diff --git a/black_forest_streamlit.py b/black_forest_streamlit.py
index f2c1d2c..2c985a3 100644
--- a/black_forest_streamlit.py
+++ b/black_forest_streamlit.py
@@ -17,11 +17,29 @@ from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
 from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker, relationship
 from sqlalchemy.sql import func
 from streamlit_cookies_manager import EncryptedCookieManager
+import secrets
 
-# --- Database Setup ---
+# --- Database and Secret Setup ---
 DATA_DIR = "data"
 os.makedirs(DATA_DIR, exist_ok=True)
 DB_PATH = f"sqlite:///{os.path.join(DATA_DIR, 'image_metadata.db')}"
+SECRET_FILE = os.path.join(DATA_DIR, "cookie_secret.txt")
+
+# Generate or load cookie secret
+def get_or_create_cookie_secret():
+    if os.path.exists(SECRET_FILE):
+        with open(SECRET_FILE, "r") as f:
+            return f.read().strip()
+    else:
+        # Generate a secure random secret (32 bytes, hex-encoded = 64 characters)
+        secret = secrets.token_hex(32)
+        with open(SECRET_FILE, "w") as f:
+            f.write(secret)
+        return secret
+
+COOKIE_SECRET = get_or_create_cookie_secret()
+
+# SQLAlchemy setup
 engine = create_engine(DB_PATH, echo=False)
 Base = declarative_base()
 
@@ -61,9 +79,7 @@ Base.metadata.create_all(engine)
 Session = sessionmaker(bind=engine)
 
 # --- Cookie Manager Setup ---
-cookies = EncryptedCookieManager(
-    password="your-secret-password-here",  # Replace with a secure password
-)
+cookies = EncryptedCookieManager(password=COOKIE_SECRET)
 if not cookies.ready():
     st.stop()  # Wait for cookies to be ready