Most questions are answered below. If yours isn't, email us and we'll get back to you within a day or two.
We're a small team. You'll hear from a real person.
The score is based on what's in the ingredient list — not what's on the front of the package. A lot of products marketed as "natural," "organic," or "clean" still contain additives that research flags as worth avoiding: artificial dyes, preservatives, emulsifiers, ultra-processed carbohydrates.
The score reflects how those ingredients stack up against published food safety data (EWG, FDA, WHO, EFSA). "Healthy" on the label and "low-scoring" in NoJunk aren't contradictions — they're just measuring different things. The front of the package is marketing. The back is the actual product.
No — and that's intentional. NoJunk reads the actual ingredient list on the back of the package, not a barcode. Barcode databases are often incomplete, out of date, or missing regional products. Camera-based label reading works on anything with an ingredient list, anywhere in the world, even if the product was never in a database.
Point your camera at the ingredient text on the back of the package. That's the scan.
Each scan produces a 0–100 score based on the ingredient list. The score factors in:
The score maps to five tiers:
The score is informational — not a medical opinion. It's a fast read on what's in the product based on published food safety research.
A few things can cause a bad scan:
If a scan consistently returns a wrong or incomplete result for a specific product, email us at [email protected] with the product name and a photo of the label.
Subscriptions are managed through Apple, not through NoJunk directly. To cancel:
You can also manage subscriptions directly at apps.apple.com/account/subscriptions.
If you cancel, your premium access continues until the end of the current billing period. You won't be charged again after that.
All purchases go through Apple, so refunds go through Apple too. The standard window is 48 hours from purchase, though Apple reviews requests case-by-case.
To request a refund: go to reportaproblem.apple.com, sign in with your Apple ID, find the NoJunk purchase, and tap "Request a Refund."
If you're running into trouble with the refund process, email us and we'll help where we can — but the final decision is Apple's.
When you scan a label, the image is sent to our backend over an encrypted HTTPS connection for analysis. It is not stored. Once the ingredient list has been read and the score calculated, the image is discarded immediately.
Your scan history stays on your device — it's never uploaded to our servers. For the full picture, see our Privacy Policy.
NoJunk is available on the App Store in over 170 countries. The app interface is localized in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Greek, and Dutch.
The ingredient scanner itself reads labels in any language — Latin, Cyrillic, Greek, and more. The label just needs to be legible. The scoring database covers ingredients from both North American and European regulatory systems (FDA, EFSA, Health Canada).
Barcode-based apps look up a product in a database. If it's not in the database — or if the database entry is outdated or missing the current formulation — you get nothing useful.
NoJunk reads the ingredient text directly off the label. That means it works on any packaged food, anywhere, even regional or store-brand products that never made it into a barcode database. The score is always based on the current label in front of you.
Not yet. NoJunk is currently iOS only (iPhone, requires iOS 17 or later). Android is something we'd like to do — no timeline to share right now.
Step into good light or tap the flashlight icon in the scanner. Shadows across the text are the most common reason a scan doesn't land.
Scroll down on the label until you can see "Ingredients:" at the top and the period at the end. Partial lists produce partial scores.
The scanner needs a sharp image. If the label is small or the font is fine, move a bit closer and let the camera focus before tapping.
Restart the app and try again. If it keeps failing on a specific product, email us the product name and a photo — we want to know.
