App information
What Sterling does
Sterling is a restaurant discovery app built on public health-inspection data published by official city and county health departments. Every restaurant rating is grounded in real, dated inspections. The score is transparent, the data is traceable, and there are no paid placements.
Sterling currently covers 18 US jurisdictions including New York City, Los Angeles County, the State of Florida, Chicago, Seattle, San Diego, San Jose, Pittsburgh, Austin, Boston, and more. Data refreshes weekly.
Frequently asked questions
- Where does the data come from?
- Public health-inspection records published by each city or county's health department. Every record is traceable - tap any inspection in the app to see the source feed it was pulled from.
- How often is the data refreshed?
- Weekly. Sterling re-pulls every supported city's inspection data on Tuesday mornings.
- What does the Sterling Standard mean?
- A strict tier earned by restaurants with a score of 95 or above, three or more recent inspections, and zero critical violations in the last 12 months. About 16% of restaurants qualify.
- Is Sterling affiliated with any health department?
- No. Sterling is independent and unaffiliated with any government agency. We read public records published under open-data licenses.
- What's the difference between Basic and Sterling Pro?
- Basic is free forever and includes all ratings, the Sterling Standard mark, and one city at a time. Sterling Pro adds restaurant alerts, automatic travel-mode city switching, health filters (Pregnancy / Immunocompromised / Cross-contamination / No Recent Criticals), and offline cached results. Free for 7 days, then $9.99/year or $2.99/month.
- How do I manage or cancel my Sterling Pro subscription?
- Subscriptions are handled by Apple. Open iOS Settings, tap your Apple ID at the top, then Subscriptions. Find Sterling Pro and tap Cancel Subscription. You can also reach this screen from inside Sterling: Settings tab, then "Manage Subscription".
- I cancelled but I still have access until the end of my billing period - is that right?
- Yes. Apple's policy is that you keep access for the time you've already paid for. If you cancel mid-month, Pro stays active until the next renewal date - it just won't renew.
- How do I request a refund?
- Apple handles all refunds. Open the email receipt Apple sent you and tap "Report a Problem", or visit reportaproblem.apple.com and sign in with your Apple ID. We do not directly process refunds.
- I'm a restaurant owner. A rating misrepresents my restaurant - how do I fix it?
- Email support@pandataps.com with the restaurant name, city, and a brief description of what looks wrong (e.g. the inspection was rescinded, a violation was reversed on appeal, or the record is attributed to a different restaurant). We aim to respond within 14 days. Where we can verify the correction by reading the latest published record from the source agency, we update the rating within 24 hours of confirmation. We never change ratings in exchange for payment.
- Are the health filters medical advice?
- No. The Pregnancy, Immunocompromised, Cross-contamination, and No Recent Criticals filters are general informational guidance based on inspection-record patterns. They are not medical advice and are not a substitute for guidance from a qualified healthcare provider. Always confirm specific concerns directly with the restaurant and your provider.
- Do I need an account to use Sterling?
- No. Sterling has no sign-up, no sign-in, no email collection. You can use every feature, including Sterling Pro (entitlement is tied to your Apple ID via Apple's StoreKit), without ever providing personal information to us.
- The map is showing my location - can I turn that off?
- Yes. Open iOS Settings, find Sterling, and turn Location off. The app falls back to a default city and the map still works - you just won't see "nearest first" sorting.
- Sterling crashed. What information should I include in my email?
- iOS device model (e.g. iPhone 16 Pro), iOS version (Settings > General > About), Sterling app version (Settings tab in the app, scroll to bottom), and a short description of what you were doing right before the crash. Screenshots help.
- How do I request a new city?
- Email support@pandataps.com with "city request" in the subject. New cities require a public open-data feed from the local health department. We prioritize cities by request volume.
Reporting a problem
If something looks wrong - a rating you can't explain, a missing restaurant, a feature behaving badly - please email support@pandataps.com. Include:
- The restaurant name and city (if applicable)
- What you expected vs. what you saw
- The Sterling app version (visible in Settings tab)
- Your iOS version and device model
Important disclaimers
Sterling is a public-records reader, not a food-safety authority. Inspection records reflect the conditions at the moment the inspector visited - conditions at any restaurant may have changed since the most recent inspection your city published. The Sterling score is a summary of the past, not a guarantee of present safety.
Sterling Pro health filters surface patterns in inspection records that some health guidelines flag as concerning. They are general informational guidance only, not medical advice. If you have a specific health condition, consult your healthcare provider and confirm food preparation directly with the restaurant.