CookCircle Privacy Policy

Effective Date: August 21, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how CookCircle collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data when you use the CookCircle website, platform, and related services (collectively, the “Service”).

CookCircle is currently operated as a private, independent project and is provided free of charge. CookCircle currently does not charge subscription fees and does not display advertising.

This Privacy Policy should be read together with the CookCircle Terms of Service.


1. Data Controller

For the purposes of applicable data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the person responsible for determining the purposes and means of processing personal data through CookCircle is the data controller.

Data Controller:

Gustav Jansson

Kumminvägen 16 12355 Farsta

Sweden

Email: [email protected]

CookCircle is currently operated as a private, independent project and does not currently operate through a registered company or organization.


2. Personal Data We Collect

The personal data processed by CookCircle depends on how you use the Service.

2.1 Account Information

When you create an account, CookCircle may store:

  • email address;
  • display name, where applicable;
  • password hash;
  • account creation date;
  • account status;
  • other information necessary to operate your account.

Your password is not stored in plain text. CookCircle stores a cryptographic password hash for authentication.


2.2 Recipe Information

When you create or import recipes, CookCircle may process:

  • recipe title;
  • description;
  • serving information;
  • preparation time;
  • cooking time;
  • ingredients;
  • ingredient quantities and units;
  • cooking instructions;
  • tags;
  • images or image references;
  • source information;
  • recipe creation and modification dates;
  • account associated with the recipe.

Recipe content may contain personal information if you voluntarily enter such information.

Users should avoid including unnecessary personal information about themselves or other people in recipes.


2.3 Favorites and Ratings

Where supported, CookCircle may store:

  • recipes you mark as favorites;
  • ratings you provide;
  • the account associated with those actions;
  • timestamps associated with those actions.

These functions are used to provide and personalize the Service.


2.4 Household Information

If you create or join a household, CookCircle may process:

  • household name;
  • household membership;
  • your role within the household;
  • date of joining;
  • account identifiers associated with household membership.

This information is used to provide household functionality.


2.5 Shared Household Content

Household members may share information with one another through the Service.

This may include:

  • recipes;
  • pantry items;
  • meal plans;
  • calendar entries;
  • notes;
  • other information intentionally entered into shared household functionality.

Information shared within a household may be visible to all members of that household.

You should therefore only enter information into a household that you are comfortable sharing with its members.


2.6 Pantry Information

CookCircle may process pantry information such as:

  • food items;
  • ingredients;
  • quantities;
  • units;
  • household association;
  • account that added the item;
  • creation and modification dates.

Pantry information is used to provide the shared household pantry.


2.7 Meal Planning and Calendar

CookCircle may process:

  • planned meal dates;
  • recipes;
  • meal types;
  • serving adjustments;
  • notes;
  • account associated with the calendar entry;
  • creation and modification dates.

This information is used to provide shared household meal planning.


2.8 Household Invitations

When a household owner creates an invitation link, CookCircle may process:

  • the household associated with the invitation;
  • invitation token or secure representation of the token;
  • creation date;
  • expiration date.

Household invitation links expire after seven (7) days unless otherwise specified by the Service.


2.9 Security Information

CookCircle may process technical information necessary to protect the Service and prevent abuse.

This may include:

  • failed login attempts;
  • timestamps;
  • temporary login restrictions;
  • failed household join attempts;
  • temporary household-join restrictions;
  • technical information associated with security events.

This information is used for security and abuse prevention.


2.10 Password Reset Information

When you request a password reset, CookCircle may process:

  • account associated with the request;
  • securely stored reset token information;
  • token creation time;
  • token expiration time;
  • token usage status.

Password reset tokens are temporary.


3. How We Use Personal Data

CookCircle processes personal data for purposes including:

Providing the Service

  • creating and managing accounts;
  • authenticating users;
  • storing recipes;
  • importing recipes;
  • providing recipe management;
  • providing favorites and ratings;
  • providing household functionality;
  • providing pantry functionality;
  • providing shared meal planning;
  • providing household invitations;
  • providing password recovery.

Security

We process information to:

  • protect accounts;
  • prevent unauthorized access;
  • prevent abuse;
  • limit repeated failed login attempts;
  • protect household invitation functionality;
  • detect security incidents;
  • protect the integrity of the Service.

Service Maintenance

We may process information where necessary to:

  • operate;
  • maintain;
  • troubleshoot;
  • secure;
  • improve

CookCircle.

CookCircle does not currently use personal data for advertising or targeted advertising.


4. Legal Bases for Processing

CookCircle processes personal data only where a lawful basis exists under applicable data protection law.

Depending on the processing activity, CookCircle may rely on:

Performance of a Contract

This may apply where processing is necessary to provide the Service requested by you, including:

  • account creation;
  • authentication;
  • recipe storage;
  • recipe management;
  • household functionality;
  • pantry functionality;
  • meal planning;
  • household invitations;
  • password recovery.

Legitimate Interests

CookCircle may rely on legitimate interests for purposes such as:

  • security;
  • preventing abuse;
  • protecting accounts;
  • maintaining technical integrity;
  • detecting misuse;
  • defending legal claims.

Where legitimate interests are relied upon, CookCircle will consider the interests, rights, and freedoms of the individuals concerned.

Legal Obligations

CookCircle may process personal data where necessary to comply with a legal obligation.


5. Household Sharing

CookCircle processes information necessary to allow users to share information within households.

When you join a household, information intentionally shared within that household may become available to other members.

This may include recipes, pantry information, and shared meal-planning information.

CookCircle does not make household information available to other CookCircle users outside the household merely because the information is stored in CookCircle.


6. Imported Content

CookCircle may process recipes and other information imported by users.

Users are responsible for ensuring that imported content can lawfully be stored and used.

CookCircle does not generally verify the copyright or ownership status of imported recipes.

Users should not use the Service to store content that they do not have the right to use.


7. Data Retention

CookCircle retains personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer period is required or permitted by law.

Account data is generally retained while the account remains active.

When an account is deleted, CookCircle will generally delete associated personal data and User Content from the active Service.

Some information may remain temporarily in:

  • backups;
  • logs;
  • security systems;
  • technical infrastructure.

Such information will be deleted or overwritten according to applicable retention periods and technical processes.

Certain information may be retained where necessary to:

  • comply with a legal obligation;
  • establish, exercise, or defend legal claims;
  • protect the security of the Service.

8. Account Deletion

You can delete your CookCircle account using the account deletion functionality provided by the Service.

Account deletion is intended to permanently remove your account and associated personal data from the active Service.

This may include:

  • account information;
  • recipes;
  • favorites;
  • ratings;
  • pantry information;
  • household membership;
  • calendar entries;
  • meal plans.

Deleting an account may affect information shared with other household members.

Some information may remain temporarily in backups or technical systems.

Once deleted, an account generally cannot be recovered.

If you cannot delete your account through the Service, you may contact CookCircle.

Email: [email protected]


9. Data Sharing

CookCircle does not sell personal data.

CookCircle does not currently use personal data for targeted advertising.

Personal data may be processed or accessed by:

Household Members

Information intentionally shared within a household may be visible to members of that household.

Service Providers

CookCircle may use third-party service providers necessary to operate the Service, including providers for:

  • hosting;
  • database infrastructure;
  • email delivery;
  • storage;
  • security;
  • technical infrastructure.

Where a third party processes personal data on behalf of CookCircle, appropriate contractual and legal safeguards will be used where required.

Legal Authorities

CookCircle may disclose personal data where required by law or a valid legal request from a competent authority.


10. Email Services

CookCircle may use third-party email service providers to send transactional emails, such as:

  • account verification;
  • password reset emails;
  • security notifications;
  • other service-related emails.

Only information necessary to deliver these emails will be shared with the relevant email provider.

If the email provider or other infrastructure changes, this Privacy Policy may be updated accordingly.


11. International Data Transfers

Some service providers used by CookCircle may process personal data outside the European Economic Area.

Where personal data is transferred outside the EEA, CookCircle will use an appropriate legal transfer mechanism where required by applicable law.

This may include:

  • an adequacy decision;
  • Standard Contractual Clauses;
  • another legally recognized safeguard.

12. Cookies

CookCircle may use cookies and similar technologies that are necessary for:

  • authentication;
  • security;
  • maintaining sessions;
  • providing core functionality.

CookCircle does not currently use advertising cookies or targeted advertising technologies.

If non-essential analytics, advertising, or similar tracking technologies are introduced in the future, this Privacy Policy will be updated and any consent required by applicable law will be obtained where necessary.


13. Security

CookCircle takes reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal data.

These measures may include:

  • password hashing;
  • access controls;
  • secure communications;
  • login protection;
  • invitation expiration;
  • password reset token protection;
  • database security;
  • security updates.

However, no internet service can guarantee absolute security.

Users are responsible for protecting their account credentials.


14. Personal Data Breaches

If CookCircle becomes aware of a personal data breach, the incident will be assessed and handled in accordance with applicable data protection law.

Where legally required, CookCircle will notify the relevant supervisory authority and affected individuals.

Under GDPR, data controllers generally must assess whether a breach is likely to pose a risk to individuals and, where required, notify the supervisory authority without undue delay and generally within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach.


15. Your GDPR Rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights including:

Right of Access

You may request information about whether CookCircle processes personal data about you and request access to that data.

Right to Rectification

You may request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Right to Erasure

You may request deletion of personal data where the GDPR gives you that right.

Right to Restriction

You may request restriction of processing in certain circumstances.

Right to Data Portability

Where applicable, you may request personal data that you have provided to CookCircle in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.

Right to Object

Where processing is based on legitimate interests, you may have the right to object depending on the circumstances.

Right to Withdraw Consent

Where CookCircle relies on consent for a particular processing activity, you may withdraw that consent.

These rights are subject to the limitations and conditions provided by applicable law.


16. Exercising Your Rights

To exercise your rights or ask questions about your personal data, contact:

Email: [email protected]

CookCircle may need to verify your identity before providing access to personal data or making changes to an account.

Requests will be handled in accordance with applicable law.

Information regarding GDPR rights should generally be provided free of charge, subject to applicable legal exceptions.


17. Complaints

If you believe that CookCircle processes your personal data unlawfully, you may contact CookCircle first using the contact information above.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority.

For Sweden, the relevant authority is:

Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten (IMY) Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection

IMY provides information and a process for individuals who believe their personal data is being processed incorrectly.


18. Children’s Privacy

CookCircle is not specifically designed for children.

We do not knowingly seek to collect personal data from children where such processing is not permitted by applicable law.

If you believe that a child has provided personal data to CookCircle in circumstances where it should not have been collected, please contact:

Email: [email protected]


19. Changes to This Privacy Policy

CookCircle may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

Changes may be necessary because of:

  • changes to the Service;
  • new functionality;
  • changes to personal data processing;
  • changes to service providers;
  • changes to applicable law;
  • changes to technical infrastructure.

The updated Privacy Policy will include a new effective date.

Where a change introduces a materially different processing activity requiring consent, CookCircle will obtain consent where required by applicable law.


20. Contact

Questions or requests concerning this Privacy Policy or your personal data may be sent to:

Data Controller: Gustav Jansson

Email: [email protected]

Address: Kumminvägen 16, Farsta 12355 Sweden

CookCircle is currently operated as a private, independent project and does not currently operate through a registered company or organization.

© 2026 CookCircle. All rights reserved.