Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create an account on Yummistic, we collect:

• Email address (required)
• Password (encrypted)
• Name (optional)
• Account profile information you choose to provide

Content & Preferences You Create

We store and collect:

• Saved and favorited recipes
• Meal plans you create and manage
• User-generated recipes, photos, and comments
• Kids' profiles, including optional nicknames, age ranges, dietary settings, food preferences, allergies, and restrictions
• Nutritional goals and meal planning history

Usage & Analytics Data

We automatically collect information about how you interact with Yummistic:

• Pages visited and features used
• Recipes viewed, searched for, and saved
• Time spent on the platform
• Browser and device type
• Operating system and language preferences
• IP address
• Referral source (how you found us)
• Clickstream data and interaction patterns

Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Keep you logged in
• Remember your preferences
• Understand how you use Yummistic (analytics)
• Serve personalized content and recommendations
• Track performance and detect technical issues

Types of cookies we use include session cookies (temporary), persistent cookies (stay on your device), and third-party analytics cookies. See Section 4 for more details.

Information from Third-Party Services

If you connect your account to social media or other services, we may receive limited profile information (such as your email and name) to facilitate login or sharing.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide Core Services: Create and maintain your account, save recipes and meal plans, manage kids' profiles and dietary preferences
• Personalization: Recommend recipes based on dietary preferences, allergies, and past activity
• Product Development: Improve features, fix bugs, and develop new functionality
• Analytics & Insights: Understand which recipes are popular, identify trends, and optimize the platform
• Communications: Send transactional emails (account confirmations, password resets), and optional marketing communications (newsletters, feature updates, tips) — only if you opt in
• Sponsored Content & Business Analytics: Generate insights on ingredient usage and recipe trends to share with sponsored brands (see Section 5 for details)
• Security & Compliance: Detect and prevent fraud, enforce our Terms of Service, and comply with legal obligations
• Research & Aggregated Insights: Conduct research on nutrition trends, family meal planning patterns (anonymized and aggregated)

3. Cookies & Analytics Technologies

What We Use: We may use analytics tools such as Google Analytics or similar services to understand platform usage and improve Yummistic. These services may set their own cookies and collect data subject to their privacy policies.

Google reCAPTCHA v3: We use Google reCAPTCHA v3 on our contact and partner application forms to protect against spam and automated abuse. reCAPTCHA v3 works invisibly in the background and collects hardware and software information, interaction data, and other signals from your device, which are sent to Google. Use of reCAPTCHA is subject to Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Your Cookie Choices: You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies or alert you when a cookie is being sent. Note that disabling cookies may affect your ability to use some features of Yummistic.

Do Not Track (DNT): While Yummistic recognizes DNT signals sent by some browsers, our systems do not currently change behavior based on DNT signals. We encourage you to use browser-level privacy controls.

Pixel Tags & Web Beacons: We may use transparent graphics (like pixel tags) in emails to understand whether emails are opened and links are clicked.

4. Sponsored Content, Brands & Advertising Data Use

Yummistic may feature sponsored ingredient placements, promoted brands, and affiliate partnerships. Here's how this works:

What We Share with Sponsors

• Anonymized, Aggregated Data Only: We share insights like "85% of users in Ontario prefer organic ingredients" or "Top 10 most-used brands in kids' recipes"
• Never Personal: We do not share personally identifiable information with sponsors.
• Usage Trends: Which ingredients appear in popular recipes, seasonal trends, and dietary preference patterns

Affiliate Links & Promotions

Yummistic may include affiliate links to retailers or brands. When you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission. These links are identified where possible. Affiliate data is used to optimize recommendations and partnerships.

Your Control

Where available, users may manage communication preferences, analytics consent, and personalization settings through account or browser controls. Opting out may reduce the relevance of personalized features.

5. Data Retention

Active Accounts: We retain your personal information while your account is active. This includes your recipes, meal plans, and kids' profiles.

After Account Deletion: Once you request account deletion, we aim to process deletion requests within a reasonable period, generally within 30 days, subject to legal, backup, security, and operational retention requirements. Your data may be retained in the following circumstances:

• Aggregated, anonymized data (cannot identify you) may be retained for analytics
• Data required to comply with legal obligations (e.g., tax records)
• Data needed to resolve disputes or enforce agreements

Analytics & Cookies: Analytics cookies are typically retained for up to 24-26 months. You can delete cookies at any time through your browser.

Backup & Technical Necessity: During the 30-day deletion period, your data may remain in backup systems for technical and legal compliance purposes.

6. Account Deletion & User Rights

How to Delete Your Account

You can delete your Yummistic account at any time by:

• Logging into your account and navigating to Settings → Account → Delete Account
• Emailing privacy@yummistic.com with the subject "Account Deletion Request"

We will acknowledge deletion requests within a reasonable timeframe and aim to process requests generally within 30 days, subject to legal, technical, backup, and operational retention requirements.

Your Rights Under Canadian Privacy Laws

Under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and other applicable Canadian privacy laws, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated personal data (with legal exceptions)
• Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
• Opt-Out: Opt out of marketing communications and behavioral tracking
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for specific data uses (may affect service functionality)

How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@yummistic.com with:

• Your full name and email address associated with your account
• A clear description of your request (e.g., "Access," "Correction," "Deletion")
• Any supporting documentation

We will respond within 30 days. If we cannot fulfill your request, we'll explain why.

7. Third-Party Services & Data Sharing

Service Providers

We work with trusted third-party service providers to operate Yummistic. These include cloud hosting providers (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud), email services, analytics platforms, and customer support tools. These providers are contractually obligated to use your data only as necessary to provide services and to maintain confidentiality.

Google reCAPTCHA v3

We use Google reCAPTCHA v3 to protect our forms from spam and automated bots. As required by Google's reCAPTCHA terms, we disclose that reCAPTCHA collects information about your device, software, and interactions with our site and transmits this to Google. This service is governed by Google's Privacy Policy and Google's Terms of Service.

No Sale of Personal Data

Yummistic does not sell or knowingly share your personal information (name, email, kids' data) with third parties for their marketing purposes.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, such as in response to a court order, subpoena, or government investigation. We will notify you of such requests unless legally prohibited.

Business Transfers

If Yummistic is acquired, merges, or sells substantially all of its assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change and any choices you may have regarding your data.

8. International Users

Yummistic is operated from Ontario, Canada and is governed by Canadian and Ontario privacy laws. If you access Yummistic from outside Canada, your data will be transferred to and stored in Canada. By using Yummistic, you consent to this transfer.

International Users: Users located in jurisdictions with additional privacy rights (such as the European Union) may contact us at privacy@yummistic.com regarding applicable requests and legal rights.

9. Children's Privacy & Parental Consent

Account Holders: Yummistic is intended for adults (age 18+) who manage kids' meal planning. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under age 13.

Kids' Data: When you create kids' profiles on Yummistic, you are providing information about your children (optional nicknames, age ranges, dietary preferences, allergies, and restrictions) on behalf of the children's parent or legal guardian. By providing this information, you confirm that you are the parent or legal guardian and consent to our collection and use of this data as described in this Privacy Policy.

Children Accessing the Platform: Yummistic is not designed for children to use directly. If a child under 13 directly provides us with personal information, we will delete that information and may delete the associated account. Parents can report concerns about children's data to privacy@yummistic.com.

Your Control: As a parent or guardian, you can access, review, update, or delete your child's information at any time through your account settings or by contacting privacy@yummistic.com.

10. Security Practices

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information:

• Passwords are hashed and securely stored
• Data is encrypted in transit using HTTPS/TLS
• Access to personal data is restricted to authorized personnel

Important Limitation: While we employ robust security measures, no system is completely secure. Transmission of data over the internet carries inherent risks. We cannot guarantee absolute security, and you use Yummistic at your own risk. We encourage you to use strong, unique passwords and maintain secure access to your account credentials.

Data Breach Notification: If we discover a security breach that compromises your personal information, we will notify you via email as required by Canadian privacy laws. We will also report the breach to relevant authorities if legally required.

11. Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will notify you by:

• Posting the updated policy on this page with a new "Last Updated" date
• Sending you an email notification (for material changes)
• Requesting your explicit consent, if required by applicable law

Continued use of Yummistic after such updates may be subject to the revised Privacy Policy, where permitted by law. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:

Privacy Complaints: If you have a privacy complaint and are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or your provincial privacy authority.