Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Potluck Diaries("we," "our," or "us"). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website at potluckdiaries.com and explore our festival collections and culinary guides.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access or use our Website.

2. Information We Collect

We collect minimal data to provide a clean, fast, and enjoyable browsing experience:

Personal Data You Provide

We do not accept or store direct user comments, reviews, or account creations on the Website. The only personal data we receive is information you voluntarily provide when contacting us via email:

• Your email address (when emailing us directly)
• Your name or any information included in your message

Automated Device and Usage Data

When you visit our Website, our servers and third-party analytics tools automatically collect technical data, including:

• IP address and general geographical region
• Browser type, operating system, and device information
• Pages viewed, referral URLs, and time spent on menu guides

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for specific, limited purposes:

• Operating, maintaining, and optimizing the Website
• Responding to your inquiries sent to [email protected]
• Analyzing traffic patterns to improve collection organization and search
• Detecting, preventing, and addressing technical issues or fraud
• Complying with legal obligations

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance site performance and analyze website traffic. Cookies are small data files stored on your device.

You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or notify you when a cookie is being set. We utilize the following types of cookies:

• Essential Cookies: Required for fundamental site functionality and navigation.
• Analytical/Performance Cookies: Enable us to count visitors and understand popular pages via Google Analytics.
• Functionality Cookies: Remember your site preferences or quick filter states.
• Interaction & Engagement Analytics: We collect aggregated, anonymized interaction metrics when links are clicked to improve website features.

5. Third-Party Services

We may share anonymized data with trusted third-party service providers to operate our blog:

• Analytics Providers: Google Analytics (to measure reader traffic and page performance).
• Hosting & Infrastructure: Cloud hosts and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) for fast image loading.
• Social Media Integration: Sharing buttons for Pinterest, Facebook, and X (Twitter) that operate according to their respective privacy policies.

6. Data Security

The security of your information is paramount. We employ standard SSL/TLS encryption in transit and robust security protocols. However, no method of internet transmission is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Data Retention

We do not maintain a user database or store submitted user content on the Website. Email correspondence sent to [email protected] is retained only as long as necessary to fulfill your request or satisfy legal requirements. Analytics data is retained in anonymized form.

8. Children's Privacy

Our Website is not directed to children under 13 years of age (or 16 in the EU). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information via email, please contact us so we can promptly delete it.

9. Your Data Protection Rights

EEA Residents (GDPR Rights)

If you reside in the European Economic Area, you hold specific rights under the GDPR:

• Right to Access, Rectify, or Erase your personal data
• Right to Restrict or Object to data processing
• Right to Data Portability

California Residents (CCPA Rights)

California residents have the right under the CCPA to request disclosure of collected data, request deletion of personal information, and opt-out of data sales (we do not sell personal data).

To exercise any privacy rights, please contact us at [email protected].

10. International Data Transfers

Our Website servers are operated in the United States. If you visit from outside the US, your data will be transferred to and processed in the United States under standard legal protection mechanisms.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy periodically. You are advised to check this privacy policy page from time to time for any changes.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please reach out to us:

• By Email: [email protected]
• Via our Contact Page

13. Digital Accessibility

Potluck Diaries is committed to digital accessibility for all users. We follow WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards to provide high contrast, clear content structures, and screen-reader compatible layout.