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Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 18, 2026

1. Introduction

Crave Cast ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our personalized food discovery platform.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

  • Account Information: Name, email address, password, and profile picture
  • Onboarding Data: Food preferences collected during the swipe onboarding process
  • User Content: Saved posts, comments, and feedback
  • Communications: Messages sent to customer support

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Usage Data: Pages viewed, features used, time spent, click patterns
  • Device Information: IP address, browser type, operating system, device ID
  • Interaction Data: Swipes (left/right/up), clicks, email opens, response times
  • Location Data: General location based on IP address (not precise GPS)
  • Cookies and Tracking: Session cookies, analytics cookies, preference cookies

2.3 Information from Third Parties

  • OAuth Providers: If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email, and profile picture
  • Social Media: Food content sourced from Instagram and other platforms

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

  • Personalize Recommendations: Build your taste profile using AI to deliver relevant food content
  • Provide the Service: Create and manage your account, process requests, send notifications
  • Improve Our Platform: Analyze usage patterns, test features, fix bugs
  • Communicate: Send personalized email digests, service updates, promotional content
  • Ensure Security: Detect fraud, prevent abuse, enforce our Terms of Service
  • Legal Compliance: Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests

4. AI and Machine Learning

4.1 Taste Profile: We use artificial intelligence to create a mathematical representation (embedding) of your food preferences based on your interactions:

  • Swipe actions (left/right/up) on onboarding dishes
  • Email engagement (opens, clicks)
  • Dashboard interactions (views, saves)

4.2 Data Processing: Your taste profile consists of:

  • 80-dimensional categorical preferences (explicit: cuisines, flavors, textures)
  • 3072-dimensional semantic embedding (learned: visual patterns, implicit preferences)

4.3 Third-Party AI: We use OpenAI's GPT-4 Vision and embedding models to analyze food images and generate recommendations. Data sent to OpenAI is processed according to their privacy policy.

5. How We Share Your Information

We may share your information with:

  • Service Providers: OpenAI (AI processing), email providers, analytics services, hosting providers
  • Business Partners: Restaurants for sponsored recommendations (aggregated data only, not personal info)
  • Legal Requirements: Law enforcement, courts, or government agencies when required by law
  • Business Transfers: In case of merger, acquisition, or sale of assets

We do NOT:

  • Sell your personal information to third parties
  • Share your email or contact details with restaurants
  • Publicly display your taste profile or interaction history

6. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures:

  • Encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS)
  • Encrypted password storage (bcrypt hashing)
  • Secure authentication with NextAuth.js
  • Regular security audits and updates
  • Access controls and logging

However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Privacy Rights

7.1 Access and Correction: You can view and update your account information in your profile settings.

7.2 Data Portability: Request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format.

7.3 Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated data. Some data may be retained for legal compliance.

7.4 Opt-Out: Unsubscribe from marketing emails via the link in each email or in account settings.

7.5 Cookie Control: Manage cookie preferences through your browser settings.

To exercise these rights, contact us at kejiafest@gmail.com

8. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as:

  • Your account is active
  • Needed to provide services, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes
  • 90 days after account deletion (for backup purposes)

Aggregated, anonymized data may be retained indefinitely for analytics.

9. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected such information, please contact us immediately.

10. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

11. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

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

  • Know what personal information we collect and how we use it
  • Request deletion of your personal information
  • Opt-out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell)
  • Non-discrimination for exercising your rights

12. European Privacy Rights (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area, you have the right to:

  • Access, correct, or delete your personal data
  • Object to or restrict processing
  • Data portability
  • Withdraw consent at any time
  • Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email or through a prominent notice on our Service. Your continued use after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices:

Email: kejiafest@gmail.com

Summary: What You Should Know

  • ✓ We collect interaction data to personalize your experience
  • ✓ We use AI to build your taste profile from your swipes and clicks
  • ✓ We do NOT sell your personal information
  • ✓ You can delete your account and data at any time
  • ✓ We use industry-standard security to protect your data
  • ✓ You can opt-out of marketing emails anytime