Privacy Policy - ChefMate

01 - Overview

Our Commitment to Privacy

ChefMate stores all your personal data exclusively on your own device. We do not operate any servers, we do not sync your data to the cloud, and we do not sell or share your data with third parties for advertising purposes.

This policy explains what data is stored, which third-party services receive limited data when you use certain features, and how you can delete your records at any time.

✅ Local-first by design. Every piece of data ChefMate collects lives in your device's private app storage - inaccessible to other apps and never transmitted to our servers.

02 - What We Store

Data Stored on Your Device

ChefMate stores the following categories of information locally on your device. This data is sandboxed to the app and never leaves your device except where noted in Section 4.

Stored on your device

Account info

Your name, email address, profile photo (if provided), and account identifier from signing in with Google or Apple. Created when you first log in.

Saved recipes

Recipes you have bookmarked as favourites, including their titles and thumbnail images.

Meal plans

Meals you have added to your weekly planner, including the date and time slot you assigned them.

Grocery lists

Items you have added to your shopping list, including quantities and whether they're checked off.

Pantry Mode activity

The ingredients you enter and the AI-generated meal suggestions you receive when using Pantry Mode.

Search activity

Recipe searches you've typed, used to power recent search suggestions.

Feature usage limits

Timestamps used to enforce fair-use cooldowns on AI-powered features like Pantry Mode and ingredient autofill.

App preferences

Your language selection, theme, onboarding status, and active session.

03 - Authentication

Google & Apple Sign-In

ChefMate offers Sign in with Google and Sign in with Apple (both via OAuth 2.0) as authentication methods. When you sign in, the provider you choose shares:

Account identifier
Display name
Email address
Profile photo (Google only - Apple does not share a photo)

If you choose Sign in with Apple, you can opt to hide your email address; Apple will then provide a private relay address instead, and that relay address is what ChefMate stores.

These details are saved only to your device and are used solely to associate your favourites, planner, and other data with your account on this device. They are never transmitted to ChefMate servers.

You may also use the app as a Guest without signing in. In that case no name, email, or account identifier is stored.

04 - Third-Party Services

Data Sent Outside Your Device

Certain features require outbound network requests. The table below describes exactly what is sent, to which service, and why.

Service	Data Sent	Purpose
Google Gemini API	Your typed search query or pantry ingredient list	Generate AI recipe suggestions (AI Mood Search, Pantry Mode, Discover)
Google OAuth 2.0	OAuth token exchange (no personal data sent by the app)	Authenticate your identity via Google Sign-In
Apple Sign-In	OAuth token exchange (no personal data sent by the app)	Authenticate your identity via Sign in with Apple
TheMealDB	Meal ID or search keyword	Fetch recipe details, ingredients, and images
Cloudinary	None - image URLs are loaded read-only	Deliver optimised images for meal planner and UI assets
YouTube	None - link opens externally	Open recipe video tutorials in your default browser

ℹ️ No request to any of the above services includes your name, email, device identifier, or location. Gemini API requests contain only the text you explicitly type.

05 - Your Data, Your Control

Deleting Your Data

Because all data is stored locally on your device, you are always in full control. You can remove your data at any of the following levels:

🗑️ Delete individual records

Remove individual favourites, meal plan entries, grocery items, or search history entries directly within the relevant screen in the App.

👤 Delete your account record

You can request deletion of your local account record and all associated data by contacting us at the email below. You can also achieve the same by clearing the App's storage in your device settings.

📱 Clear all App data

Go to Settings → Apps → ChefMate → Storage → Clear Data (Android) or delete and reinstall the App (iOS) to wipe all stored data and preferences.

🗂️ Uninstall

Uninstalling ChefMate removes the app's storage entirely, permanently deleting all data stored on your device.

06 - Security

Data Security

All outbound network requests use HTTPS/TLS. Your data is stored in the app's private, sandboxed storage - it is not accessible to other apps on your device, and benefits from your device's own filesystem-level encryption (iOS Data Protection, Android File-Based Encryption).

Since ChefMate operates no servers or cloud databases containing your data, there is no server-side breach risk for your personal information.

07 - Children

Children's Privacy

ChefMate is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has signed into the App, please contact us and we will provide guidance on removing that data from the device.

08 - Updates

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, the effective date at the top of this page will be updated. Continued use of the App after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

09 - Contact

Contact Us

For any privacy questions, data deletion requests, or concerns, please reach out:

ChefMate Developer Email: khrlsmsn1110@gmail.com