Privacy policy

Last updated: November 4, 2026

Kvell saves recipes from links, photos and cookbooks into the user's own Google Drive. This page explains what information passes through it, why, where it is kept and what your rights are.

Who is responsible

The data controller is Kvell. Full details are in the legal notice. Questions and requests: lironco@gmail.com.

What is stored, and where

• Your recipes are stored with you, in your own Google Drive, in the app's folder: one Google Doc per recipe, photos, the recipe library and its settings. The app keeps no copy of your recipes on its server.
• Account details on the server: to run your subscription and monthly allowance, the server stores a hashed identifier of your Google account, your email address, your plan and its expiry date, your customer and subscription IDs at the payment provider, and how many recipes you added each month. Not the recipes and not their content.
• Your Google sign-in: the app asks only for your email address and the drive.file permission, which lets it see and change only files the app created itself. It cannot see any other file in your Drive.
• Information from Google: the app's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. It is used only to save and show your recipes, never for advertising and never to train AI models.
• An encrypted cookie in your browser: to keep you signed in, your browser stores, encrypted, your email address and your Google access token. The server does not store them. Another cookie remembers the interface language. There are no advertising or tracking cookies.
• While a recipe is being read, the server temporarily holds the link, text, photos or video, and deletes them when the job ends or when the server restarts.
• "My taste" (only if you turn it on): the notes you wrote on recipes, your ratings, how often you made them and the recipe names are sent to Gemini, which sums up cooking preferences from them (for example "less salt" or "short recipes"). The summary is kept in your Drive in the file "My taste.json", shown to you in Settings, and you can edit or delete any line. It is used only for suggestions you see in the app (changing amounts in a recipe, matching recipes from your library), never for advertising, model training or any other purpose. It is updated only when notes or ratings were added, at most weekly or when you ask. Turning it off deletes it completely. The app is told not to infer anything about health, religion or personal details, only cooking taste.
• Camera: in cooking mode you can turn on wave-to-next-step (front camera). It runs only while you turn it on. The picture is processed on your phone and is never sent or stored.
• Technical server logs (errors, response times) are kept by the hosting provider for a short time to fix problems.

Why, and on what legal basis

• To provide the service (reading and saving recipes, running your account, subscription and allowance): necessary to perform our contract with you (GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)).
• To take payment and meet tax rules: legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)), through Paddle.
• Account emails (welcome, a reminder before a yearly renewal, changes to the terms): part of the contract.
• "My taste": only with your consent (turning it on in Settings, Art. 6(1)(a)). We keep when you agreed. You can withdraw at any time, which deletes the summary.
• Updates and tips by email: only if you asked and confirmed through the link we sent you (consent, Art. 6(1)(a)). We keep when and how you agreed. You can unsubscribe at any time, from the link in every email or in Settings.
• To keep the service working and secure (error logs, preventing abuse of the free recipes): legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)).

Who we share it with

• Google Gemini: to read a recipe, its material (the post's text, photos, the video or the cookbook pages) is sent to Google's Gemini API. The app uses only the paid Gemini API, with its own key (there is no option to add a personal key), and under the Gemini API terms Google does not use that material to improve its products. Even so, please don't send sensitive personal information to the app.
• Payments: subscriptions are sold by Paddle, the merchant of record: Paddle receives your payment details, email and country, charges you, issues the invoice and handles sales tax. Card details never pass through the app. The server receives from Paddle only your customer ID, subscription ID and expiry date, and sends RevenueCat, which keeps track of subscriptions, the hashed account identifier and the subscription ID. Paddle's checkout is loaded only when you open the subscription screen.
• Hosting: the server and database are hosted by Render.
• Email: emails are sent through Brevo, which receives only your email address, language and the message.
• The sites you import from: to read a link, the server contacts the site in that link (for example a recipe site, TikTok or YouTube). When an ordinary recipe site blocks the server, only the link is sent to the reading service Jina Reader, with nothing about you.
• Sharing with friends: only when you choose to send a recipe, that recipe's files become readable to anyone with the link.
• We do not sell your information, do not use it for advertising and do not pass it to anyone else.

International transfers

The providers above may process data outside your country, mainly in the United States and the European Union. When data of users in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland leaves those areas, the transfer relies on the safeguards the providers offer (such as the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or the European Commission's standard contractual clauses).

How long we keep it

• Account and usage details: as long as your account exists. After deletion only the hashed identifier and the number of free recipes used remain (see below).
• Payment records and invoices: kept by Paddle for as long as tax law requires.
• Server logs: a few days to a few weeks.

Your rights

You can ask to access, correct or delete your information, to receive it in a portable format, to restrict its processing or to object to it. Your recipes themselves are always yours to take from your Drive. If you are in the EEA or the UK you may also complain to your local data protection authority. California residents: we do not sell or share personal information as defined by the CCPA. Questions and requests: lironco@gmail.com.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time, in the app (Settings → Delete account) or on the account deletion page. Deleting it revokes the app's access to your Google account, stops your subscription from renewing and, if you choose, moves the recipes folder to your Drive's trash. The server deletes your account details and usage data, along with your record at RevenueCat and on the Brevo mailing list. Only a hashed identifier of your Google account and the number of free recipes already used are kept, so that deleting and signing up again does not reset the free recipes.

Ads

There are no ads in the app. If that ever changes, this page will be updated first.

Children

The app is not intended for children under 16 and does not knowingly collect their information. A parent who believes a child has signed up can contact us and the account will be deleted.

Security

Connections are encrypted (HTTPS), the browser cookie is encrypted, and the server stores a hashed identifier instead of your Google ID. No method is perfectly secure, but the information kept on the server is deliberately minimal.

Changes

If this policy changes, the date above will change, and we will announce material changes in the app before they take effect.