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Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about TheKnow, taste matching, and getting personalized restaurant recommendations.
About TheKnow
Q.What is TheKnow?
TheKnow is a personalized restaurant discovery app that matches you with people who share your taste. Instead of relying on crowd ratings like Yelp or Google, TheKnow finds your "taste twins" and shows you what they love. When they discover a great restaurant, you'll know about it.
Q.How does TheKnow work?
TheKnow uses a statistical method called Pearson correlation to analyze your restaurant ratings and find other users whose ratings consistently align with yours. These are your taste matches. Their recommendations then become your personalized suggestions, similar to how Spotify recommends music based on what people with similar taste enjoy.
Q.How is TheKnow different from Yelp?
Unlike Yelp, TheKnow doesn't use crowd ratings or averages. Yelp shows you what thousands of strangers think, but those strangers may have completely different tastes than you. TheKnow shows you recommendations from a small group of people whose taste actually matches yours. A restaurant with 3 stars on Yelp might be a 5 for you if your taste matches love it.
Q.Is TheKnow like Spotify for restaurants?
Yes, the comparison is apt. Just like Spotify learns your music taste and recommends songs based on what similar listeners enjoy, TheKnow learns your dining preferences and recommends restaurants based on what your taste matches enjoy. The key difference is that with restaurants, the stakes are higher—a bad recommendation means a wasted meal and money.
Q.Is TheKnow free?
Yes, TheKnow is free to use. You can create an account, rate restaurants, find taste matches, and get personalized recommendations at no cost.
How taste matching works
Q.What is a taste match?
A taste match is another TheKnow user whose restaurant ratings correlate with yours. When you both rate the same restaurants, your scores tend to align. If your taste match loves a restaurant you haven't tried, there's a good chance you'll love it too. The strength of the match is shown as a percentage.
Q.What is a taste match percentage?
Your taste match percentage indicates how closely your ratings align with another user. A 70% match means your ratings correlate strongly—when they give a restaurant 5 stars, you typically rate it similarly. Higher percentages indicate more reliable recommendations from that person.
Q.What is a "For You" score?
The For You score is a predicted rating for a restaurant you haven't tried yet. It's calculated by looking at how your taste matches rated that restaurant, weighted by how strong your match is with each person. A For You score of 4.5 means your taste matches collectively suggest you'll rate it around 4.5 stars.
Q.How many ratings do I need for accurate matches?
TheKnow requires at least 5 shared ratings with another user before calculating a taste match. The more restaurants you rate—especially popular ones that others have also rated—the more accurate your matches become and the more taste matches you'll find. We recommend rating at least 15-20 restaurants for the best experience.
Q.What is Pearson correlation?
Pearson correlation is the statistical method TheKnow uses to measure taste alignment between users. It looks at how your ratings move together: if you tend to rate the same restaurants high or low, you have a positive correlation. It's the same math used in recommendation systems for movies, music, and products.
Your profile
Q.What is a TES score?
TES stands for Taste Experience Score. It's a 0-999 score that measures your engagement on TheKnow: how many restaurants you've rated, how many cuisines you've explored, and how many taste matches you've connected with. A higher TES indicates a more developed taste profile.
Q.What do the profile card tiers mean?
TheKnow profiles have trading-card style tiers that reflect your engagement: Standard (just starting out), Silver (regular rater), Gold (frequent contributor), and Holographic (top-tier taste expert). The tier is based on your TES score and activity level.
Q.What is a taste graph?
Your taste graph is a visual profile of your dining personality. It maps your preferences across 6 dimensions: cuisine variety, price range, atmosphere preferences, dining frequency, adventurousness, and quality focus. It helps you understand your own taste patterns and shows others what kind of diner you are.
Q.What is a taste twin?
A taste twin is a taste match with exceptionally strong alignment—typically 70% or higher correlation. These are the people whose restaurant opinions you can trust most. When a taste twin recommends something, it's almost like getting a recommendation from yourself.
Q.How do I improve my recommendations?
Rate more restaurants honestly. The more you rate, the better TheKnow can find people who share your taste. Focus on restaurants you feel strongly about—both the ones you love and the ones you didn't enjoy. Honest ratings help the algorithm work better for everyone.
Privacy and data
Q.Can other users see my ratings?
Your taste matches can see your ratings for restaurants you've both rated, since this overlap is what creates the match. You can control your profile visibility settings to determine what other information is public.
Q.How does TheKnow protect my data?
TheKnow stores your data securely and never sells it to third parties. Your ratings are used only to improve your recommendations and find taste matches. We use industry-standard encryption and follow best practices for data protection.
Q.Can I delete my account?
Yes, you can delete your account at any time from your account settings. When you delete your account, your ratings and profile information are permanently removed from our systems.