery may or may not be appropriate for you, discuss this with your treatment team before using Swipe
• If Wellness Mode or any aspect of the app causes distress, please stop using the app and contact your treatment provider

Food Journal

Swipe's food journal feature allows you to log meals and track daily nutrition intake including calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients.

• The food journal is a personal tracking tool, not a medical or clinical nutrition monitoring system
• Logged values are based on the app's nutrition data, which is estimated and may be inaccurate (see "Nutrition Data Accuracy" above)
• Daily nutrition summaries and streak tracking are intended for general awareness only
• For users with a history of eating disorders or disordered eating, food tracking can be triggering, use this feature only if appropriate for your recovery and approved by your treatment team
• Do not use the food journal as a substitute for medically supervised nutrition tracking if your healthcare provider has recommended clinical dietary monitoring

Barcode Scanning & Product Lookup

Swipe can scan barcodes on packaged food items to look up nutrition information from third-party databases (USDA FoodData Central, Open Food Facts).

• Product data is sourced from external databases and may not match the specific product you scanned (formulations change between production runs, regional variations exist)
• Allergen information from scanned products is sourced from these databases and subject to the same limitations described in the Allergen section above
• Some products may not be found in the database, or may return incorrect matches
• Health scores for scanned products are generated using the same algorithm as dining hall items, with the same limitations

Specific Health Conditions

If you have any of the following conditions or situations, you should exercise particular caution when using Swipe and should not rely on the app for dietary decisions without professional guidance:

• Food allergies or anaphylaxis: See the Allergen Information section above. Always verify independently
• Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity: Gluten presence may not be fully captured in our data; cross-contamination is not tracked
• Diabetes (Type 1 or Type 2): Carbohydrate and sugar data may be inaccurate, and the app does not account for insulin dosing, glycemic index, or blood sugar management
• Kidney disease: The app's potassium, phosphorus, and sodium data may be incomplete; renal diet requirements are complex and individualized
• Heart disease or hypertension: Sodium and saturated fat data may be inaccurate; cardiac dietary management requires professional oversight
• Eating disorders (current or in recovery): See the Wellness Mode section above. Discuss app use with your treatment team
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding: Nutritional needs during pregnancy and lactation are complex; the app's targets do not account for these needs
• Pediatric or adolescent users: Nutritional needs for growing bodies differ from adults; the app's scoring and targets are not calibrated for minors
• Medication-diet interactions: Many medications (including blood thinners, MAOIs, thyroid medications, and others) have significant dietary interactions that the app does not track
• IBS, Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, or other GI conditions: Trigger foods are highly individual; the app's data cannot predict your specific reactions
• PCOS, thyroid conditions, or hormonal disorders: Dietary management for these conditions requires individualized professional guidance

Seek Professional Advice

We strongly encourage all users to:

• Consult a registered dietitian or licensed nutritionist for personalized dietary advice tailored to your health status, goals, and medical history
• Talk to your doctor before making significant dietary changes, especially if you have any health conditions, are taking medications, or are pregnant or breastfeeding
• Contact UConn Dining Services directly for the most current allergen, ingredient, and menu information
• Verify restaurant information directly with the restaurant for current menus, ingredients, and allergen data
• Read original nutrition labels on packaged foods rather than relying solely on database lookups
• Use Swipe as one of many tools in making informed food choices, not as your sole or primary source of nutrition or health information

Crisis Resources

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please reach out to these resources:

• National Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline: 1-866-662-1235
• Crisis Text Line: Text "HOME" to 741741
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988
• Emergency services: Call 911 for any medical emergency, including severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis)

If you are experiencing a severe allergic reaction (difficulty breathing, swelling, hives, dizziness), call 911 immediately and administer your epinephrine auto-injector if prescribed.

Contact

If you believe any nutrition, allergen, or health-related information in Swipe is incorrect, please let us know immediately so we can investigate and correct it.

• Email: contact@swipedining.com
• Website: swipedining.com/support

Your reports help us improve the accuracy and safety of the app for all users. We take data accuracy reports seriously and will investigate promptly.