Terms of use
Last updated 2026-10-04
Effective date: October 4, 2026
These terms cover the Loaf Scout app and the Loaf Scout website. Loaf Scout is made and sold by Viral Tandel, who publishes apps as Viral Labs ("we", "us", "our"). By downloading or using Loaf Scout, you agree to these terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the app.
The short version
Loaf Scout gives an AI read of one photo; your own eyes, nose and the poke test still count. It can be wrong.
It is not a food safety service. It never tells you a starter or a loaf is safe to eat. Fuzzy mold of any color, or pink or orange streaks in a starter: discard the whole jar, whatever a read says.
Subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel in your Apple account settings.
Refunds are handled by Apple.
1. What Loaf Scout is, and what it is not
Loaf Scout looks at one photo of a cut loaf or of a starter jar, together with anything you tell it, and gives general baking information: a proof call, a Loaf Score, possible findings, suggested changes for your next bake, or a read of how far a starter has risen and whether it looks ready.
Loaf Scout is not a food safety inspection, a laboratory test or professional advice. It does not test for mold, bacteria, allergens or anything else, and it cannot taste, smell or feel your bread or your starter.
Results come from an AI model and fixed rules, and can be wrong or incomplete. Light, angle, a warm knife, a dirty jar, add-ins and photo quality all affect them. A good result does not mean nothing is wrong, and a poor one does not mean your bread is bad.
Loaf Scout makes no health or nutrition claims about sourdough or any food.
Always use your own judgment, especially about whether something is safe to eat. Never keep or eat a starter or a loaf because of something Loaf Scout said or did not say.
2. When not to wait for a read
If you see fuzzy mold of any color, pink, orange or red streaks or tinted liquid, a rotten or putrid smell, or a slimy texture that does not stir back in, discard the whole starter, wash the jar in hot, soapy water and start again. Do not scrape it off. If you see mold on a baked loaf, throw the whole loaf away.
3. No account, and your data on your phone
Loaf Scout does not need an account. Your bake log and starter log are stored on your device, so you are responsible for your device and its backups. If you delete the app or use Delete my data, your logs are erased and we cannot recover them.
4. Free reads and Loaf Scout Pro
Free use includes 3 photo reads in total (crumb or starter), plus the bake log, the starter page, the hydration calculator, the bake planner and the full guide. A read that cannot find a loaf or a jar does not count. We may change what the free version includes in a future update.
Loaf Scout Pro adds unlimited reads (subject to fair use, below), the Loaf Score trend across bakes, and side by side comparison of any two bakes.
Pro is sold as a yearly subscription, a monthly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase, at the prices shown in the app before you buy.
All purchases are made through Apple's App Store and are also subject to Apple's Media Services Terms and Conditions.
5. Subscriptions, auto-renewal and free trials
Payment. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account when you confirm the purchase, or when the free trial ends if you started one.
Auto-renewal. Subscriptions renew automatically for the same period and price unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for the renewal within 24 hours before the current period ends.
Free trial. The yearly plan may include a 7-day free trial for eligible new subscribers. If you do not cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends, the yearly subscription starts and you are charged. Any unused part of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription.
Canceling. Open iPhone Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, choose Loaf Scout and tap Cancel Subscription. Canceling stops the next renewal; Pro stays on until the end of the period you paid for. Deleting the app does not cancel a subscription.
Price changes. If a subscription price changes, Apple tells you in advance and, where required, asks for your agreement before the new price applies.
Lifetime. The lifetime option is a one-time purchase that does not renew. It unlocks Pro on devices signed in with your Apple ID for as long as Loaf Scout is available.
Restoring. Use Restore purchases in the app to get Pro back on a new device or after reinstalling.
6. Refunds
Apple handles all payments, so refunds are handled by Apple under its policies. You can request one at reportaproblem.apple.com. We cannot issue refunds ourselves, but if something went wrong, email us and we will help where we can. Nothing in these terms limits your rights under consumer law where you live.
7. Acceptable use and fair use
You agree to:
use Loaf Scout only for lawful purposes, for your own baking or that of someone who has asked you to help;
upload only photos you have the right to use, and keep people, private information and anything illegal, hateful or sexual out of them;
not copy, resell, reverse engineer or interfere with the app or its server, and not try to get around the free read limit or rate limits;
not use bots, scripts or automated tools to send reads; and
not present Loaf Scout's output as a food safety inspection or professional advice, or use it to certify food for sale.
Unlimited reads in Pro are for normal personal use. To keep the service working for everyone, we may limit unusually heavy or automated use.
8. Your photos and our content
You keep all rights to your photos. You give us a limited permission to send each photo to our server and to Google Gemini only to produce your read. We do not keep it.
The app, its text and guide, and the Loaf Scout name and design belong to Viral Tandel (Viral Labs). We give you a personal, non-transferable, non-exclusive license to use the app on Apple devices you own or control, for your own non-commercial use.
9. Third-party services
Loaf Scout relies on Apple (App Store and payments), Google (the Gemini API for reading photos), RevenueCat (purchase management) and Cloudflare (hosting). Their services are covered by their own terms. We are not responsible for their outages or changes, though we will do our best to keep Loaf Scout working.
10. Changes to the app
We may update, change or remove features, including the AI provider we use. We will try to give notice in the app before removing a paid feature.
11. Disclaimer of warranties
To the fullest extent the law allows, Loaf Scout is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy and non-infringement. We do not promise that the app will be free of errors, always available, or that any read will be correct or complete, or that following a suggestion will produce a particular loaf.
12. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent the law allows, Viral Tandel (Viral Labs) is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any illness, wasted ingredients, damaged equipment or other losses arising from your use of, or reliance on, Loaf Scout. Our total liability for any claim related to the app is limited to the amount you paid for Loaf Scout in the 12 months before the claim, or US $50 if you paid nothing. Some places do not allow these limits, so they may not fully apply to you. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.
13. Apple
These terms supplement Apple's standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement. They are between you and us, not Apple. Apple is not responsible for Loaf Scout or its content and has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for it. If the app fails to meet any warranty that applies, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price (if any); to the extent the law allows, Apple has no other warranty obligation for the app. Apple is not responsible for handling any claims about the app, including product liability claims, claims that it fails to meet a legal or regulatory requirement, consumer protection claims, or intellectual property claims. You confirm that you are not located in a country subject to a US government embargo and are not on any US government list of prohibited or restricted parties. You must also follow any third-party terms that apply when you use the app, such as your mobile carrier's. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms and may enforce them against you.
14. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. The courts located in California have jurisdiction over any dispute, except where the law of the country you live in gives you the right to bring a claim where you live. If you live in the EU, the UK or another country with mandatory consumer protections, you keep those protections.
15. Ending use
You can stop using Loaf Scout at any time by deleting it. Remember to cancel any subscription in your Apple account settings, because deleting the app does not cancel it. We may suspend access to reads if you break these terms.
16. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms. When we do, the effective date at the top changes, and if a change is significant we will mention it in the app. Using Loaf Scout after a change means you accept the updated terms.
17. Contact
Viral Tandel (Viral Labs). Email: viral.b.tandel@gmail.com