How to Keep Family Recipes Private (and Share Them Only with Family)
4 min read
Some recipes are for the world; some are family property. The hesitation people feel about digitizing a guarded family recipe is legitimate — the internet’s default is public, and once something leaks, it is out. Cooking Together is built with a real privacy model for exactly this, and it is worth two minutes to understand how the pieces fit.
Make a recipe private
On your own recipe, tap the lock icon on the recipe detail screen. A private recipe is invisible to everyone but you: it does not appear in search, on your public profile, in feeds, or via links. It is yours alone until you decide otherwise.
Share with one person at a time
Send a private recipe to a specific person via direct message and that person — only that person — gains access. This is the digital equivalent of copying the recipe card for your sister: deliberate, personal, and not a publication. Recipients cannot re-share it onward; the recipe stays under your control.
A private community for the whole family
When more than a couple of people should share a recipe box — siblings, cousins, the extended family — a private community is the right tool. Members join by invitation, and everything posted inside is visible only to members. It becomes the family’s shared kitchen: recipes, photos of who cooked what, and the arguments about whose version is correct, all in one private place.
One rule to know before you post
There is a deliberate one-way door in the model: once you share a recipe publicly — in a post, or to a public community — it cannot be made private again. This protects other people’s bookmarks and links from breaking. So the order of operations matters: keep it private first, share narrowly if needed, and only make it public when you are sure.
- New recipes default to public — flip the lock before adding the secret ingredient.
- Private notes on any recipe are always private, even on public recipes.
- Digitize first, decide later: a private recipe can always be opened up; the reverse is not true after public sharing.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone I shared with pass the recipe along?
No. A person who received a private recipe cannot share it further — not in posts, not in messages. Only you, the author, control its reach.
What happens to shared access if I make the recipe public later?
Nothing breaks — the people you shared with simply see it like everyone else. But remember the one-way door: once shared publicly, it cannot return to private.
Get the app
Cooking Together is free on iPhone, iPad, and Android. Import your first recipe in under a minute.