1) Information We Collect

We collect different types of information to operate the platform and improve your experience:

• Account information: username, email address, and optional profile details (such as bio, avatar, and links) that you choose to provide.
• User content: recipes, photos, videos, comments, ratings, likes and related metadata (timestamps, tags, categories).
• Technical and usage data: IP address, device and browser information, operating system, language, log files (pages visited, time on page, referrer URLs, error logs), and approximate location based on IP (city/region level, not precise address).
• Cookies & similar technologies: cookies, local storage, and similar identifiers used for authentication, remembering preferences, performance measurement, analytics and advertising (see sections 3 and 4).

2) How We Use Your Data

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate, maintain, and improve the platform and overall user experience.
• Publish and display user-submitted recipes, media, comments, and interactions.
• Personalize content, recommendations, and features (for example, suggested recipes).
• Moderate content and enforce community standards and our Terms & Conditions.
• Communicate important notices about your account, security, or service updates.
• Protect security, detect and prevent fraud or abuse, and ensure platform integrity.
• Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests and enforcement actions.

Where data protection laws require a legal basis, we rely on a combination of consent, performance of a contract (providing the service), legitimate interests (security, analytics, improving the Site) and compliance with legal obligations.

3) Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember your preferences, measure performance, and analyze traffic. Some cookies are essential for the Site to work (for example, keeping you logged in), while others are used for analytics and advertising.

You may control cookies via your browser settings by blocking, deleting or limiting cookies. If you disable certain cookies, some features may not function properly.

In regions where consent is required (such as the EEA/UK and certain US states), we also display a privacy and cookie message that lets you accept, reject, or manage categories of cookies and similar technologies. Your choices in that banner work together with our advertising and analytics partners (including Google) to control how data is used.

4) Content Ownership & Retention

Recipes and media you publish remain part of the Granny Zen Kitchen community. By submitting content you grant us a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, reproduce, display, adapt and distribute your content across our services and promotional channels, as described in our Terms & Conditions.

Deleting your account does not remove previously published recipes or public interactions (for example, comments and ratings). This preserves community value and recipe continuity. We may also retain certain information (such as logs and security records) for legitimate business, security or legal reasons.

5) When We Share Data

We do not sell your personal information. We may share limited data with:

• Service providers: companies that help us run the platform, such as hosting providers, analytics services, security tools, email delivery services, and customer support. These providers are required to handle data appropriately and only for our instructions.
• Advertising and measurement partners: third parties such as Google AdSense and related Google advertising products that use cookies or similar technologies to deliver and measure ads, and where permitted, personalize ads. These partners may receive information about your device, IP address, approximate location and site interactions as described in their own privacy policies.
• Authorities and legal entities: when necessary to comply with the law, respond to legal processes, or protect our rights, users, or the public.
• Other users: only the information you choose to make public, such as recipes, comments, ratings, and your public profile name/avatar.

In the event of a business transfer (such as a merger or sale of assets), user data may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this Privacy Policy or an updated version.

6) Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information from unauthorized access, loss, misuse or alteration. However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7) Your Rights & Choices

• Access & Update: You can review and update your account information in your profile settings.
• Deletion: You may request account deletion. As noted above, published recipes and other public community content generally remain on the Site to preserve continuity.
• Cookies & advertising choices: You can manage cookie preferences via your browser settings and, where available, through our privacy/cookie banner. You can also manage ad personalisation in your Google account Ads Settings or equivalent tools offered by other providers.
• Additional rights in some regions: Depending on where you live (for example, in the EEA/UK or certain US states), you may have extra rights such as the right to object to certain processing, request restriction or portability of data, or opt out of certain types of “selling” or “sharing” of personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising. Where applicable, you will see specific privacy messages and/or links that let you exercise these rights.
• Contact: You can request information about the data we hold or ask questions via the Contact page (please include “Privacy Inquiry” in the subject).

8) Children’s Privacy

The platform is not intended for children under the age applicable in your jurisdiction for online consent. We do not knowingly collect personal information from such children. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child without appropriate consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

9) International Transfers

Depending on your location and our infrastructure or service providers, your data may be processed in other countries. We take steps designed to ensure appropriate protections consistent with applicable laws and to keep your information safeguarded during such transfers.

10) Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Effective date” at the top reflects the latest version. If we make material changes, we will try to provide notice (for example, via the Site or by email where appropriate). Continued use of the Site after updates constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

11) Contact Us

Questions or requests about this Privacy Policy or our data practices? Reach us via the Contact page. For urgent matters, please include “Privacy Inquiry” in the subject so we can route your message properly.