Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Big Spoon (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use the Big Spoon mobile application (the “App”) and the bigspoon.app website (the “Site”). By using our services, you agree to the collection and use of information as described here.

Information We Collect

Information You Provide

Account Information. When you sign in with Apple, we receive your name and email address (or an Apple relay email address). We store a unique user identifier to manage your account.
Profile and Preferences. During onboarding and in settings, you may provide diet preferences (such as vegetarian or gluten-free), disliked ingredients, cooking skill level, household size, cooking goals, cuisine preferences, kitchen equipment, and other preferences. We use these only to tailor recipes and suggestions for you.
Recipes and Meal Plans. You create, import, and store recipes, meal plans, and grocery lists within the App.
Photos. You may upload photos for your recipes, which are stored on our servers. If you import a recipe from a photo (a cookbook page or recipe card), or attach a photo to a message in the AI assistant, that photo is sent to a third-party AI provider to read it and is not stored on our servers.
AI Chat Messages. When you interact with the AI assistant, your messages and the assistant’s responses are processed to provide the service.
Support Communications and Feedback. If you contact us for support, or send a bug report or idea from Settings → Help → Send Feedback, we keep what you wrote along with your app version and device model so we can follow up and fix the problem. Feedback is deleted with your account.
Waitlist Email Address. If you enter your email address into the launch-notification form on the Site, we store that address so we can send you a single email when the App is released. Our website hosting provider stores submissions on our behalf. We do not use waitlist addresses for any other mailing, and you can ask us to remove yours at any time by emailing support@bigspoon.app.

Information Generated by Our Services

AI-Generated Content. When you use AI features, Big Spoon generates recipes, meal plans, nutrition estimates, health scores, recipe images, and the ingredient name, amount, and grocery aisle behind each recipe line. These are stored in your account.

Information Collected Automatically

Usage and Diagnostics. To see what’s working and fix what isn’t, we record how the App is used (which screens and features you use, and any errors) along with basic device details (device model, operating system and app version, language, and time offset from UTC). Once you sign in, this is linked to your account; before that, only to a random ID for your installation of the App. It never includes what you write, such as recipes, searches, or messages. We keep it ourselves, and it is never sold or used for ads. You can turn it off anytime in Settings → Share Analytics.
Crash Reports. If the App crashes, a technical crash report is sent to our crash-reporting provider so we can fix the problem. It is not linked to your account and does not include anything you have written. Turning off Share Analytics turns this off too.

Reminders stay on your device. Big Spoon does not send push notifications and does not collect or store a push token. Every reminder the App shows (plan your week, tonight’s dinner, start cooking, prep ahead) is scheduled locally on your device from the meals you have planned, and no notification data is sent to us or to anyone else.

Information from Third-Party Services

Apple. Authentication data via Sign in with Apple, and purchase information when you subscribe through the App Store.
Subscription Management. Subscription status and purchase receipts for managing your Big Spoon Pro subscription, plus your user identifier, email address, and display name so we can find your subscription when you contact support.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Provide, maintain, and improve the App’s core features (recipe management, meal planning, grocery lists)
Personalize AI recommendations based on your dietary preferences, skill level, and goals
Process AI requests including recipe generation, meal planning, and chat interactions
Generate recipe images using AI
Manage your subscription
Show reminders on your device for the meals you have planned
Analyze app usage and improve the service
Find and fix crashes and bugs
Respond to support requests
Comply with legal obligations

AI Processing

AI features are optional. Big Spoon asks for your permission before using them, during setup and again the first time you tap an AI feature if you said not now. You can turn them on or off anytime in Settings → Little Spoon → AI Features. When they’re off, nothing you write, import, or photograph is sent to an AI, and the rest of the App works as usual (recipe lines simply go on your grocery list as written). When they’re on:

What you use them with (chat messages, recipe text and ingredients, photos you choose to import from or attach, and your food preferences) is sent securely through our servers to OpenRouter, which passes it to AI model providers to create a response. We may change providers over time.
AI-generated content, including recipes, nutrition information, health scores, and images, is produced by automated systems and may contain inaccuracies. See our Terms of Service for important disclaimers.
We keep a record of each AI request (which feature, when, how long it took, how many tokens it used, and whether it succeeded) linked to your account, so we can understand how the assistant is used and keep it working. That record does not include what you wrote. The one exception: if a message or an imported page looks like an attempt to manipulate the assistant, or a request fails, we keep that text for up to 30 days so we can look into it. All of it is deleted with your account.

Households

Every account starts in a household of its own. You can share yours with someone, or join theirs, from Settings → Household.

Joining. Someone joins with the owner’s invite code, and nothing is shared until the owner approves. While a request is waiting, the owner sees the requester’s name and the requester sees the owner’s. A person who joins can bring their recipes and lists with them, and those become part of the household.
What members see. Everyone in a household can see and edit its recipes, meal plan, grocery list, stores, traditions, and saved ingredients. They also see your name in the member list and on recipes you add. Your preferences and your chats with the AI assistant are not shared.
AI features. Each person turns these on or off for themselves. When another member uses them, the household’s recipes and meal plan can be sent with their requests (see AI Processing).
Leaving. If you leave, or the owner removes you, everything stays with the household, including recipes you added. Those then read “Added by a former member,” and you start with an empty household of your own. To keep a copy of your recipes, export them first from Settings → Export Recipes.
Deleting your account. If you share a household, this works the same as leaving: the household keeps everything. If it’s just you, the household and everything in it are deleted (see Data Retention). If you want something you added gone, delete it before you leave or delete your account.

Apart from the people in your household (see Households), we share your information only with service providers that help us operate the App and the Site, and only for these purposes:

Purpose	Data Shared
Hosting, database, authentication, and file storage	Account data, recipes, meal plans, grocery lists, photos
AI processing (OpenRouter and the AI model providers it uses; only when AI features are on)	Recipe content, chat messages, dietary preferences, photos used for recipe import or attached in the chat
Crash reporting	Technical crash details, device model and operating system version, a random installation ID
Subscription management	User identifier, email address, display name, purchase receipts
Sign-in and subscription billing (Apple)	Apple ID; payment information is handled by Apple
Website hosting and the waitlist form	Email address you enter on the Site, standard web request logs

These providers may process your information only on our behalf and under their own security and confidentiality obligations. We may change providers over time.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your information for advertising purposes.

We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or governmental authority.

Data Retention

While your account is active, we retain all data associated with your account.
When you delete your account, we permanently delete your account, profile, preferences, feedback, and AI request records. If it’s just you in your household, your recipes, meal plans, grocery lists, and uploaded images are deleted too. If you share a household, those stay with it for everyone else, and recipes you added read “Added by a former member.” This cannot be undone.
Usage and diagnostic data linked to your account is deleted when you delete your account.
Flagged AI text (see AI Processing) is cleared after 30 days, or sooner when you delete your account.
Crash reports are kept according to our crash-reporting provider’s standard retention period.

Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your information:

All data is encrypted in transit using HTTPS/TLS.
Access controls ensure you can only access your own data and data shared with your household.
Authentication is handled through Sign in with Apple using industry-standard protocols.

No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Your Rights

All Users

You may at any time:

Access your data by viewing your profile, recipes, and meal plans within the App.
Export your recipes as a spreadsheet (CSV) from Settings → Export Recipes.
Download everything we hold about your account as one file, any time, from Settings → Download My Data.
Correct inaccurate data by editing your profile or recipes.
Delete your account and your personal data in Settings → Delete Account. A shared household keeps its recipes and lists (see Data Retention).
Turn off AI features anytime in Settings.
Opt out of reminders through your device settings or within the App.
Opt out of usage, diagnostic, and crash data by turning off Settings → Share Analytics.

California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

Know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose, and get a copy of it.
Request deletion of your personal information.
Opt out of the sale of your personal information. We do not sell personal information.
Not be discriminated against for exercising your privacy rights.
Know about automated decision-making technology. Our AI features generate content based on your inputs; these are informational tools, not consequential automated decisions.

To exercise these rights, use Settings → Download My Data or Settings → Delete Account in the App, or email support@bigspoon.app.

Categories of personal information collected: Identifiers (name, email, user ID), internet or network activity (usage analytics), preferences and profile information, user-generated content (recipes, meal plans), commercial information (subscription status), and inferences drawn from the above.

If you are in the UK, EU, or EEA, our legal bases for processing are:

Contract performance: to provide the core features of the App.
Legitimate interests: for analytics and service improvement. You can object to usage analytics and crash reporting at any time by turning off Settings → Share Analytics.
Consent: for reminders and optional data collection.

You have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict processing, data portability, and object to processing. You may withdraw consent at any time. You may lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Access and portability are self-serve in Settings → Download My Data, erasure in Settings → Delete Account; for anything else, email support@bigspoon.app.

Your data is transferred to and processed in the United States. Transfers are protected by appropriate safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses and data processing agreements with our service providers.

Children’s Privacy

The App is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age required where you live). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@bigspoon.app and we will delete it.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page indicates when it was last revised. We will notify you of material changes through the App or by other means.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us at:

Email: support@bigspoon.app