Privacy Policy - eKitchen

What we collect

Account information When you create an account, we collect your email address, password, name, username, and age. Authentication is handled by Google Firebase, which stores your password; we never see it. We use your email to log you in and to contact you about your account.

Content you create Recipes you save, import, or write; kitchen inventory; shopping lists; cooking history and ratings; and the things you share with other people: photos of dishes you cooked, captions, tips, comments, reactions, your Cookbook (title, bio, profile and cover photos, collections), and who you follow. Photos of receipts you choose to scan are used to add items to your kitchen.

Reports and blocks If you report content or block someone, we keep a record of the report or block so we can review it and so the block keeps working.

Usage and diagnostic data Which screens and features you use, crash reports, and performance data, plus session recordings of how you move through the app, with the text you type and images hidden from the recording. These are linked to a scrambled account identifier, not your name or email.

What other people can see

eKitchen has a social side. When you use it, some of your information is visible to other signed-in eKitchen users:

Always visible: your username, first name, and your Cookbook page: its title, bio, profile and cover photos, your public collections, the public recipes you've cooked, and the people you follow and who follow you.
Visible when you share it: dishes you mark as cooked with a photo (the photo, caption, and recipe), comments you write, tips you add to recipes, and recipes you write and leave public.
Only you (and the cook) see: reactions to a cook are shown to that cook only. Private recipes and anything you cook from them, your ratings, kitchen inventory, shopping lists, last name, age, and email address are never shown to other users.

You can delete anything you've shared at any time, and you can block people so they can no longer see you or your content. Other users can find your Cookbook by searching your username, name, or Cookbook title.

What we don't collect

We don't collect your location
We don't access your contacts, and we only see photos you choose to upload
We don't track you across other apps or websites, and we don't use advertising identifiers

How we use your data

Your data is used to provide, protect, and improve eKitchen. Specifically:

To let you save recipes, track your kitchen, build shopping lists, and share what you cook
To recommend recipes and show you cooks from people you follow
To send notifications you can control, such as when someone follows you or comments on your cook
To keep the community safe: text you post is automatically screened for abusive language, uploaded photos are automatically screened for inappropriate images, and we review reported content
To fix bugs and improve the app based on usage and crash data

Third-party services

We use a small number of service providers to run eKitchen. They process data only on our behalf:

Google Firebase handles sign-in and receives your email and password. See Firebase's privacy policy.
OpenAI processes recipe pages and videos you import, receipt photos you scan, and photos you upload (to screen them for inappropriate content). Data sent through OpenAI's API is not used to train their models. See OpenAI's privacy policy.
Railway hosts our servers, database, and stored photos.
PostHog provides product analytics and session recordings. See PostHog's privacy policy.
Sentry collects crash reports. See Sentry's privacy policy.
Expo and Apple deliver push notifications if you allow them.
Resend sends account emails such as password resets.

Data sharing

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing or advertising purposes. Period.

Apart from the service providers above and what you choose to make visible to other users, we share data only if required by law or to protect the safety of our users.

Data storage and security

Your data is stored on secure servers. We use industry-standard practices to protect your information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) and secure authentication through Firebase.

Retention and account deletion

We keep your data for as long as you have an account. You can delete individual photos, comments, tips, and recipes at any time.

You can delete your account from within the app (Profile > Delete Account). This permanently deletes your account and the content tied to it, including your Cookbook, photos, comments, tips, reactions, follows, and cooking history, and removes you from other people's feeds. Stored photo files are removed within 30 days. If you need help, contact us at support@ekitchen-app.com.

When we remove content for breaking our Terms of Service, the content is deleted, but we keep a record of the report and the action we took so we can handle appeals and repeat abuse.

Children's privacy

eKitchen is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we'll notify you through the app or by email. The "last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy or your data, reach out at support@ekitchen-app.com.