Privacy Policy

1. Who we are and what this covers

PracticeChef (“PracticeChef”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is a culinary learning app for iPhone, operated by Brendan Smiley, a sole proprietor based in Alberta, Canada. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information when you visit practicechef.com, request or take part in the beta, use the PracticeChef app, or contact us (together, the “Service”).

Because we’re based in Canada, this policy is written to be consistent with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and we extend its core rights to everyone. If you’re in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or California, additional rights are described in Section 8.

2. The app is on-device by design

PracticeChef is a local-first app. In the current version:

• Your recipes, cook logs, reflections, photos, and skill progress are stored on your device, in the app’s local database.
• Recipe parsing and the app’s AI features run on your device. Your recipes and cooking notes are not sent to us or to any AI provider to make them work.
• The app has no account and no login, and we operate no server that holds your cooking content.
• If your device backs up to iCloud, your app data may be included in that backup under Apple’s control and privacy terms. That’s between you and Apple; we don’t receive it.

This is a deliberate design choice, not just a promise. If a future version of the app introduces features that store or sync data off your device (for example, optional cloud backup or accounts), we will update this policy and clearly disclose it before that feature collects anything.

3. Information we collect

3.1 The beta-request form (website)

When you ask for a beta invite on practicechef.com, we collect:

• Your email address.
• An attribution source: the “where did you hear about this?” answer, plus any campaign tags (UTM parameters) and the referring page in the link you followed. This tells us which posts and communities are actually reaching people, and lets us separate strangers from personal contacts.

We ask for no name and nothing else. Providing this is voluntary, but without an email we can’t send you an invite.

3.2 Anonymous usage metrics (app)

To understand whether the app actually works for people, we may collect a small amount of anonymous usage data: counts of a few events, such as opening the app, starting a cook, or completing a post-cook log.

• These metrics are anonymous and aggregate. They aren’t tied to your identity, and we don’t use them to build a profile of you.
• They contain no content: no recipes, notes, photos, ingredients, or the names of anything you cook.
• During the beta, usage metrics are opt-in: off unless you turn them on, presented as a plain-language choice, and switchable off at any time.
• If a public release of the app collects usage metrics, they will stay limited to anonymous, aggregate event counts with no cooking content, and we will explain your choices in the app.

3.3 Website analytics

We use privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics (Cloudflare Web Analytics) to see aggregate traffic (page views, rough geography, and referrers) without cookies and without tracking you across sites. Because it sets no cookies and doesn’t fingerprint you, there’s no cookie-consent banner to click through.

3.4 Server logs

Our hosting provider (Cloudflare) processes standard technical data needed to deliver and secure the website, such as IP address and request metadata. This is used to keep the site running and to block abuse, and is handled under Cloudflare’s terms.

3.5 Messages you send us

If you email us, we receive your email address and whatever you choose to include, and we keep it to reply and for our records.

4. How we use your information

• To send you your TestFlight beta invite and occasional build updates you asked for.
• To understand which channels and posts bring people to the beta, so we spend effort where it helps.
• To learn, in aggregate, whether the app works (via anonymous usage metrics) and to fix and improve it.
• To respond to you and provide support.
• To keep the Service secure and to prevent abuse.
• To meet legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information, and we don’t use it for third-party advertising.

5. Our basis for processing

Where the law requires a legal basis (for example, GDPR in the EEA/UK), we rely on:

• Your consent: for the beta-invite emails and for usage metrics during the beta. You can withdraw it at any time (see Section 8).
• Our legitimate interests: in operating and securing the website and understanding aggregate traffic, balanced against your privacy.
• Legal obligation: where we must retain or disclose information to comply with the law.

6. Who we share it with

We don’t sell your data. We rely on a small number of service providers (“sub-processors”) to run the Service, and share only what each needs:

• Cloudflare: hosts the website, stores beta-request emails in our database, routes our contact email, and provides cookieless analytics.
• Apple: distributes the beta through TestFlight and delivers the App Store app. When you accept a TestFlight invite, Apple processes your participation under Apple’s own terms and privacy policy.
• Google: our contact address (legal@practicechef.com) forwards into a Gmail inbox, so email you send us, and any update we send you, is processed by Google as our email provider.

We may also disclose information if required by law or valid legal process, or as part of a business transfer (such as a sale of the project), in which case we’ll require the recipient to honour this policy.

7. Where your information is processed

We’re based in Canada, and our providers may process data in Canada, the United States, and other countries. Where information is transferred across borders, we rely on our providers’ safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses) to protect it. By using the Service you understand your information may be processed outside your home country.

8. Your rights and choices

Subject to applicable law, you can:

• Access the personal information we hold about you (in practice, your email and attribution source).
• Correct it if it’s wrong.
• Delete it: ask us and we’ll remove your email from our list and systems.
• Withdraw consent or unsubscribe at any time, by replying to any email or contacting us.
• Turn off usage metrics in the app at any time.

For EEA/UK residents: you also have rights to restrict or object to processing, to data portability, and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

For California residents: we do not sell or “share” personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA, and we won’t discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

To make any request, email legal@practicechef.com. We’ll respond within the time the law requires.

9. How long we keep it

We keep beta-request emails and attribution data for as long as the beta program is active and we may reasonably contact you about it, and we delete them when they’re no longer needed or when you ask. Aggregate, non-identifying analytics may be kept without a fixed limit. We may retain limited records where the law requires it.

10. Security

We use reasonable safeguards to protect the information we hold, including encryption in transit (HTTPS) and access controls on our providers. No system is perfectly secure, so we can’t guarantee absolute security. Still, by design we hold very little: your cooking stays on your device, and the website holds little more than an email address.

11. Children

The Service is intended for people 13 and older and isn’t directed to children under 13. We don’t knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we’ll delete it.

12. Changes to this policy

Our practices may change as the app grows. When they do, we’ll update this page and change the “last updated” date, and for material changes we’ll give clear notice before the new practice takes effect. If a change would involve collecting something new, we’ll ask for consent where the law requires it.

13. Contact