Cookie Policy

Last updated: January 2025

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device when you visit our website. They help us provide you with a better experience by remembering your preferences and improving our service.

How We Use Cookies

We use cookies for the following purposes:

Essential Cookies (Always Active)

These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. They enable basic features like page navigation and access to secure areas. These cannot be disabled.

Cookie Consent Memory

What it does: Remembers your cookie preferences so we don't ask you again
How long: 1 year
Who sets it: Us (dontknowwhattocook.com)
What it stores: Whether you accepted/declined analytics and marketing cookies
Technical name: cookie_consent_v2

This cookie is required to respect your privacy choices and cannot be disabled.

Analytics Cookies (Optional)

These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website, which recipes are most popular, and how our AI tools are being used. All data is collected anonymously.

Google Analytics Visitor Tracking

What it does: Remembers if you've visited before and tracks your browsing session
How long: Up to 2 years
Provider: Google Analytics
Technical names: _ga, _ga_*

Daily Activity Counter

What it does: Counts your page views during the day to understand traffic patterns
How long: 24 hours (resets daily)
Provider: Google Analytics
Technical name: _gid

What we actually track with these cookies:

  • • Which recipes you view and how long you read them
  • • What ingredients you search for
  • • Which AI features you use (recipe generator, meal planner)
  • • What device/browser you're using (mobile, desktop, etc.)
  • • How you found our site (Google search, social media, etc.)

Privacy note: We do NOT track your name, email, or any personal information. All data is anonymous and used only to improve recipes and features.

Marketing Cookies (Optional)

Used to show you personalized recipe ads and content on other websites. We don't currently use marketing cookies, but may add them in the future.

No marketing cookies are currently in use. If we add any in the future, we will update this policy and ask for your consent.

Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:

  • View and delete existing cookies
  • Block cookies from specific websites
  • Block third-party cookies
  • Block all cookies
  • Delete all cookies when you close your browser

Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

Third-Party Services & Cookies

Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our site. Google Analytics sets cookies to collect information about your usage anonymously.

Data collected: Page views, session duration, bounce rate, recipe views, AI tool usage, device type, browser type, approximate location (country/city)
IP anonymization: Enabled (IP addresses are anonymized)
Privacy policy: Google Privacy Policy

AI Recipe Generation

Our AI recipe generation uses OpenAI, Anthropic, and Groq APIs. These services do NOT set cookies and do NOT receive your personal information.

Data sent: Only recipe ingredients, preferences, and dietary restrictions
NOT sent: Personal information, email, IP address, browsing history
Storage: Generated recipes are stored in our database (Convex) for your access

GDPR Compliance & Your Rights

We are committed to GDPR compliance and respecting your data privacy rights. Under GDPR, you have the following rights:

  • Right to Access: Request a copy of all personal data we hold about you
  • Right to Rectification: Correct any inaccurate personal information
  • Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
  • Right to Restrict Processing: Limit how we use your data
  • Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured format
  • Right to Object: Object to processing of your personal data
  • Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw cookie consent at any time

How to exercise your rights: Contact us at hello@dontknowwhattocook.com or manage your cookie preferences using the consent banner.

Updates to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.

Contact Us

If you have questions about our use of cookies, please contact us at: hello@dontknowwhattocook.com