Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

CookDoor is a technology company. We operate an online marketplace that helps customers discover and book independent chefs, and helps chefs receive bookings. Our legal name, GSTIN, and registered office appear on GST invoices issued by CookDoor for platform charges. Contact privacy@cookdoor.in for privacy requests.

CookDoor is the data fiduciary for personal data we collect to run the website, apps, accounts, payments, and support. We are not the chef’s employer, restaurant, or kitchen operator. A chef you book is an independent service provider. That chef is responsible for cooking, food safety, recipes, hygiene, and any mistake they make at your premises.

2. Scope of this Policy

This Policy covers personal data processed by CookDoor as a company. It does not make CookDoor liable for the chef’s service. If a chef mishandles food, damages property, injures a person, arrives late, or otherwise fails in the kitchen, responsibility for that work sits with the chef, subject to applicable law. CookDoor’s role is limited to the platform: listing, booking tools, payments we process, and customer support about the account or the order record.

3. Whose data we process

• Customers who create an account, book a chef, pay, chat, or contact support
• Chefs who apply, complete KYC, go online, or accept jobs
• CookDoor staff who operate the platform
• Visitors who load public pages (limited technical data)

4. Personal data we collect

Account: name, email, mobile number, password hash, city, area, address, flat, landmark, pincode, and a profile photo if you upload one.

Bookings: selected chef, date, time, hours, guest count, kitchen notes, menu, diet notes, access or parking notes, map pin if you set one, booking status, amounts, and GST invoice fields for CookDoor invoices.

Payments: amount, method (UPI, card, or wallet), payment-gateway order and payment identifiers, and success or failure. We do not store full card numbers, CVV, or UPI PIN. The payment partner processes those under its own policy.

Chefs: professional profile, KYC documents, availability, service radius, job history on the platform, and ratings from customers who have been served.

Communications: support tickets, in-app chat, and device tokens used to send booking alerts.

Technical: session cookies, login times, approximate IP address, browser or app version, and security logs.

5. How chefs receive your details

When you confirm a booking, CookDoor shares with the assigned chef only what is needed to perform that job: your name, service address, contact number as required, time, menu, and access notes. The chef must use that information solely to complete the CookDoor booking. The chef must not use customer data for unrelated marketing, selling, or any other purpose.

Once the chef is at your kitchen, they act independently. CookDoor does not supervise the cooking in real time. Any error in preparation, hygiene, allergen handling, or behaviour at the premises is the chef’s responsibility. Report serious incidents to Support so we can review the chef’s access to the platform. That review does not transfer legal liability for the chef’s work onto CookDoor.

6. Why CookDoor uses data

• Create and secure your CookDoor account
• Operate the marketplace: match listings, confirm bookings, and share job details with the assigned chef
• Take payment for platform bookings, issue CookDoor GST invoices, prevent fraud, and process refunds under our Refund Policy
• Send transactional SMS, email, or push notices (booking confirmed, chef assigned, reminders)
• Optional WhatsApp or SMS marketing only if you opt in
• Verify chefs (KYC) and operate chef payouts
• Improve availability, maps, and support quality
• Comply with Indian tax, dispute, and lawful requests

We rely on your consent where the law requires it (for example marketing messages and certain KYC), and on performance of a contract and uses permitted under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) to operate a secure marketplace.

7. Sharing by CookDoor

CookDoor shares personal data only as needed to run the company platform:

• Assigned chef: job details listed in section 5, so they can attend the booking. The chef is not CookDoor staff.
• Payment gateway (for example Razorpay): payer identifiers, amount, and order reference
• Map or tile providers: coordinates or address text you choose to display a map
• Hosting, SMS, and email vendors: to run the apps and send OTPs or notices, under contract
• KYC or background vendors: for chef verification
• Authorities: when Indian law or a valid order requires it

CookDoor does not sell personal data. We do not transfer liability for a chef’s cooking or conduct to the company by sharing job details.

8. Cookies and similar technology

We use essential cookies and sessions to keep you signed in and to protect forms. If we enable analytics cookies later, we will describe them here and collect consent where required. You may block non-essential cookies in your browser. The site may not stay logged in without session cookies.

9. Retention

We keep account and booking records while the account is active and afterwards as needed for tax, GST, chargebacks, and legal claims. KYC copies are kept as required for partner compliance. You may ask us to erase data we are not required to keep. We may retain a minimal record of the request.

10. Security

CookDoor uses access controls, hashed passwords, HTTPS in production, and limited staff access. No method is perfectly secure. Write to privacy@cookdoor.in if you believe a CookDoor account was compromised. Platform security does not mean CookDoor guarantees a chef’s food safety or kitchen conduct.

11. Your rights

Subject to the DPDP Act and other Indian law, you may access and correct your CookDoor profile, withdraw consent for optional messages, request a copy of data CookDoor holds, or ask for deletion of your account. You may complain to our grievance contact below and thereafter to the Data Protection Board of India as the DPDP Act allows.

To request deletion, use Support or email privacy@cookdoor.in from your registered email. We may need to verify you. Open bookings and unpaid dues may need to be closed first.

12. Children

CookDoor is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly create accounts for minors. If you believe a minor’s data was submitted, contact privacy@cookdoor.in and we will delete it where required.

13. Cross-border processing

Servers and vendors may process data in India or in countries where our processors operate. We will follow DPDP rules on cross-border transfer when they apply.

14. Automated listing

Chef lists may be filtered by time, distance, verification, price, rating, and online status so you can choose a partner. This does not transfer the chef’s cooking duties to CookDoor.

15. Changes

We will update this Policy when our practices or the law change. The date at the top will be revised. Material changes may be notified in the app or by email where appropriate.

16. Grievance and data protection contact

• Privacy: privacy@cookdoor.in
• Grievance officer: grievance@cookdoor.in
• Help: Help centre and in-app Support

We aim to acknowledge privacy complaints promptly and to resolve them in line with the DPDP Act and applicable IT Rules timelines. Complaints about a chef’s cooking or conduct at a booking should also be raised in Support so we can review the chef’s listing. That process does not make CookDoor the party who cooked the meal.