Guest Mode, Google Sign-In, Backup and Privacy in Degchi: What Gets Stored

Two ways to use Degchi

Some people want an app that works the second they open it. Others want their data safe if the phone gets dropped in the sink. Degchi supports both, and you can switch whenever you like.

Guest mode needs no account. Your pantry, shopping list, favourites, reminders and settings all live on your phone and nowhere else. Uninstalling the app or clearing its data removes them.

Google sign-in is optional and uses Google only. In the app it appears as "Sign in with Google", and the note on the Me tab explains that it lets you back up your kitchen and use family sync.

What you give up as a guest

The sign-in screen is honest about this. If you continue as a guest, you will not get:

• family sync across phones
• backup if you lose your phone
• publishing your own recipes

Everything else in the kitchen works: tracking your pantry, seeing what you can cook, cooking step by step, and the shopping list. For plenty of households that is enough, especially with a single phone.

What happens when you sign in

When you sign in with Google, we receive your email address, your display name and profile photo as Google shares them, plus an internal user ID. Then your data is synced to our servers so it survives a phone change and can be shared with your family. That covers:

• pantry items
• your shopping list
• favourite recipes and likes
• settings such as language, theme, meal times and reminders

If you create or join a family, members of the same household can see each other's name and profile photo, and share the household pantry, shopping list, dinner votes and item requests. Only the household owner can change permissions or remove members. The family setup guide covers this step by step.

To send timers, meal reminders and family alerts, the app also registers a device token for push notifications, along with your language and app version.

Delete it any time

You can delete your account and its data yourself. In the app, go to Me → Delete account and confirm. If you cannot get into the app, there is a form on the account deletion page. Your data, including copies in backups, is removed within 30 days, apart from any records the law requires us to keep. Guest users have nothing in the cloud, so uninstalling is enough.

The full details live in the privacy policy, which we keep up to date. Degchi is meant for people aged 13 and over, all connections use HTTPS, and we do not sell personal data.

Free, and how the ads work

Degchi is free. It is supported by a small number of ads, which are always labelled "Sponsored" and appear in only two places: one card on the Home screen and one banner at the end of a recipe. They never appear during cook mode, market mode or onboarding, so a pot on the stove never competes with an advert.

If you would rather not see the recipe cards, the Me tab has a "Sponsored cards" switch. During the beta, only test ads are served, so there is no real ad spend or personalisation yet.

For reliability we also collect basic usage and crash reports, which help us find bugs such as a screen that fails to open. Our analytics rules say these events never carry names, emails or anything you type.

Asking for little up front

A kitchen app should not ask for a lot before it is useful. Degchi lets you cook, plan and shop as a guest, then adds backup and family features only when you choose them. You stay in charge of your data: you can see what is stored, switch the sponsored recipe cards off, and delete everything from inside the app.

If your household needs a quick drink for the weeknight list, try it as a guest first. Lassi, mango lassi and doi ghol are all in the recipe library and take ten minutes or less.

Join when you are ready

Degchi is in beta, free, and still growing. To try it, join the Degchi beta with your Gmail address on the homepage, and tell us what you would like it to do next.