Privacy Policy

Last updated 6 July 2026

This policy explains how CookieBookie (“CookieBookie,” “we,” “us,” or “the app”) handles information when you use the app. CookieBookie is operated by Nilsen Lab and designed to require as little personal information as possible. We do not show ads, we do not use third-party analytics or advertising trackers, and we do not sell your data.

Questions? Contact us any time at lukas@nilsenlab.com.

No personal account required

CookieBookie does not ask for your name, email address, or phone number. When you first open the app, we sign you in anonymously using Firebase Authentication. This creates a random device identifier that lets the app read and write your data securely. It is not tied to your real-world identity.

Inside the app you create or join one or more “cookbooks,” each protected by a cookbook name and a password. A cookbook is shared by everyone who knows its name and password, so it is not a personal user account in the traditional sense.

What we collect

We only collect the information needed to make the app work:

• Cookbook details: the cookbook name and a securely hashed version of the cookbook password (never stored in plain text)
• Recipe content: recipe titles, descriptions, ingredients, instructions, and tags
• Comments: any comments you add to recipes
• AI chat threads: messages you send to the in-app cooking assistant and the responses it returns
• Anonymous device identifier: the random identifier from Firebase Authentication, plus a record of which cookbooks your device has joined
• Abuse-prevention data: our backend temporarily processes technical request information such as IP address for rate limiting, and stores content reports you submit

We do not collect your name, contacts, precise location, or advertising identifiers.

Camera and photo library

CookieBookie can use your camera and photo library so you can scan recipe images into editable recipe text. These permissions are used only to let you pick or capture images for the scan flow. When you scan a recipe photo, the image is sent to OpenAI to extract recipe details. We do not store the original scanned photos as recipe content, and we do not access your camera or photo library for any other purpose.

How we use your information

• Store and display your recipes, cookbooks, comments, and chat threads
• Let you create, log into, share, and delete cookbooks
• Extract recipe details from photos you scan, suggest recipes, and answer questions in the cooking assistant
• Protect the service against abuse, such as rate limiting and handling content reports

We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or third-party tracking.

Third parties

CookieBookie relies on a small number of service providers to operate:

• Google Firebase (Authentication, Cloud Firestore, and Cloud Functions) hosts the app’s backend and stores your cookbooks, recipes, comments, and chat threads
• OpenAI processes recipe images and text for the AI features. When you scan a photo, ask for recipe ideas, or chat about a recipe, the relevant images and text are sent to OpenAI to generate the result

These providers process data on our behalf to deliver the app’s features. We do not sell your data, and we do not allow these providers to use your content to serve you ads.

Data retention and deletion

Your content is stored for as long as the cookbook it belongs to exists. You can permanently delete a cookbook at any time from the app’s Settings screen using “Delete cookbook” (you will be asked for the cookbook password). Deleting a cookbook permanently removes the cookbook, its recipes, comments, and AI chat threads, along with share and import records tied to it. Because a cookbook is the unit of access in CookieBookie, deleting a cookbook is how you delete the account-level data associated with it.

If you need help deleting data, contact us at lukas@nilsenlab.com.

Children’s privacy

CookieBookie is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will take steps to remove it.

Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the date at the top of this page.

Contact

Questions or requests regarding this policy or your data? Email lukas@nilsenlab.com.