Cookbook Index — Last updated September 2, 2026
Your cookbooks, recipes, tags, and scan history are stored locally on your device. Cookbook Index does not collect, sell, or share your personal information.
The camera and photo library are used only to scan cookbook index pages and add cover or recipe photos you choose. Scanning and text recognition happen entirely on-device using Apple's Vision framework — images are never uploaded.
If you enable iCloud sync (a premium feature), your library is stored in your private iCloud database, accessible only to you. Apple's privacy policy applies to iCloud storage. Sync can be turned off at any time in Settings.
Cookbook Index offers an optional community section where you can share a cookbook index with other users. If you choose to upload, that index data — recipe names, page numbers, and the cookbook's title, author and ISBN — is stored in Apple's iCloud (CloudKit) public database and is visible to other users of the app. No recipe content, instructions, notes or photos are shared.
An anonymous identifier derived from your iCloud account is stored alongside anything you contribute: uploaded indexes, and the votes and reports you cast on other people's. It is used to associate contributions with your account so you can manage or remove them, to keep one vote per person, and to let others block a contributor. It is not your name, email address, or Apple ID, and it cannot be used to identify you outside this app.
You can delete your submissions at any time from within the app, under Settings → Community → My contributions. Deleting an upload removes it for everyone, though anyone who already imported it keeps their own copy. Contributors you block are recorded only on your device and are never uploaded.
Shared indexes must be your own transcription of a cookbook you own, and must not contain offensive, abusive or unlawful wording. Submissions are checked before upload and rejected if they contain such wording. Anyone can report a shared index from within the app, and reports are reviewed within 24 hours; content that breaks these rules is removed and repeat offenders lose access to sharing. You can also block a contributor to hide everything they have shared.
When you scan a book's barcode or search by ISBN, the ISBN is sent to the Open Library API to fetch the title, author, and cover image. No personal or device information is included in these requests.
If you connect a self-hosted recipe manager (such as Tandoor) to import recipes, the app communicates directly with the server address and API key you provide. Cookbook Index does not relay or store this traffic anywhere else.
Purchases are processed by Apple. Cookbook Index receives only the purchase status from StoreKit — no payment information is visible to the app.
Cookbook Index does not use any third-party analytics, advertising, or tracking services. Basic usage counters (such as number of scans) are kept locally on your device and never transmitted.
Cookbook Index is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect data from anyone, regardless of age.
Questions? Reach out at joem.dev@icloud.com.