💬 Chatbots and assistants · 🍳 Cooking with kids
Tasty
By BuzzFeed. Visit Tasty
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
BuzzFeed's recipe app and site, known for short overhead cooking videos. It has 10,000+ recipes with videos and step-by-step cooking mode, saved cookbooks, a community where people post photos and tips, recipes from Tasty creators, shopping through Walmart, and an AI helper called Botatouille that suggests recipes. Many kids watch Tasty videos, and some App Store reviews come from kids, but BuzzFeed's own terms say the service is not meant for anyone under 16.
Our take: Fine for a parent and teen cooking together; younger kids should not have their own account, given the 16+ terms, ads and open community.
Checked in a browser
A browser check on 2026-10-25: what loads, the ads and trackers we saw, and what a child meets first. Not a hands-on test.
| Child safety: 2 out of 5 | Programmatic ads ran on the first visit (9 ad frames, e.g. a sports-drink banner), with a sign-up prompt; the product's own terms say 16+. |
|---|---|
| Data: 1 out of 5 | The first visit contacted 30 known ad networks and 12 trackers, including ID-sync services (id5-sync, rlcdn/LiveRamp, tapad, eyeota, crwdcntrl, agkn, liadm), before any consent. |
| Ease: 3 out of 5 | Recipe photos are big and clear, but a consent box covers the bottom of the screen and ads sit between sections. |
| Cost honesty: 4 out of 5 | Recipes are free; a Walmart grocery 'Cart' prompt appears at the top, but no paywall or subscription was seen. |
What we found
- 147 third-party sites contacted; 30 known ad networks and 12 trackers
- 200 cookies set before consent, from 73 third-party domains
- 9 ad frames, labeled ADVERTISEMENT, between recipe sections
- First text on the page promotes shopping through Walmart; 10 outbound link sites including amazon.com and walmart.com
From the test: Good recipe videos for cooking with an older child, but the site is ad-heavy and tracker-heavy and is meant for adults (16+ by its terms).
| Ages it suits | general audience; terms say 16+ |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | BuzzFeed's user agreement says its sites are not meant for anyone under 16 and it does not knowingly collect data from under-16s. The App Store nonetheless rates the app 4+. (terms) |
| Price | Free, with paid extras. Free with ads (Oct 2026). Tasty+ costs $3.99 a month or $34.99 a year as an in-app purchase. |
| Works on | Web, iPhone and iPad, Android |
| Account | No account needed |
| Ads | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes |
| The AI in it | Botatouille, built on the ChatGPT API, answers questions and suggests recipes that match your tastes. |
What's good
- Huge free library with clear videos
- Step-by-step cooking mode
- Easy for an older kid and parent to cook from together
Watch for
- Terms say 16+, though the App Store says 4+
- Ads and cross-app tracking
- Open community comments and an AI chatbot
- Many recipes are rich treats, not everyday meals
Data and privacy
BuzzFeed's privacy policy (updated Oct 24, 2025) describes targeted advertising, which counts as a sale or sharing of data under US state laws, with an opt-out. The app includes Nielsen measurement software, and its App Store label says usage data is used to track you across other companies' apps and sites. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
No studies; the maker's claims are about recipe count and convenience.
Alternatives to Tasty
Desk researchFreeNo ads
Fight BAC!
Partnership for Food Safety Education (nonprofit) · ages K-12, plus parents of babies
A solid free pick for teachers and parents teaching kids to cook safely; kids wanting a game will find only a little here.
Desk researchThrough schools
Jamie Oliver's 10 Skills (Ministry of Food)
Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited · ages about 3-14 (UK primary and secondary; US schools and community groups)
A good free starting point for schools and clubs teaching basic cooking; families cooking at home will get more from free recipe sites, since this is built for classrooms.
Desk researchPaidNo ads
Kids Cook Real Food
Kitchen Stewardship LLC (Raising Healthy Families, Katie Kimball) · ages about 2-12 (Teens Cook Real Food for 13-21 is on a waitlist)
Suits parents who want a structured plan to teach several kids real kitchen skills at home; skip it if you want a kid to learn alone from an app.
Desk researchPaid
Kids Eat in Color
Kids Eat in Color, LLC · ages for parents of kids 0-18; BetterBites targets ages 1-5
Worth a look for parents worried about a young picky eater who want daily coaching; a child with weight loss or severe food refusal needs a doctor first.
Desk researchPaid
Outschool cooking classes
Outschool, Inc. · ages about 9-18 for the cooking listings we saw (Outschool overall covers 3-18)
Good for tweens and teens who want a live, social cooking class from home; younger kids need a parent beside them, and families uneasy about recorded video should skip it.
Desk researchPaidNo ads
Paprika Recipe Manager
Hindsight Labs LLC · ages adults (a parent's planning tool)
A solid, ad-free planner for the parent who runs the family kitchen; not a kids' product, so children should use it only alongside a parent.
Where these facts come from
- https://tasty.co/
- https://tasty.co/about/privacy
- https://www.buzzfeed.com/about/useragreement?country=en-us
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tasty-recipes-cooking-videos/id1217456898
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.