Information We Collect
When you use PitmasterSocial, we collect:
- Email address and name (via Google, Microsoft, or Apple authentication)
- BBQ recipes and cooking notes you save
- Community posts and comments you create
- Chat messages you send in community channels
- Photos you upload to recipes, posts, and your profile
- Your grill type, experience level and BBQ style preferences (set during onboarding or on your profile)
- Members you follow, cooks you log, cook-off entries and votes, badges you earn
- A push notification token for your device, only if you turn notifications on
- Product usage events (which screens you open, searches you run, recipes you view or cook, links you tap) — first-party, kept on our own servers, with a random device id for signed-out visitors
We do not use third-party advertising or tracking SDKs. Usage events never include message text, comment text or email addresses; the only free text recorded is a search query.
How We Use Your Information
- To provide personalized BBQ recipe recommendations
- To enable community features and discussions
- To save your cooking history and preferences
- To provide AI-powered cooking guidance and recipe suggestions
- To moderate content and keep the community safe
- To send push notifications you have opted into (replies, mentions, follows, cook-off results, badges)
- To understand which features are used so we can improve the app, and to report aggregate numbers (never individual members) to sponsors or affiliate programmes
- To improve our service and user experience
Affiliate Links, Shop and Support
Some "Gear used" and Shop links are affiliate links. If you buy through them, PitmasterSocial earns a small commission at no extra cost to you; it helps cover server costs. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. When you tap an affiliate link we record the click (product, source page, and your member id if you are signed in) to count referrals; the retailer's own privacy policy applies once you leave. Support via Ko-fi and future merch purchases happen entirely on those services' websites; we receive no payment details.
Data Sharing
We do not sell your personal information. We share data only:
- With your consent (e.g., when you post to the community)
- To comply with legal obligations
- With service providers who help operate our platform
Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access your personal data
- Correct inaccurate data
- Request deletion of your data
- Export your data (Profile › Download my data)
- Opt-out of certain data collection
🗑️ Deleting Your Account & Data
You can permanently delete your account and associated data at any time, directly in the app:
- Open the PitmasterSocial app and sign in
- Tap the menu icon (☰) to open the navigation drawer
- Tap Profile
- Scroll to the bottom and tap Delete Account
- Confirm when prompted — deletion is immediate and cannot be undone
When you delete your account, we remove your profile and private data (saved recipes, cooking notes, preferences, and viewing history). Content you posted publicly to the community is anonymized so it can no longer be linked to you.
If you can't access the app, you can also request deletion by email:
- Email us at:[email protected]
- Include the email address used for login
- We will process your request within 30 days
Note: Some records may be retained for legal compliance, fraud prevention, or safety and moderation purposes (for example, records relating to account bans).
Cookies and Tracking
We use cookies and similar technologies to:
- Keep you logged in
- Remember your preferences (theme, grill type)
- Analyze site usage and improve performance
Third-Party Services
We use third-party services including:
- Google OAuth for authentication
- Microsoft OAuth for authentication
- Apple Sign In for authentication
- YouTube API for video content
- Google Gemini for AI-powered features
- Google Perspective API for content moderation
- Cloudinary for image hosting and delivery
- Pusher for real-time chat
- Railway for backend hosting and database storage
- Vercel for web hosting
These services have their own privacy policies.
Children's Privacy
PitmasterSocial is not intended for users under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect information from children.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify users of significant changes via email or site notification.
Contact Us
For privacy questions or concerns:
Last Updated: September 14, 2026