Privacy Policy

CookEase ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our CookEase web application, website, and related services (collectively, the "Service").

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By using the Service, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not access or use the Service.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect information about you in a variety of ways. The information we may collect via the Service includes:

(a) Personal Data You Provide

• Account Information: When you register for an account, we collect information such as your username, email address, and password (stored securely, e.g., hashed). You might optionally provide a first/last name or profile picture.
• User Content: We collect the recipes, shopping list items, notes, dietary preferences, and any other content you input, upload, or generate using the Service.
• Payment Information: For paid subscriptions, our third-party payment processor (Stripe) collects and processes your payment card details. We do not directly store your full credit card number, but may store information like the last four digits, card type, expiration date, and billing address for verification and administrative purposes.
• Communications: If you contact us directly (e.g., via email at info@cookeaseapp.com), we may receive additional information about you such as your name, email address, the contents of the message and/or attachments you may send us, and any other information you may choose to provide.

(b) Data Collected Automatically

• Usage Data: We automatically collect certain information when you access or use the Service. This may include your IP address, browser type, operating system, device information, pages viewed, links clicked, the dates and times of your access, and other diagnostic data about how you interact with the Service. We use services like Vercel and Supabase which may collect such data.
• Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We may use cookies (small text files stored on your device) and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons or pixels) to track activity on our Service and hold certain information. We use these for purposes such as:
  • Maintaining your session.
  • Remembering your preferences and settings.
  • Understanding how our Service is used (analytics).
  • Improving the Service.

  You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Service. We may use third-party analytics services (like potentially Google Analytics in the future) which also use cookies.

(c) Information from Third Parties

• Instacart: When you use the Instacart integration, you interact directly with Instacart. We primarily send your selected shopping list items to Instacart to pre-populate your cart there. We generally do not receive personal data like your full Instacart order history or detailed delivery address *back* from Instacart through the API integration itself, but confirmation details might be logged indirectly. Your interaction is primarily governed by Instacart's Privacy Policy. Any address or delivery information required is typically entered by you directly on Instacart's platform.
• Supabase: Our backend provider, Supabase, handles authentication and data storage. They process data on our behalf according to our instructions.
• Stripe: Our payment processor, Stripe, handles payment transactions and may provide us with transaction confirmations and necessary billing details (as mentioned above).

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including to:

• Provide, operate, maintain, and improve our Service.
• Process your transactions and manage your subscriptions.
• Create and manage your account.
• Personalize your experience (e.g., suggesting recipes based on past usage, though this might be a future feature).
• Respond to your comments, questions, and requests, and provide customer support.
• Send you technical notices, updates, security alerts, and administrative messages.
• Communicate with you about products, services, offers, promotions, and events (you can opt-out of marketing communications).
• Monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with our Service.
• Detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities and protect the rights and property of CookEase and others.
• Facilitate features like recipe import and Instacart integration.
• Comply with legal obligations.

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information we collect about you in the following circumstances:

• With Service Providers: We share information with third-party vendors and service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as hosting (Vercel), database and authentication (Supabase), payment processing (Stripe), analytics providers, and customer support tools. These providers only have access to the information necessary to perform their functions and are obligated to protect your information.
• With Instacart: We share your selected shopping list items with Instacart when you initiate the ordering process through our integration, as necessary to provide that feature.
• For Legal Reasons: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to (i) comply with a legal obligation, (ii) protect and defend the rights or property of CookEase, (iii) prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service, (iv) protect the personal safety of users of the Service or the public, or (v) protect against legal liability.
• Business Transfers: In connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
• With Your Consent: We may share your information for other purposes with your explicit consent.
• Aggregated or De-identified Data: We may share aggregated or de-identified information, which cannot reasonably be used to identify you, for industry analysis, demographic profiling, etc.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

As mentioned, we use cookies and similar technologies. We may use both session cookies (expire when you close your browser) and persistent cookies (stay on your device until deleted or expired). We will implement mechanisms, where required by law (e.g., for users in the EU), to obtain consent for non-essential cookies.

5. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, or destruction. We utilize services like Supabase which provide built-in security features (e.g., encryption in transit and potentially at rest, secure authentication). However, no electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are also responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.

6. Data Retention

We will retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you the Service, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. User Content associated with your account will generally be retained until you delete it or request account deletion. Deletion requests can be sent to info@cookeaseapp.com. Please note that some residual data may remain in backups or logs for a limited period for operational purposes.

7. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location (e.g., California under CCPA, EEA/UK under GDPR), you may have certain rights regarding your personal information. These may include the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate information.
• Request deletion of your personal information.
• Object to or restrict processing of your data.
• Request portability of your data.
• Withdraw consent (where processing is based on consent).
• Opt-out of the "sale" of personal information (Note: We do not sell personal information).

To exercise these rights, please contact us at info@cookeaseapp.com. We will respond to your request in accordance with applicable laws. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

8. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal identifiable information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us at info@cookeaseapp.com.

9. International Data Transfers

Your information, including Personal Data, may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ. Our servers (via Vercel/Supabase) are likely located in the United States. If you are located outside the United States and choose to provide information to us, please note that we transfer the data, including Personal Data, to the United States and process it there. Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer. We will take appropriate steps to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

10. Third-Party Links

The Service may contain links to other websites or services not operated or controlled by us (like Instacart). This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party services. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party service before providing any information to them.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date at the bottom of this policy. We may also provide notice through the Service or via email if the changes are significant. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

• By email: info@cookeaseapp.com

Last Updated: March 28, 2025