Legal
Privacy Policy.
How we collect, use, and protect your information. Last updated June 1, 2026.
How we collect, use, and protect your information. Last updated June 1, 2026.
Privae is a service operated by Pickled Systems, Inc. ("Privae," "we," "our," or "us"). This Privacy Policy ("Policy") explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect Personal Information when you use the Privae mobile application, our websites, and any related features, communications, and services that link to this Policy (together, the "Services").
Privae is a marketplace that connects people who want to book in-home cooking and meal-preparation services ("Diners") with independent private chefs who offer those services ("Chefs"). The Services also include an optional grocery feature that lets Diners order the ingredients for a booking through our integration with Instacart. This Policy applies to both Diners and Chefs, as well as to anyone who visits our websites or otherwise interacts with us. Where a section applies only to one group, we say so.
The Services are intended for users in the United States only and are operated from the United States. This Policy is incorporated into and subject to our Terms of Service. By using the Services, you acknowledge the practices described in this Policy.
"Personal Information" means information that identifies, relates to, or could reasonably be linked with you or your household. It does not include de-identified or aggregated information that cannot reasonably be associated with you.
Depending on how you use the Services and whether you are a Diner or a Chef, we may collect the following categories:
Contact and account information: name, email address, phone number, postal/service address(es), username and login credentials, profile photo, and account preferences and settings.
Booking and transaction information: bookings requested and completed, service dates and locations, menus and meal selections, special instructions, order and payment history, promotional codes, ratings and reviews, and communications related to a booking.
Grocery and shopping information: when you use our optional grocery feature, the ingredient and shopping lists generated from your menu or booking and the status of lists you send to Instacart. This feature uses the Instacart Developer Platform: we generate a shoppable ingredient list and direct you to Instacart to review, pay for, and arrange delivery of your order. Checkout, payment, and delivery take place on Instacart's own platform, and we do not receive your grocery payment-card details (see Section 5).
Dietary and household information: food preferences, allergies, dietary restrictions, and information about your household or the people you are cooking for that you choose to provide. Some of this information may relate to your health and is treated as Sensitive Personal Information (see Section 6).
Payment information: payment-card and payout details and related billing information. Payment processing is handled by our third-party payment processor (Stripe); we store only limited payment-related details such as the last four digits of a card, the card brand, and transaction records. We do not store full payment-card numbers.
Communications: the content of in-app messages between Diners and Chefs, messages and calls with our support team, SMS/text messages, emails, and the dates, times, and outcomes of those communications.
Content you provide: reviews, ratings, photos, menus, and other content you submit or post through the Services.
Chef onboarding and verification information (Chefs only): government-issued identification, professional and food-safety certifications, work eligibility and tax information needed for payouts, and the results of background checks (which may include criminal-history and sex-offender-registry screening). This information is used to verify identity and eligibility and to help keep the marketplace safe. Some of this information is treated as Sensitive Personal Information (see Section 6).
Location information: approximate location derived from your IP address, and, if you grant permission, more precise device location used to match Diners with nearby Chefs and to support in-home service. You can enable or disable precise location at any time in your device settings; disabling it may affect certain features.
Device and usage information: IP address, device identifiers, device and operating-system type, browser type and settings, app version, language preferences, pages and screens viewed, links and features used, referring/exit pages, and similar analytics data collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies (see Section 7).
Information from third parties: information from service providers (such as identity-verification, background-check, payment, and analytics providers), advertising partners, and any person who provides information about you (for example, a Diner who provides details about household members). If you provide Personal Information about another person, you confirm you have the right to do so.
We collect Personal Information:
We use Personal Information to:
We use Sensitive Personal Information only for the purposes described in Section 6.
We disclose Personal Information as described below. We do not sell Personal Information for money. Certain advertising-related disclosures may qualify as "sale" or "sharing" under some state laws (see Section 8).
Between Diners and Chefs. To make a booking work, we share the information each side needs. For example, we share a Diner's name, service address, and booking details with the assigned Chef, and we share a Chef's name and profile with the Diner. We share only what is reasonably needed to provide the service.
Service providers. We disclose Personal Information to vendors that perform services for us, such as cloud hosting, payment processing (Stripe), identity verification and background checks (Didit, didit.me), communications (email and SMS providers, Google Workspace/Gmail, Zapier), analytics (Google Analytics), and advertising. These providers may use Personal Information only to perform services for us.
Advertising and analytics partners. We work with advertising and analytics partners, including Meta (via the Meta Pixel and similar tools), Reddit, LinkedIn, and Google, to deliver and measure advertising. See Sections 7 and 8.
Instacart (grocery ordering). Our optional grocery feature uses the Instacart Developer Platform. When you use it, we create a shoppable ingredient list from your menu or booking and direct you to Instacart to review and complete your order. We share the information needed to generate that list (such as the ingredient items). You then review, pay for, and arrange delivery of your order on Instacart's own platform, where you provide your delivery address and payment details directly to Instacart. We do not receive your grocery payment-card information. Instacart processes the information you provide it as an independent company under its own Privacy Policy. Because your grocery selections can reflect dietary or allergy needs, the list we send may include information that relates to your health.
Legal, safety, and compliance. We may disclose Personal Information to comply with law or valid legal process; to enforce our terms; to detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or safety issues; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Privae, our users, or others.
Corporate transactions. If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of assets, Personal Information may be disclosed or transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this Policy.
With your direction or consent. We disclose Personal Information in other ways with your consent or at your direction.
Some information we collect is considered "Sensitive Personal Information" under certain state laws, including:
We use and disclose Sensitive Personal Information only as needed to provide the Services, for safety, security, fraud-prevention, and legal-compliance purposes, and as otherwise permitted by law. We do not use Sensitive Personal Information to infer characteristics about you. Where the law requires consent to process Sensitive Personal Information, we will obtain it. For safety reasons, we retain a Chef's identifying details (including name, date of birth, address, and ID number) while the account is active so that we can respond to lawful requests from law enforcement relating to the Chef's activity on the Services (see Section 12).
We and our partners use cookies, pixels, SDKs, web beacons, and similar technologies to operate the Services, remember your preferences, measure usage, and deliver and measure advertising. This includes analytics tools such as Google Analytics and advertising tools such as the Meta Pixel.
You can control cookies through your browser settings. On mobile, you can limit ad tracking through your device settings; where required, iOS users will see Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt before we access certain device identifiers used for cross-app advertising. Disabling these technologies may affect how the Services function.
We disclose certain identifiers and usage information to advertising partners so we can show you relevant ads on third-party platforms and measure their performance. Under some state privacy laws, this kind of disclosure may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of Personal Information for targeted advertising.
You have the right to opt out. You can opt out by emailing us at info@privaechef.com with the subject "Do Not Sell or Share," and by adjusting your in-app advertising preferences.
We also honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals. If you visit our website with a browser or extension that sends a GPC signal, we will treat it as a request to opt out of "sale" or "sharing" for that browser.
We do not knowingly sell or share the Personal Information of anyone under 16.
Phone numbers collected for SMS marketing are not shared with or sold to third parties for their marketing purposes.
If you provide your mobile number and opt in, you agree to receive text messages from Privae (Pickled Systems, Inc.) at that number, including messages sent using automated technology. We offer two types of messages, and you consent to them separately:
Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. You can opt out of texts at any time by replying STOP, and you can get help by replying HELP. After you opt out, we may send a single message confirming the opt-out. We honor opt-out requests promptly and keep records of the consent you provide.
We share your mobile number and consent status only with vendors that help us send these messages, and not for their own marketing. Your SMS opt-in consent is not shared with third parties for purposes unrelated to delivering the messages.
The specific consent language we present at sign-up and our standard message scripts are set out in Appendix A.
We may send you promotional emails about Privae and our Services. You can opt out at any time using the unsubscribe link in those emails or by updating your account preferences. Even if you opt out of marketing, we may still send you transactional and account-related messages (such as booking confirmations and service notices).
Depending on where you live and subject to legal exceptions, you may have the right to:
How to exercise your rights. You can manage much of your information directly in the app. To make a rights request, email us at info@privaechef.com. We will verify your identity before responding and may decline requests where an exception applies. You may use an authorized agent where the law allows. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
We aim to respond within the timeframes required by applicable law.
We keep Personal Information for as long as needed to provide the Services and for the purposes described in this Policy. As a general rule, we retain each category of Personal Information for the longest of the following periods: (a) the period your account remains active; (b) the period needed for the purpose for which it was collected; (c) any period required by applicable law (including tax, accounting, financial-services, and consumer-reporting requirements); or (d) the longest applicable statute-of-limitations period for a legal claim relating to that information, plus a reasonable buffer. We may also retain information longer when subject to a legal hold. When information is no longer needed, we delete or de-identify it; residual copies may persist in secure backups until those backups are overwritten.
The following periods reflect our intended retention defaults.
| Category | Intended retention |
|---|---|
| Account, profile, and contact information | Life of the account, then up to 7 years after account closure (longer where a longer statute of limitations or legal hold applies) |
| Booking, transaction, payment, and tax records | 7 years from the transaction (to meet tax and accounting obligations and cover dispute windows) |
| Government-issued ID and identity-verification records (Chefs) | Retained while the account is active and operated. We retain at minimum the Chef's name, date of birth, address, and ID number so we can respond to lawful requests from law enforcement relating to the Chef's activity on the Services. |
| Background-check results (Chefs) | Retained while the account is active and operated, then securely disposed of, subject to FCRA and state consumer-reporting and secure-disposal rules, and any applicable legal hold |
| Other Sensitive Personal Information (e.g., dietary/allergy, precise geolocation) | Retained while the account is active and operated, and only as needed to provide the relevant feature; deleted or de-identified afterward, except where retained for the law-enforcement purpose above or as required by law |
| Communications and customer-support records | Up to 7 years from the communication |
| Reviews and other content you post publicly | Until you delete it or close your account, then up to 7 years, except as needed to preserve the integrity of the marketplace |
| Device, usage, and analytics data | Up to 3 years, or longer where needed for security, fraud prevention, or legal purposes |
| Marketing contact data | Until you withdraw consent or opt out; we retain a record of your opt-out on a suppression list indefinitely so we can continue to honor it |
We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of Personal Information, consistent with applicable law, including the New York SHIELD Act. These safeguards are reasonably designed for the size and complexity of our business and the sensitivity of the information we handle, and include measures such as access controls, encryption in transit, vendor diligence, employee practices, and timely disposal of information we no longer need. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
If a breach of security affecting your private information occurs, we will notify affected individuals and regulators as required by applicable law and within the timeframes the law requires (for New York residents, generally within a maximum of 30 days, as required by the SHIELD Act and related New York law).
The Services are operated from the United States and are intended for U.S. users. Some members of our team and certain service providers are located outside the United States, including in the European Union. As a result, your Personal Information may be accessed from, processed in, or transferred to countries outside the United States. We take steps to ensure such processing is subject to appropriate safeguards consistent with this Policy and applicable law.
The Services are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us Personal Information, please contact us at info@privaechef.com and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.
Residents of U.S. states that have comprehensive consumer privacy laws have specific rights regarding their Personal Information. These rights, and how to exercise them, are described below and in Section 11. To submit a request, use the methods in Section 11; we will verify your identity before responding, and you may use an authorized agent where the law allows. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights. Where the law provides a right to appeal a decision on your request, you may appeal by contacting us at info@privaechef.com.
This Notice at Collection summarizes the categories of Personal Information we collect, the purposes for which we use each category, and whether we "sell" or "share" it (as those terms are defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended). For our retention periods, see Section 12. California residents' rights and how to exercise them are described in Section 11.
| Category (CCPA) | Examples we collect | Purposes | Sold or Shared? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | Name, email, phone, postal/service address, IP address, account credentials | Provide and operate the Services; communications; security and fraud prevention; legal compliance | Shared for targeted advertising (see Section 8) |
| Customer records (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.80(e)) | Contact details, limited payment-related details, payout/tax details (Chefs) | Provide the Services; process payments and payouts; tax and accounting | No |
| Commercial information | Bookings, menus, order history, grocery lists, reviews | Provide and operate the Services; personalization; improvement | No |
| Internet/network activity | App and site interactions, pages/screens viewed, features used | Operate, secure, and improve the Services; analytics | Shared for targeted advertising (see Section 8) |
| Geolocation data | Approximate location; precise location (with permission) | Match Diners and Chefs; support in-home service | No |
| Audio/visual information | Photos and content you submit; call recordings (if any) | Provide the Services; support; quality and safety | No |
| Professional/employment information (Chefs) | Certifications, work eligibility, background-check results | Verify identity and eligibility; marketplace safety; legal compliance | No |
| Sensitive Personal Information | Government ID (Chefs), precise geolocation, dietary/allergy (health-related) information | Provide the Services; verify identity; safety, security, fraud prevention, and legal compliance only (see Section 6) | No |
| Inferences | Preferences drawn from your activity | Personalization and improvement | No |
We do not sell Personal Information for money. We use and disclose Sensitive Personal Information only for the purposes permitted under California law, and not to infer characteristics about you; accordingly, the right to limit the use of Sensitive Personal Information may not apply.
If you are a California resident, you have the right to:
We do not knowingly sell or share the Personal Information of consumers under 16. We do not use or disclose Sensitive Personal Information beyond the purposes permitted under California law. We do not offer financial incentives in exchange for Personal Information.
Shine the Light. California Civil Code §1798.83 permits California residents to request information about disclosures of certain Personal Information to third parties for those third parties' direct-marketing purposes. We do not disclose Personal Information to third parties for their own direct marketing.
If you are a resident of another state with a comprehensive consumer privacy law, including Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Texas, Oregon, and others, you generally have the rights to confirm and access your Personal Information, correct it, delete it, obtain a portable copy, and opt out of targeted advertising, the sale of Personal Information, and certain profiling. You may also appeal a decision on your request as described above. We honor recognized universal opt-out mechanisms, including Global Privacy Control (GPC) (see Section 8). Processing of Sensitive Personal Information is subject to consent where the applicable state law requires it.
New York does not currently have a comprehensive consumer privacy law that grants access, deletion, or correction rights. New York residents are protected primarily by the SHIELD Act, which requires us to maintain reasonable data-security safeguards and to notify residents of certain data breaches (see Section 13). We extend the request mechanisms described in Section 11 to all U.S. users.
The Services may link to or integrate with third-party websites and services that we do not control, including Instacart (see Section 5). This Policy does not apply to those third parties, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies.
We may update this Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above and, where required, provide additional notice. Your continued use of the Services after an update means the updated Policy applies to you.
Pickled Systems, Inc. (operating as Privae)
447 Broadway, New York, NY 10013
Email: info@privaechef.com
Privacy and data requests: info@privaechef.com
Service messages (separate checkbox):
[ ] Text me booking confirmations, reminders, and account updates at the number above. Message frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to cancel, HELP for help.
Marketing messages (separate, optional checkbox):
[ ] I agree to receive recurring marketing texts from Privae (Pickled Systems, Inc.) at the number provided, including via automated technology. Consent is not a condition of any purchase. Message frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to cancel, HELP for help. See our Privacy Policy and Terms.
Keep the two consents separate so a user can take service texts without marketing texts. Store a timestamped record of each consent and the exact language shown.
A confirmation message is not strictly required by the TCPA, but carriers and the CTIA expect it for marketing programs, and your 10DLC registration assumes it. Send exactly one:
Privae: You're signed up for [account or marketing] texts. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel.
STOP (and cancel, end, quit, unsubscribe):
You're unsubscribed from Privae texts. No more messages will be sent. Reply HELP for help.
HELP (and info):
Privae help: info@privaechef.com. Msg & data rates may apply. Msg frequency varies. Reply STOP to cancel.