Support
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about TheKnow, taste matching, and getting personalized restaurant recommendations.
1
About TheKnow
Q.What is TheKnow?
TheKnow is a restaurant app built on taste, not crowds. It finds your taste matches, the people who rate places the way you do, and shows you what they love. When they find a great restaurant, it shows up in your recommendations.
Q.How does TheKnow work?
TheKnow finds people who rate places the way you do and shows you what they love. You rate places you know, and it compares your ratings with everyone who rated the same places, checking two things: do you rank places the same way (pattern), and do your scores land within half a point (closeness)? People who clear the bar on at least 5 shared places become your taste matches, and what they love becomes your recommendations.
Q.How is TheKnow different from review sites?
A review site averages everyone, while TheKnow recommends from your taste matches, so a crowd average is never your score for a place. Their ratings decide what we suggest and how a place reads for you. Until you have some, early hunches from people like you fill in, always marked as early. We still show how many people rated a place, and a 'Most rated in your city' shelf labeled 'Popular here, not a ranking', but a crowd count or average is never your score for a place, and never puts a place ahead of what your taste matches love. A place the crowd gives 3 stars can be a 5 for you if your taste matches love it.
Q.Is TheKnow like a music app for restaurants?
Yes, in spirit: like a music app that plays you what similar listeners love, TheKnow shows you what your taste matches love. The difference is the stakes: a bad song costs three minutes, a bad recommendation costs a meal.
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.
2
How taste matching works
Q.What is a taste match?
A taste match is someone who rates like you on places you've both rated. To count, you need at least 5 places in common, and either the pattern has to hold up statistically (we only count it when we're 80% sure it isn't chance) or you agree within half a point on 60% of at least 8 shared places. Each taste match shows a match percentage. The closest taste matches are taste twins. Before you share any rated places, we can still spot people like you from your stated preferences; their read is an early hunch, with no percentage. Together, your taste matches and twins are your people.
Q.What is a taste match percentage?
A match percentage is how alike you and another person rate: you rank places the same way and score them close. 'You agree on 7 of 9' counts places you rated within half a point.
Q.What does 'Your people liked it' mean?
It's your taste matches' read on a place you haven't rated. When enough of them rated it (at least two, and their matches have to rest on enough places), the restaurant page shows their score out of 5, weighted toward the people who rate most like you, with the words beneath: loved it, liked it, lukewarm, or not into it. Short of that, you see one of them by name and how they rated it, when their ratings are public; a taste twin is named first. When you rate it yourself, it tells you whether your people agree, meaning within half a point.
Q.What is an early hunch?
An early hunch is a read from people like you, spotted from your stated preferences before you share any rated places. They aren't taste matches yet, so their read shows as 'People like you like it', 'are mixed' or 'would pass', marked early hunch, with no percentage. It sharpens as you rate.
Q.How many ratings do I need?
You need at least 5 rated places in common with someone before they can become a taste match, and only if your ratings clear the bar. Each taste match shows how much it rests on: early (5 to 7 shared places), growing (8 to 14) or solid (15 or more). Rating places other people know, the ones you loved and the ones you didn't, finds your taste matches fastest.
Q.What is Pearson correlation?
Pearson correlation is the statistical method TheKnow uses to read how your ratings move together. If you tend to rate the same restaurants high or low, you have a positive correlation. It is one half of the match percentage; the other half is how close your scores are. It's the same math used in recommendation systems for movies, music, and products.
Q.What is closeness?
Closeness is the share of places you both rated where your scores are within half a point, the other half of the match. Two people can rank places the same way while one always scores higher; closeness catches that. The match percentage is the average of pattern and closeness.
Q.What does 'Most rated in your city' mean?
It's the places the most people on TheKnow have rated near you. It's a count, not a score and not a ranking, and it only shows when we have little else to go on.
3
Your profile
Q.What do the profile card tiers mean?
Your profile card levels up as you rate: Standard to start, Silver at 15 rated places, Gold at 40, Holographic at 100. Private ratings count. Tiers measure how much you rate, not how good your taste is.
Q.What is a taste twin?
A taste twin is a taste match who rates like you: the same places at the top and bottom, and close scores on most of them. It's the strictest tier: at least 8 places in common, a strong pattern, and agreeing within half a point on 60% of them, so twins are rare. When a twin rated a place, they're named first and marked as your taste twin.
Q.What is a 6?
A 6 goes past 5. You get six of them, ever: the places you'd stake your name on. Want a new one when all six are taken? One has to give way. When your taste matches give a place a 6, it shows up in your recommendations.
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.
4
Privacy and data
Q.Can other users see my ratings?
Your ratings start public. You can make any single rating private when you rate it or later: nobody else sees it, and it isn't used to find your taste matches. To take all of your ratings off your profile, turn off "Show my ratings publicly" in Settings. Those ratings still help find your taste matches, who then see how closely you agree, but not what you rated, your scores or how many places you've rated.
Q.How does TheKnow protect my data?
We never sell your data. Your ratings find your taste matches and shape recommendations, and public ratings also count toward a restaurant's rating count on TheKnow. The privacy policy has the details.
Q.Can I delete my account?
Yes, any time, from your account settings. Your profile and ratings are deleted right away, and it can't be undone. The privacy policy covers what happens with analytics and what we keep.
Still have questions?
We're here to help. Reach out and we'll get back to you.
Contact us