Questions, answered
What is HormoneGuard?
An app for iPhone and Android that reads the ingredients of cosmetics, personal-care and food products and explains them in the light of the health topics you choose. It is an educational tool, and it does not diagnose conditions, predict outcomes, or replace medical advice.
When can I get it?
It is coming soon to the App Store and Google Play.
Do I need to sign up?
No. There is no sign-up, email or password. The app creates an anonymous account by itself. See the privacy policy.
How do I check a product?
Scan the barcode, type the digits, or photograph the ingredients panel. The first time, the app asks before it sends a photo. See how it works.
What do Low Risk, Caution, Avoid and Unknown mean?
They summarise what published research and regulatory opinions say about a product's ingredients, for each health topic you chose. The riskiest topic sets the overall result. They are not a statement that a product is safe or unsafe for you. The method is published in full.
What does Unknown mean?
That the app cannot give a confident answer. It could not recognise enough of the ingredient list, the product has no list, or the research behind that topic is too thin. An ingredient the app does not know is never treated as safe.
Why does a result say Unknown for PCOS?
For some health topics there is much less published research to draw on. When nothing is flagged for such a topic, the app says Unknown rather than presenting a clean result as reassurance.
Where does the information come from?
Product data comes from Open Beauty Facts and Open Food Facts. The explanations come from a curated reference database with sources on each flagged ingredient, such as regulatory opinions and peer-reviewed research. Ingredients it does not cover may be classified by an AI model, and those are labelled model-assisted.
Can brands pay to change a result?
No. Brands cannot pay to change a result, or to hold a slot in any list.
Where are my health topics stored?
Only on your phone. Your scan history, saved products and health topics stay there, and your health topics are never sent to us, our AI provider or our analytics.
Is it free?
Yes, with a number of scans each day and ads. Premium removes the daily limit and the ads, and the price and period are shown before you buy.
How do I delete my data?
In the app, go to Settings and choose Delete account and data. This page explains what is deleted and what is kept.
A product or ingredient looks wrong. What should I do?
Email info@hormoneguard.com with the barcode and the ingredient. Product details come from open databases, which anyone can correct. Trust the pack in your hand over anything shown here.