Who we are
Refrigenerate is developed by Defyne Corporation, a company in the Philippines (defyne.solutions). We are the personal information controller for the personal data processed through the Refrigenerate app and this website, under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173), its Implementing Rules and Regulations, and the issuances of the National Privacy Commission (NPC).
This policy explains what we collect, why, who handles it, how long we keep it, and your rights. It matches the privacy notice inside the app, which you accept when you create an account.
The short version
- The AI that creates recipes and scans ingredients runs on your phone. Your ingredients, diet and ingredient photos are never sent to an AI service.
- Your allergies and health needs stay only on your phone.
- We keep in the cloud only what you need for your account and what you choose to share with the community.
- We don't sell your data, show ads, or profile you.
- You can download or delete your data anytime from the app.
What we keep in the cloud
- Your account: email address and username.
- Your profile: bio and profile photo.
- What you share: posts, dish photos, captions, comments, likes and recipes you publish.
- Connections and ratings: who you follow, who follows you, and the star ratings you give other cooks' dishes.
- Notifications: activity on your dishes and profile (who liked, commented, rated or followed, and when).
- Consent record: when you accepted the privacy notice, and which version.
Before a photo is uploaded, the app resizes it and removes its location (GPS) information.
What stays only on your phone
- Your ingredient list, servings and cuisine preferences.
- Your dietary profile, including allergies and health needs, which are sensitive personal information under the law.
- Your offline cookbook, and photos of your finished dishes until you choose to share them.
- Ingredient photos you scan. They are analysed by the AI on your phone and never uploaded.
- Your app settings, such as Performance or Lite mode.
Because this information never leaves your phone, we cannot see it. You can remove it anytime with Me → Privacy & Your Data → Clear data on this phone, or by uninstalling the app.
Why we use it, and our legal basis
| Purpose | Data used | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Create and run your account, keep you signed in | Email, username, consent record | Your consent, and to provide the service you signed up for |
| Show your posts, comments and likes in the community feed | Profile, posts, photos, comments, likes | Your consent, given when you choose to share |
| Show followers, the cooks you follow and chef ratings to other signed-in users | Follows, ratings | Your consent |
| Tell you about activity on your dishes and profile | Notifications | To provide the service |
| Keep the service secure and prevent abuse | Account and technical data | Our legitimate interest in a safe service |
A chef's rating is the average of the stars other users gave their dishes. It is shown to the community and is never used to make decisions about you. We do not use your data for advertising, profiling or automated decisions.
Who else handles it
We share personal data only with service providers that help us run Refrigenerate, under our instructions:
- Supabase hosts our database, sign-in, photo storage and server functions, and sends account emails such as sign-up confirmation.
- Unsplash receives only a dish name and cuisine from our server, to find a sample photo of a similar dish. When the app shows that photo, it loads from Unsplash, which sees your device's IP address like any website.
- Cloudflare (our storage) and, as a backup, Hugging Face serve the AI model files your phone downloads. Like any download, they see your device's IP address; no other personal data is sent.
- Apple and Google distribute the app through the App Store and Google Play, under their own privacy policies.
Other signed-in users can see what you share in the community: your username, profile photo, bio, posts, comments, likes, follows and chef rating. We do not sell or rent personal data, and we do not share it with advertisers. We may disclose data if the law requires it, for example by a valid court order.
Where it is stored
Our service providers may store and process data on servers outside the Philippines. We choose providers that protect data with appropriate safeguards, and we remain responsible for your personal data under the Data Privacy Act wherever it is processed.
How long we keep it
| Data | Kept until |
|---|---|
| Account, profile and consent record | You delete your account |
| Posts, dish photos, comments, likes, ratings and follows | You delete them, or your account |
| Notifications | Automatically deleted after 90 days, or when you delete your account |
| Data on your phone | You clear it in the app or uninstall the app |
Deleting your account permanently removes your profile, recipes, posts, photos, comments, likes, follows, ratings and notifications. Deleting a post removes it and its photo.
How we protect it
- All data travels over encrypted connections (HTTPS).
- Database rules make sure only you can change or delete your data, and that private data such as your notifications is visible only to you.
- Photos are resized and their location information is removed before upload.
- Sensitive information about your health and allergies is never sent to our servers.
No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your data and review our safeguards as the app grows.
Your rights and how to use them
Under the Data Privacy Act, you have the right to:
- Be informed about how your data is used
- Access your data and get a copy of it
- Correct inaccurate data
- Object to processing and withdraw your consent
- Have your data erased or blocked
- Data portability
- Claim damages
- File a complaint with the National Privacy Commission
In the app
- Get a copy of your data: Me → Privacy & Your Data → Download my data.
- Correct your profile: Me → Edit Profile.
- Delete your account: Me → Delete Account. See Delete your account.
By email
For any other request, or if you can't use the app, email us at james@defyne.solutions from the email address of your account. We will reply within 30 days. If you are not satisfied, you may file a complaint with the National Privacy Commission.
Children
Refrigenerate is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal data. If you are under 18, please use Refrigenerate with your parent's or guardian's permission. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
This website
This website does not use cookies, advertising or analytics trackers. Our hosting provider, Vercel, keeps standard server logs (such as IP address and pages requested) for security and reliability. Fonts and images are served from this website.
If something goes wrong
If a personal data breach puts your rights at risk, we will notify the National Privacy Commission and the affected users within 72 hours of learning of it, as the law requires, and tell you what we are doing about it.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the app changes. When we make important changes, we will update the version and date above and ask you to review the new notice in the app.
Contact us
Defyne Corporation
Privacy and Data Protection Officer: james@defyne.solutions
Website: defyne.solutions