Pesto Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-07-11

Pesto helps you save recipes from pages you visit and shop their ingredients. This policy explains what data the extension handles and what is sent to our backend.

Your recipes stay on your device

Saved recipes, including their images, are stored only in your browser's local on-device storage. We do not have accounts, and we never store your recipes on our servers. Extracting a recipe does send that page's content to our backend for processing (see below), but we use it only to build the recipe and then discard it.

Recipe auto-detection is local

Pesto checks the pages you visit for recipe markup so it can offer to extract a recipe. This check runs entirely on your device; it reads the page only in your browser and sends nothing to us. Simply browsing the web, opening Pesto's toolbar popup, or viewing your saved library transmits no page content.

What is sent to our backend

The current page's content is sent to our backend only when you explicitly ask Pesto to extract a recipe from that page (by clicking Extract Recipe). We use the content to find and structure that recipe, then discard it; our backend is stateless and keeps no copy of the pages you extract. All transmissions use a secure (HTTPS) connection.

Recipe images

When you save a recipe, its image is downloaded directly by your browser from the recipe's own image host and stored on your device. The image does not pass through our backend.

Instacart

When you choose to send a recipe to Instacart, its ingredient list is sent to our backend, which creates a shoppable page through Instacart. Pesto participates in Instacart's affiliate program.

Who we share data with

We do not sell your data or share it for advertising. We share data with service providers only as needed to deliver the features above:

• AI model providers. When you extract a recipe, the page content is sent through a third-party AI provider to parse and normalize the recipe. This processing is zero data retention (ZDR): the provider does not keep the content after the request completes, does not use it to train models, and provider data collection is disabled.
• Instacart. When you choose to send a recipe to Instacart, its ingredient list is shared to create the shoppable page.

These providers process the data only to perform their service and do not receive it for their own independent use. We otherwise do not share your data, except where required by law or to protect against abuse.

Limited use of your data

Pesto's handling of user data complies with the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements:

• We only use the data Pesto handles to provide and improve its user-facing features: saving, structuring, and shopping recipes you choose to extract.
• We do not sell user data, and we do not transfer it to others except as needed to provide these features (for example, sending an ingredient list to Instacart at your request).
• We do not use or transfer user data for advertising, including personalized, re-targeted, or interest-based advertising.

Contact

If you have questions about this policy, contact us through our support page.