How can we help?

Open Lactose Spy and point your camera at the food you want to check — a plate, an ingredient, a menu item, or a packet. Tap the shutter button and the app will instantly analyse your photo using AI.

You can also scan from your Photo Library: tap the photo icon (bottom-left of the camera screen) to choose an existing image.

Lactose Spy can analyse photos of almost any food — restaurant dishes, supermarket items, homemade meals, or individual ingredients. For best results, make sure the food is clearly visible and well-lit.

Note: the AI analyses what it can see in the photo. It cannot read ingredient lists or packaging that isn't visible, so results are estimates based on visual appearance.

Camera access is required to take photos for analysis. If you previously denied permission, go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera → Lactose Spy and enable it. The app will prompt you to open Settings if access hasn't been granted yet.

Yes — an active internet connection is required to perform a scan. Your photo is sent securely to our AI service for analysis and the result is returned to your device. Scan history and preferences are stored locally and are available offline.

Lactose Spy uses advanced AI to estimate the likelihood of lactose in a food based on what's visible in the photo. Accuracy depends on photo quality, lighting, how the food is presented, and how common that food type is in the AI's training data.

Important: results are probability estimates, not guarantees. The AI cannot detect hidden ingredients, cross-contamination, or manufacturing variations. Always read food labels and consult a healthcare professional if you have a medically diagnosed lactose intolerance or dairy allergy.

The percentage shown is the AI's estimated probability that the food contains lactose. A higher percentage means the AI believes lactose is more likely present. Lower values suggest the food is probably lactose-free — but this is never a certainty based on a photo alone.

Try retaking the photo with better lighting or a clearer view of the food. If the result still seems incorrect, please reach out to us at support@comantis.net with a description of the food and the result you received — your feedback helps us improve the app.

Free users receive 8 scans per calendar month. Your remaining scan count is shown at the bottom of the camera screen and in Settings. The count resets automatically at the start of each new calendar month.

Upgrading to Pro gives you:

• Unlimited scans — no monthly cap

• Lactose-free alternatives — the AI suggests alternatives when lactose is detected

• Early access to new features as we roll them out

Pro users can perform up to 100 scans per day. This daily limit resets at midnight.

You can subscribe by tapping Go Unlimited in the app — either from the camera screen when you reach your limit, or in Settings → Go Unlimited.

To cancel, go to your iPhone Settings → [Your Name] → Subscriptions and select Lactose Spy. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; you retain Pro access until then.

Tap Restore Purchases on the subscription screen (accessible via Settings → Go Unlimited). Make sure you're signed in with the same Apple ID you used to purchase. Your subscription will be reinstated automatically.

All purchases go through Apple's App Store. We don't have the ability to issue refunds directly. To request a refund, visit reportaproblem.apple.com and select the purchase in question.

Pun Mode lets the AI include dairy-themed jokes and puns in its explanations — a bit of fun to lighten the mood. You can toggle it on or off in Settings → Preferences. When off, explanations are concise and to the point.

Scan history keeps a record of your previous scans — including the photo and result — so you can refer back to them later. Access it by tapping the history icon (top-left of the camera screen).

You can disable history saving in Settings → Preferences → Save to History. History data is stored locally on your device and never uploaded to our servers. You can clear all history at any time from within the History screen.

Meal Reminders send you a notification at 11:30 AM and 5:00 PM — handy reminders to check your food before lunch and dinner. You can enable or disable them in Settings → Preferences → Meal Reminders.

If reminders aren't arriving, check that notifications are enabled for Lactose Spy in iPhone Settings → Notifications → Lactose Spy.

In the History screen, press and hold (long-press) any scan thumbnail to reveal a Delete option. You can also clear all history at once using the Clear All button in the top-right corner of the History screen.

No. Photos are transmitted over an encrypted connection to our AI provider for real-time analysis only. They are not stored, indexed, or used to train AI models by us or our provider. Once the result is returned to your device, the photo is discarded.

We don't collect your name, email, or any account information — no account is required to use the app. Your scan count is stored locally on your device. Subscription status is managed by RevenueCat. See our full Privacy Policy for details.