Freecost Privacy Policy
Last Updated: December 3, 2025
This Privacy Policy explains how Freecost ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and protects your information when you use the Freecost web application (the "Service").
1. Information We Collect
We collect the following types of information:
Account Information: When you create an account, we collect information such as your email address, and an automatically generated user ID.
Usage Data: We automatically collect data about your use of the Service, such as the features you access, the time you spend in the application, and system performance data.
User Content: This includes the recipes, ingredient lists, cost data, and notes you create, input, and store in the application.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
To Provide the Service: To operate and maintain the Freecost application, calculate your recipe costs, and display your saved content.
For Internal Analytics and Improvement: To understand how our users interact with the Service, and to identify areas for improvement and new features.
Commercial Use for Sustainability: We may use, analyze, and aggregate the User Content we own for commercial purposes (such as identifying market trends or generating aggregated data insights) to help us sustain the Service and keep it free for users.
Communication: To send you updates, security alerts, and administrative messages related to the Service.
3. Data Storage and Security
Cloud Storage: Your data, including your User Content, is stored securely in the cloud (on our chosen database and hosting platform). By using the Service, you acknowledge and consent to your data being stored and processed on these cloud-based systems.
Security: We implement reasonable security measures to protect your information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. However, no internet transmission or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
4. Ownership, Usage, and Privacy of User Content
Freecost Ownership: As detailed in our Terms of Service, you acknowledge and agree that Freecost owns the intellectual property rights to all User Content (recipes, cost data, notes) created or stored on the Service.
Commitment to Anonymity: Despite our ownership and right to use your content commercially (as described in Section 2), we commit to respecting your privacy regarding your identity. We will not publicly share, publish, or sell your specific, private recipes, ingredient costs, or notes with your identifying information attached. Furthermore, we will never publicly associate any User Content with your personal name or account ID without first obtaining your explicit, separate permission.
5. Data Disclosure
We do not sell your personal data. We may disclose your information only in the following limited circumstances:
Service Providers: We may share data with third-party vendors and service providers (like cloud hosting or analytics platforms) who perform services for us and are bound by confidentiality agreements.
Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court order).
6. Data Retention
We retain your account information and User Content for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with the Service. If you delete your account, we will delete your data within a reasonable time frame, subject to our backup and legal compliance obligations.
7. Changes to this Policy
We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.