# Terms of Service
**Last updated:** 09/07/2026
Welcome to Family Recipe Vault. These Terms govern your use of the website
– myfamilyrecipevault.com – (the “Site”) and the recipe scanning service we provide (the
“Service”).
Family Recipe Vault is operated by Armand Storm, a sole proprietor based in South
Africa (“we”, “us”, “our”). You can contact us at **admin@myfamilyrecipevault.com**.
By using the Site or buying scan credits, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree,
please do not use the Service.
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1. What we provide
Family Recipe Vault lets you upload a photograph of a handwritten or printed recipe. We use
an artificial intelligence service to read that image and convert it into a structured
digital recipe, which you may then review, edit, save, download as a PDF, and share.
We provide the Service on an “as is” basis. While we work hard to make the extraction
accurate, **AI transcription is not perfect**. You are responsible for reviewing and
correcting the extracted recipe before relying on it. We do not guarantee that every
ingredient, quantity, or instruction will be read correctly, particularly from faded,
damaged, or difficult handwriting.
2. Accounts
– You need an account to buy scan credits and use the Service.
– You are responsible for keeping your login details secure and for activity under your
account.
– You must provide accurate information when registering.
– You must be at least 18 years old, or have permission from a parent or guardian.
3. Scan credits and payment
– The Service is sold as **prepaid scan credits** (for example, a pack of 5, 20, or 50
scans). There is no free tier.
– **One credit is used each time a recipe is successfully scanned.**
– Credits are linked to your account and are not transferable to another person.
– Prices are shown in South African Rand (ZAR) and include any applicable taxes unless
stated otherwise.
– Payments are processed by **PayFast**, a third-party payment provider. We do not store
your card details.
– Credits do not expire, unless we tell you otherwise with reasonable notice.
4. Refunds
Our refund position is set out in full in our **Refund Policy**, which forms part of these
Terms. In summary:
– **Unused credits** may be refunded within **7 days** of purchase.
– **Used scans** are not refundable, because the service has already been delivered.
– If a scan fails due to a fault on our side, we will re-credit or refund that scan.
5. Your content
– You keep ownership of the recipes, photographs, and stories you upload (“Your Content”).
– By uploading, you grant us a limited licence to store and process Your Content **solely
in order to provide the Service to you** (for example, to run the AI extraction, display
your recipe, and generate your PDF).
– We do not sell Your Content, and we do not publish it publicly unless you choose to
share or publish it.
– You confirm that you have the right to upload the material you submit.
6. Sharing
The Service lets you generate a private link so that family and friends can view or
download a recipe. **Anyone with that link can view that recipe.** Please share links only
with people you trust.
7. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
– upload unlawful, offensive, or infringing material;
– attempt to disrupt, overload, reverse-engineer, or gain unauthorised access to the Site;
– use automated tools to abuse the scanning service;
– resell the Service without our written permission.
We may suspend or terminate accounts that breach these Terms.
8. Third-party services
The Service depends on third parties, including our AI provider and our payment provider
(PayFast). Their availability is outside our control. We are not liable for outages,
errors, or changes caused by third-party services.
9. Availability
We aim to keep the Service available, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted access. We may
change, suspend, or discontinue parts of the Service, and will give reasonable notice where
we can.
10. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by South African law:
– We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential loss.
– Our total liability to you for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the amount
you paid us in the **3 months** before the claim arose.
– Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including
rights you have under the **Consumer Protection Act, 2008**.
**Important:** please keep your original recipe cards. The Service is a way to preserve and
share them digitally, it is not a substitute for keeping the originals safe.
11. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page
and change the “Last updated” date. Continuing to use the Service after a change means you
accept the new Terms.
12. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the **Republic of South Africa**, and the South
African courts have jurisdiction over any dispute.
Privacy Policy
**Last updated:** 09/07/2026
This policy explains what personal information Family Recipe Vault collects, why we collect
it, and what rights you have. We take your privacy seriously, the recipes you upload are
often deeply personal, and we treat them that way.
Family Recipe Vault is operated by Armand Storm, a sole proprietor in South Africa.
For the purposes of the *Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA)*, we are the
“responsible party” for your information.
**Contact:** admin@myfamilyrecipevault.com
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1. What we collect
**Information you give us:**
– Your **name and email address** when you create an account.
– **Recipe images** you upload (photographs of recipe cards, cookbook pages, notes).
– **Recipe content** you save — titles, ingredients, instructions, and any personal story
you choose to add.
– **Billing information** you enter at checkout (see “Payments” below).
**Information collected automatically:**
– Basic technical data such as IP address, browser type, and pages visited, used to keep the
Site secure and working.
– Cookies necessary for logging in and keeping items in your cart.
2. Why we use it
We use your information only to:
– create and manage your account;
– process your uploaded image through our AI provider to extract the recipe;
– store and display your saved recipes and generate your PDFs;
– process payments and grant your scan credits;
– respond to your support questions;
– keep the Site secure and prevent abuse.
We do **not** sell your personal information, and we do **not** use your recipes for
advertising.
3. Your recipe images and content
This is the part that matters most to our users, so we want to be clear:
– **We store the recipe photographs you upload.** This is necessary so that your original
card can be displayed on your recipe and included on your PDF (the “nostalgia snapshot”).
– Your recipes are **private by default**. They are visible only to you unless you choose
to publish them or generate a share link.
– If you create a **share link**, anyone who has that link can view that recipe. Share it
only with people you trust.
– **You may delete your recipes at any time**, which removes the associated content.
– You may request that we delete your account and all associated data — see “Your rights”.
4. AI processing
To extract your recipe, we send your uploaded image to a third-party AI provider
(**Anthropic**) for processing. The image is transmitted securely and processed to return
the recipe text. We do not send your name, email, or payment details to the AI provider.
5. Payments
Payments are processed by **PayFast**, a South African payment provider. Your card details
are entered on PayFast’s systems and **we never see or store your full card number**.
PayFast processes your information under its own privacy policy.
6. Sharing your information
We share personal information only with parties who help us run the Service:
– **PayFast** to process payments.
– **Anthropic** to perform the AI recipe extraction.
– **Our hosting provider** to store the Site and its data.
We may also disclose information if required by law.
7. Security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information,
including secure (HTTPS) connections and restricted access to our systems. No online service
can be perfectly secure, but we take this responsibility seriously.
8. How long we keep it
– We keep your account information and recipes for as long as your account is active.
– If you delete a recipe, its content and image are removed.
– If you close your account or ask us to delete your data, we will delete it within a
reasonable period, except where we must keep records (for example, transaction records for
tax purposes).
9. Your rights under POPIA
You have the right to:
– **access** the personal information we hold about you;
– **correct** information that is inaccurate;
– **delete** your information, subject to any legal obligations we have to keep records;
– **object** to processing in certain circumstances;
– **complain** to the Information Regulator of South Africa.
To exercise any of these rights, email **admin@myfamilyrecipevault.com**.
**Information Regulator (South Africa)**
Website: https://inforegulator.org.za
10. Children
The Service is not intended for children under 18. We do not knowingly collect information
from children.
11. Cookies
We use only the cookies necessary to run the Site, keeping you logged in and remembering
your cart. We do not use advertising cookies.
12. Changes
We may update this policy. We will post the new version here and update the “Last updated”
date.
13. Contact
Questions or requests: **admin@myfamilyrecipevault.com**
13. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Email **admin@myfamilyrecipevault.com**.
Refund Policy
**Last updated:** 09/07/2026
We want you to be happy with Family Recipe Vault. This policy explains when you can get a
refund on scan credits, and how to ask for one.
This policy forms part of our **Terms of Service** and should be read with them. It does not
take away any rights you have under South African law, including the
**Consumer Protection Act, 2008** and the **Electronic Communications and Transactions Act,
2002**.
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1. Used scans are not refundable
Once you have used a credit to scan a recipe, that service has been delivered, you have
received the extracted recipe and can download the PDF. Used scans cannot be refunded.
2. If something goes wrong on our side
If a scan fails because of a technical fault with our Service, for example, the system
returns an error, or nothing is extracted at all **we will re-credit that scan to your
account, or refund it if you prefer.** Just contact us and tell us which scan was affected.
3. Accuracy of extraction
Our Service uses AI to read handwriting, and **it is not perfect**. Faded ink, unusual
handwriting, stains, or poor lighting can all affect the result. That’s why we always let you
**review and edit** the extracted recipe before saving it.
A scan that produced a readable result which you then corrected is considered a successfully
delivered scan, and is not refundable. However, if the result was so poor as to be unusable
(for example, essentially nothing was extracted from a clear, legible photo), please contact
us, we will look at it and, where fair, re-credit the scan.
**Our tip:** take a clear, well-lit, flat photo of the recipe card. It makes a real
difference to the result.
4. How to request a refund
Email **admin@myfamilyrecipevault.com** with:
– the email address on your account;
– your order number (from your confirmation email);
– what you’d like refunded, and briefly why.
We aim to respond within **5 business days**.
5. How refunds are paid
Approved refunds are paid back to the **original payment method** through PayFast. Depending
on your bank, it may take a few business days for the money to appear.
Where credits are refunded, the corresponding credits are removed from your account balance.
6. Chargebacks
If you have a problem, please contact us first, we would much rather sort it out directly
than through your bank. Raising a chargeback without contacting us may result in your account
being suspended while the dispute is resolved.
7. Contact
**Email:** admin@myfamilyrecipevault.com
We’re a small South African business and we read every message