Privacy Policy
How we collect, protect, and respect your personal information while you explore delicious culinary creations at PlateBounty.
Our Kitchen Table Promise
We treat your personal data with the same care and respect as our own family recipes. We do not sell your personal data, and we provide transparent tools for managing your browsing preferences, newsletter dispatches, and cookie choices.
1. Information We Collect
We gather information through two primary pathways: personal data you voluntarily provide to us when actively engaging with PlateBounty, and automated telemetry data logged when you access our culinary site.
edit_note A. Personal Data You Voluntarily Provide
Depending on your activity across PlateBounty, you may submit:
- Recipe Comments & Kitchen Reviews: Your chosen display name, email address, star rating, recipe modifications, and culinary commentary submitted on recipe posts.
- Email Newsletter Subscriptions: Your first name and email address when requesting our weekly meal plans, seasonal dinner roundups, or printable recipe cards.
- Direct Inquiries: Your name, email address, and message contents when submitting feedback through our contact forms or editorial team mailboxes.
- Recipe Box Preferences: Saved bookmarks, measurement preferences (US Customary vs. Metric), and user-customized serving multipliers stored in your session.
devices B. Data Collected Automatically via Technology
When loading articles or recipe index pages, our cloud infrastructure routinely records:
- Device & Browser Diagnostics: Hardware model, operating system, browser vendor, screen viewport dimensions, and preferred language.
- Internet Protocol (IP) Data: Your general geographic origin (e.g., city, state, or region level; we do not track precise GPS locations).
- Browsing Patterns: Pages visited, recipes viewed, time spent on steps, referral websites, search queries entered, and scroll depth.
2. How We Use Your Information
We process personal information under legitimate business interests, user consent, and contractual operational needs to deliver our culinary media services:
Ensuring interactive cooking timers, serving converters, and printable PDF cards render swiftly on kitchen stands and mobile displays.
Publishing legitimate cooking feedback and recipe questions while preventing spam bots, offensive remarks, and automated scraping.
Transmitting curated recipe dispatches, seasonal holiday menus, and baking guides strictly to verified, opted-in subscribers.
Monitoring traffic velocity, diagnosing 404 broken links, optimizing image compression, and identifying trending culinary topics.
3. Cookies, Web Beacons & Tracking Pixels
A “cookie” is a miniature text file deposited onto your hard drive or mobile browser when accessing our recipes. We utilize cookies and clear tracking pixels to maintain a seamless culinary journey:
| Category | Primary Purpose | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|
| Essential Cookies | Core security, DDOS mitigation, and remembering unit converter preferences (grams vs. ounces). | Session / 1 Year |
| Analytics Cookies | Google Analytics 4 telemetry to understand recipe popularity, reader retention, and search keywords. | 24 Months |
| Advertising Cookies | Enabling programmatic food advertising partners to serve relevant culinary promotions and limit repetition. | 1 to 13 Months |
You can toggle cookie preferences at any time in your browser settings (e.g., Safari, Chrome, Edge, or Firefox). Note that disabling functional cookies may prevent recipe ingredient strike-throughs or bookmarking functions from operating smoothly.
4. Third-Party Advertising & Ad Networks
PlateBounty partners with premier third-party advertising management platforms (such as Raptive / Mediavine) to display high-quality advertisements that support our free kitchen testing, editorial photography, and recipe development.
These advertising partners may deploy cookies, device identifiers, and pixels to deliver tailored advertisements aligned with your interests. In doing so, these networks collect non-sensitive demographic identifiers, general geographic parameters, and device user-agents.
If you wish to opt out of interest-based behavioral advertising from participating ad networks, you may utilize industry-standard self-regulatory tools:
5. Email Newsletter & Subscription Lists
When subscribing to PlateBounty's weekly recipe dispatches, weekend baking alerts, or seasonal dinner planners, we collect your submitted email address. Our list management adheres strictly to the CAN-SPAM Act, CASL, and GDPR guidelines.
- Zero Spam Guarantee: We do not purchase email lists, nor do we lend, lease, barter, or distribute subscriber addresses to outside promoters.
- Direct Unsubscribe: Every email dispatched from PlateBounty includes a clear, immediate “Unsubscribe” link in the footer. Unsubscribe actions take place immediately across our databases.
- Email Service Provider: We utilize compliant enterprise email service platforms that encrypt data in transit and maintain rigorous access audits.
6. Data Retention & Security Protections
We implement industry-standard administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to shield personal details against unauthorized access, loss, manipulation, or disclosure. All sessions across PlateBounty are protected through end-to-end Transport Layer Security (TLS/SSL) encryption.
We retain reader comments and star ratings indefinitely on recipe articles to ensure our culinary community retains constructive commentary for fellow cooks, unless the author specifically issues an erasure request under applicable rights. Technical web logs are routinely purged after 90 days.
7. Reader Privacy Rights (GDPR & CCPA/CPRA)
Regardless of geographic boundaries, we respect the comprehensive control you hold over your data.
If you are a resident of the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, your statutory entitlements encompass:
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act:
- No Sale of Personal Information: PlateBounty does not sell personal identifiable information (PII) to brokers or third parties for monetary compensation.
- Right to Know & Delete: California consumers may request disclosures of categorized data collected over the preceding 12 months, or request the deletion of their profile records.
- Non-Discrimination: We will never penalize or alter your access to recipes or cooking materials for exercising your statutory privacy prerogatives.
8. Contact Our Data Protection Team
If you have any questions, wish to exercise privacy rights, or require assistance with any clause within this policy, please connect with our Data Protection Officer:
PlateBounty Media Network, LLC
Attn: Privacy & Compliance Office
420 Harvest Orchard Way, Suite 400
Austin, Texas 78701, United States
Explore Our Complete Legal Hub
Transparent culinary practices, monetization disclosures, and site operational policies.
Terms & Conditions
Rules of participation, recipe usage rights, community commenting guidelines, and liability boundaries for home cooks.
Affiliate Disclosure
Complete disclosure regarding Amazon Associates and culinary equipment affiliate links featured across our recipe reviews.
Culinary & Nutrition Disclaimer
Clarification regarding estimated calorie metrics, macronutrient tables, food allergen alerts, and food safety advice.