Privacy Policy

1. Scope

INSTEAD, USA. Contact: info@insteadtry.com.

This policy applies to the INSTEAD website and INSTEAD mobile applications for iOS and Android (together, the “Services”). It does not apply to third-party websites, products, or services that may be mentioned in a guide.

2. Information you provide

Browsing needs no account. Community participation uses email-code sign-in. If you sign in, Supabase processes your email address to send a one-time code and maintain your account. We store comments, recipe submissions, optional photos, votes, and reports you submit. Pending recipes and photos are visible only to their submitter and administrators. We do not ask for a password, legal name, or payment information. Do not put private information in comments, recipes, or photos.

If you contact support, we receive the information you choose to send, such as your email address, message, device type, or screenshots. Do not include sensitive personal information that is not needed to answer your request.

3. Information used by the Services

Saved guides and cached content

The mobile apps store saved-guide identifiers on your device. The website stores saved-guide identifiers in your browser’s local storage. Signed-in sessions are stored locally on your device or browser so you can stay signed in. Signing out removes the local session. This lets saved guides remain available and helps the Services remain useful when the network is unavailable. INSTEAD does not receive this local storage merely because you use the save feature.

Network and service information

Supabase provides authentication and the shared community database. Public responses include community content, dates, and vote totals; they do not include email addresses or account identifiers. Reports and account information are not public. As with ordinary internet traffic, the service provider may process technical request information such as an IP address, user agent, timestamps, and diagnostic or security logs to deliver content, prevent abuse, and maintain the service.

Information we do not request

The current Services do not request access to precise location, contacts, camera, microphone, health records, or advertising identifiers. We do not use advertising SDKs or behavioral tracking tools. You can optionally select up to three recipe photos through the system photo picker or browser. Only selected images are uploaded. Photos are stored privately in Supabase until publication. Temporary photo links may remain usable for up to five minutes after content is hidden.

We store the safety acknowledgement version and acceptance date locally on your device or browser. The first-use device record is not uploaded. Signed-in contributors explicitly accept the current community terms separately; Supabase stores the account ID, policy version, and server-recorded acceptance time for each accepted version. Clearing storage, reinstalling, using another device, or a new acknowledgement version may show the notice again.

4. How information is used

Information is used only as reasonably necessary to:

deliver guides and operate email sign-in, comments, votes, and moderation;

operate, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the Services;

respond to support, privacy, accessibility, or safety reports;

comply with law and protect users, INSTEAD, and others.

5. Service providers and disclosure

Supabase provides authentication, database, and recipe photo storage. Amazon Web Services SES sends sign-in emails through Supabase. Service providers may process information to operate and protect these services under their applicable terms and privacy practices.

We do not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. Information may be disclosed if reasonably necessary to comply with law, address fraud or security, protect safety or legal rights, or complete a business reorganization subject to appropriate protections.

6. Retention and deletion

Saved guides and cached content remain locally until you remove them, clear the app or browser storage, or uninstall the app. Support messages may be kept while a request is handled and as reasonably necessary for security, recordkeeping, or legal obligations. Infrastructure logs are retained only as reasonably necessary for service operation, security, and provider requirements.

You can delete your own comments and remove your votes in the product discussion. Account, comment, recipe, vote, and report records otherwise remain until deleted or removed through moderation. You can withdraw your recipes; they disappear from the directory, and the app attempts to remove their photo files. Withdrawn text and failed photo cleanups remain available to administrators until purged. Blocked-contributor records are private to the blocking account and include a short content excerpt for identifying the block; removing the block removes that record. To request account deletion, use the signed-in account controls in a topic or contact support from your account email. Requests hide your public content and disable contributions while permanent deletion is attempted. If automatic deletion fails, the request remains pending for retry or support assistance. Deleting an account removes its community comments, recipes, votes, and reports. Stored recipe photos are removed before the account is deleted. Failed cleanup keeps the deletion request pending. See the Support page for help. Clearing local storage does not delete server records.

7. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards appropriate to the current Services. No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure.

8. Children

The Services are intended for a general audience and are not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children through the current Services. Contact us if you believe a child has provided personal information.

9. Community contributions

Approved community contributions are public. Pending or rejected content is visible only to its author and administrators. Moderation does not establish professional approval or safety. Other people may copy public content before you delete it. Reports are available to moderators, and content may be hidden or removed for safety, abuse, or other service concerns. Email verification establishes access to an inbox; it does not verify a person’s identity or expertise.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the Services change. The revised policy will show a new “Last updated” date. If a change materially affects how personal information is handled, we will provide additional notice where appropriate.

11. Contact

Questions and requests: info@insteadtry.com. For account deletion, contact support from your account email so the request can be verified.