Privacy Policy

1 Scope

This policy covers Kitchen visits, sign-in information received by Kitchen, dish uploads, AI-assisted feedback, voice features, saved discoveries, learner reflections, mentor access, support requests, and related operational records.

The Foundation website at firstandfork.org, Foundation surveys, program applications, and donation services may have separate notices. Following a link does not automatically transfer your private Kitchen records to those services. A separate program notice may explain additional uses of information for an immersion or other Foundation program; it does not silently replace this policy.

Third-party websites, sign-in providers, and services also process information under their own notices. This policy describes the Foundation's handling of Kitchen information.

2 Information you provide and account information

Kitchen uses Auth0 for member sign-in. Available email/password and social sign-in methods are shown on the sign-in page; planned methods may not yet be active. Kitchen receives an account identifier, email address, email verification status, and a name when supplied. Auth0 handles email/password credentials, and social providers handle their own passwords; Kitchen does not receive those passwords. Kitchen does not import your ChatGPT conversation history. A verified email is required to access private records or claim a mentor assignment. See Auth0 privacy information.

Depending on the features you use, Kitchen stores:

• Profile details, such as your display name, cooking context, and interests.
• Dish photographs, titles, ingredients, methods, descriptions, questions, and related conversation text.
• AI replies, suggested annotations, takeaways, saved discoveries, critique preferences, and optional helpfulness ratings and feedback.
• Learner and mentor contributions, author names, voice reflection recordings, transcripts, recording duration, waveform information, and thread summaries.
• Mentor email addresses you enter, access assignments, and the dates associated with records and changes.
• Information you choose to provide when requesting help or exercising privacy rights.

Do not upload passwords, payment credentials, medical records, identifiable patient information, or confidential employer, customer, or third-party material without proper authority. Avoid identifying people who have not agreed to appear in a photograph or recording.

3 Technical information and cookies

Hosting, sign-in, security, and other infrastructure providers may receive IP addresses, browser and device information, requested pages, request times, connection information, error information, and security or usage logs. Kitchen records feature usage and playback progress to operate limits, prevent misuse, and avoid treating interrupted speech as fully heard.

Kitchen and its sign-in providers use essential cookies for authentication, security, and session continuity. Kitchen stores an encrypted session identifier in a secure cookie and encrypted identity data in its application database. Kitchen sessions expire after a maximum of seven days; signing out revokes the current Kitchen session, and deleting Kitchen data revokes that member's Kitchen sessions. Provider sessions and records follow the provider's own settings and policies. Kitchen does not currently include an advertising network or a separate marketing analytics tracker in its application code. Advertising demonstration screens do not serve live advertisements.

Browser settings may let you block cookies or withdraw camera and microphone permission. Doing so can limit the affected features. We will update the notice and obtain consent where required before introducing optional advertising or tracking technologies.

4 Photographs and camera access

The standard browser upload flow resizes and re-encodes photographs as JPEG files, which normally discards metadata from the original file. This does not remove names, faces, location clues, or confidential information visible in the image. Do not assume every possible upload method removes metadata.

Camera access requires browser permission. A photograph selected or captured for submission is stored with the dish in private application storage. Image routes check account ownership or authorized mentor access for the relevant learning thread. When AI feedback is enabled, the dish image and relevant context are also sent for AI processing.

5 AI processing and voice features

OpenAI supplies the current AI text, transcription, and generated speech services. With instant AI feedback enabled, a photo upload can automatically start chef feedback. Kitchen sends the photograph, dish notes, cooking context, question, and relevant recent conversation to generate replies. The chef request does not deliberately include your sign-in email or account identifier; information you include in your own content may still identify you.

Turning off instant dish feedback stops new automatic chef feedback through that control. It does not turn off transcription when you choose a voice feature or Cheffy's processing of contributions in learning threads.

Live chef conversation: after you enable the microphone, short speech clips are submitted for transcription. Kitchen saves accepted spoken-question recordings in private application storage so transcription and requested feedback can finish after you close the browser. The resulting question can be saved as conversation text. Original spoken-question recordings are accessible through owner-only links in your account export and are removed when the associated dish or Kitchen account data is deleted. Stop releases microphone access; leaving the page or losing the connection pauses capture. While listening is enabled, nearby speech may also be captured, so use voice in an appropriate setting.

Saved voice reflections and mentor replies: recordings submitted to a learning thread are stored with their transcripts for playback by the learner and authorized mentors. Stopping a reflection recording with Save reflection submits it; Cancel discards the recording in the browser. A recording can also be submitted automatically when the recording limit is reached. These saved thread recordings can be played by the learner and authorized mentors; short chef-conversation originals have owner-only access.

Cheffy processes learner and mentor contribution text, author display names, and relevant AI takeaways through OpenAI to organize the existing takeaway sections. Account identifiers and mentor email addresses are not deliberately included in that summary request. Thread contributions are processed for these summaries automatically when the thread needs an updated summary. Saved text is also sent to OpenAI when generated speech is requested. Playback transcripts and progress may be saved; generated playback audio can be held temporarily in browser memory.

Kitchen does not use voice recordings to authenticate people, create voiceprints, or infer biometric identity. The seven AI chefs and their generated voices are fictional perspectives, not actual human mentors. Prepared examples and demonstration mentor audio are illustrative.

Kitchen sets response storage to false for its current text reply and takeaway requests. That setting is not a promise of zero provider retention. OpenAI states that API data is not used for model training by default unless an API customer opts in. Its standard abuse-monitoring logs may retain content for up to 30 days, with legal or safety exceptions; retention depends on the endpoint and configuration. We do not represent that Kitchen has approved zero-data-retention status. See OpenAI data controls and the OpenAI Privacy Policy.

6 Mentors and participant visibility

Adding a mentor by their sign-in email authorizes that account to access your existing and future dish and Culinary Radar reflection threads. This is an account-level assignment, not permission limited to one selected reflection. The mentor must also have access to the hosted site and sign in using the matching verified email.

Authorized mentors can see the learner name, relevant dish photograph and title, thread contributions, saved audio and transcripts, and thread takeaways, and can add replies. Other mentors authorized for the same learner can also see those thread contributions. Mentor assignment does not by itself provide unrestricted access to the learner's entire private AI conversation history or notebook.

Removing a mentor stops future access through that assignment. It does not recall information already viewed, exported, recorded, or copied. Removing access does not automatically erase the mentor's earlier contributions from the learner's thread. Mentors must respect participant privacy and use thread information only for the authorized learning relationship.

The Table community-sharing feature is currently disabled. Current uploads and reflections are not public community posts. A future sharing feature will require an explanation of its audience and a separate sharing action before private content is published.

7 How we use information

We use information to provide accounts and private journals; generate requested AI feedback, transcripts, speech, and takeaways; support authorized mentoring; save and retrieve learning records; respond to support and privacy requests; troubleshoot errors; monitor usage and costs; prevent fraud and abuse; and satisfy applicable legal obligations.

Optional ratings and feedback can inform service quality review. Submitting a rating does not automatically retrain an AI model. Kitchen does not use AI outputs to make admissions, employment, certification, eligibility, or other decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects.

Private photos, recordings, and identifiable reflections are not automatically licensed for Foundation advertising, fundraising stories, public research, or AI model training. Any such identifiable secondary use requires a separate appropriate permission or another applicable legal basis with notice. De-identified findings may inform service and program improvement when individuals cannot reasonably be identified.

8 Disclosure and service providers

Authorized Foundation personnel and service operators may access information as reasonably needed for support, security, administration, and the purposes described here. This means private from other ordinary users, not inaccessible to all administrators.

Current infrastructure includes OpenAI's Sites hosting, Auth0 authentication, managed Cloudflare database and private object storage, OpenAI AI services, and Upstash QStash background-job delivery. QStash receives opaque job identifiers and delivery metadata; Kitchen does not send photographs, recordings, prompts, or member profiles through that queue. Providers may process content, account or technical information as needed to supply their services, subject to their contracts, notices, and legal obligations. See the Cloudflare Privacy Policy and Upstash Privacy Policy. Other providers used for support communications or professional advice receive information only as needed for those functions.

We may disclose information at your direction; to authorized mentors; when required by law or valid legal process; to investigate misuse; to protect people, rights, or system security; to establish or defend legal claims; or in a lawful transfer or restructuring of Foundation operations subject to applicable safeguards.

We do not sell personal information for money, rent participant lists, or disclose Kitchen personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

9 Retention and deletion

Saved dishes, thread contributions, recordings, transcripts, and discoveries are generally kept while needed to provide your saved journal or authorized mentorship, unless you delete them or we remove them for a justified operational or legal reason. Kitchen does not currently apply a fixed automatic expiration to all saved learning records.

Kitchen saves operational background-job records so accepted work can continue after you close the browser. Scheduled maintenance generally removes completed or cancelled job records after seven days and failed job records after thirty days. These periods apply to operational job records, not the saved photographs, recordings, journal entries, questions, or replies themselves. Queue-provider delivery logs follow that provider's retention settings and policies.

You can delete individual dishes and discoveries and use Delete all my Sevenfold data in your profile. The account-data control removes your profile, dishes, related learning records and stored media, and access assignments from active Kitchen storage. It also removes contributions you authored in other learners' threads and clears affected saved summaries so they can be regenerated. It does not close your Auth0 or social sign-in provider account.

Support correspondence, security information, legal records, and information subject to a valid preservation obligation may require different retention periods. Deletion from active Kitchen storage does not necessarily immediately remove provider logs, any infrastructure backup copies, or copies other people previously made. Such information remains subject to applicable provider retention and legal requirements. We do not promise a verified independent backup or a specific recovery window for every record.

10 Security

We use administrative and technical safeguards appropriate to the service, including authenticated access, server-side ownership and mentor checks, private media routes, and protected service credentials. No internet service, electronic transmission, or storage system can guarantee absolute security.

If we learn of a security incident involving personal information, we will investigate and provide notices or other responses required by applicable law. You should protect your sign-in provider account, secure shared devices, and report suspected unauthorized access.

11 Your choices and privacy requests

Your profile offers a text-record export; photographs can be downloaded from saved dishes. Exported learning records include links to saved audio where available, rather than an offline bundle of all media. Contact us if you need help obtaining a copy of your information, correcting a record, deleting particular recordings or contributions, or removing data you cannot manage in the interface.

You can change critique settings, stop voice, revoke browser permissions, remove mentor assignments, and delete saved records. You may request access, correction, deletion, restriction, withdrawal of consent where applicable, or other rights provided by applicable law by emailing info@firstandfork.org with the subject Privacy Request.

We may verify identity proportionately and may limit a request where law permits or requires, including to protect another person's information or preserve required records. We will respond within the time required by applicable law. If a right of appeal or complaint to a privacy regulator applies, we will provide the relevant information. Exercising a right will not result in unlawful discrimination.

12 Minors

The current Kitchen account and interactive experience is intended for adults aged 18 or older, or the higher age of majority in their jurisdiction. It is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information through Kitchen.

A future Foundation program involving minors requires separate eligibility, authorization, safeguarding, and privacy arrangements before minors use the service. If you believe a child has submitted personal information without appropriate authorization, contact us so we can investigate and address it.

13 External services and donations

External article links, sign-in services, Foundation pages, and donation processors have their own privacy practices. Kitchen does not receive complete payment-card numbers, card security codes, or banking credentials through a Foundation donation link.

Making a donation does not by itself authorize disclosure of private learning records. Donations are optional and are not required to use the current free Kitchen experience. The separate Foundation and payment-provider notices govern information collected through their forms.

14 International use

The Foundation is based in Florida, United States. Participants may use Kitchen while abroad, including during an immersion. Our providers may process or store information in the United States and other countries where they operate. We have not configured a guaranteed country-specific storage location for all Kitchen information.

Those countries may have different privacy protections. Where applicable law requires a transfer mechanism, legal basis, or additional notice, we must satisfy that requirement; using Kitchen is not a blanket waiver of mandatory rights. Contact us about questions arising from international participation.

15 Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the service, providers, or legal requirements change. The effective date identifies the current version. Material changes will receive an appropriate notice, and we will obtain additional permission when required. A later policy does not retroactively authorize a materially different use of previously collected information where consent or another legal requirement applies.

16 Contact

First & Fork Foundation, Inc. operates Sevenfold: Kitchen at firstandfork.com. Send privacy questions and requests to info@firstandfork.org, with Privacy Request in the subject. The Foundation's separate Contact page is another way to reach us.

Related document: Sevenfold Kitchen Terms of Use.