NHS Food Diary App's Privacy Rule Blocked Launch But Protected Against the Wrong Risk

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A proof-of-concept food diary tool built with an NHS dietetic team was held back from going public by a privacy rule intended to protect sensitive free-text descriptions entered by users. On closer inspection of the actual code, developers found that those descriptions are stored locally in IndexedDB on the user's device and never reach the repository at all. The real exposure risk turned out to be unrelated files outside the app folder — around 40 of them — which were both tracked by version control and not covered by the original rule. The fix implemented ensures that only the app folder is ever included in the public repository, removing the need for anyone to manually remember what to exclude. The case highlights a broader pattern where security controls are sometimes specified against the wrong threat, leaving actual risks unaddressed.

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