Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains what information we receive when you visit The Recipes Table, leave a recipe review, or email our kitchen, how we use it, which service providers are involved, and what privacy choices you have.
- No reader accounts or paywalls: Browse every recipe freely without registration.
- Privacy-first analytics by consent: Optional aggregate measurement via Google Analytics 4 with Google Signals and ad personalization disabled; scripts load only upon affirmative consent.
- Review without emails: Recipe reviews do not collect or store your email address.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction and Scope
The Recipes Table (therecipestable.com) is an independent recipe publication. Recipes and guides on the site are published under The Recipes Table Kitchen byline. In this policy, “we,” “us” and “our” refer to The Recipes Table.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we receive when you visit the site, leave a recipe review or email us, how we use it, which service providers are involved, and what choices you have. It applies only to therecipestable.com.
We try to collect only the information we need to run the site and reply to readers. You can read every recipe without creating an account, signing up for anything or paying.
To learn more about our culinary mission, see our About page. Your use of the site is also covered by our Terms & Conditions and Disclaimer.
2. Information We Collect
Information you choose to give us
- Recipe reviews: a display name, a star rating, a written comment, and the recipe you're reviewing (see Section 4).
- Emails: your email address, your name if you include it, and the contents of your message (see Section 5).
Information processed automatically
Cloudflare hosting & security: When your browser loads a page, our hosting provider, Cloudflare, processes standard technical connection information involved in any website connection, such as your IP address, browser and device type, language settings, requested pages and files, the referring URL, and timestamps (see Section 7). This infrastructure processing is necessary to deliver the site and protect against automated abuse, and operates independently of our website analytics consent banner.
Google Analytics 4 (only with prior affirmative consent): If you choose to accept analytics via our cookie banner, Google Analytics 4 processes pseudonymous client identifiers, approximate location (country and city level; full IP addresses are not stored or logged by GA4), device specifications, browser type, pages viewed, scroll activity, and referral sources. If you decline or ignore analytics consent, Google Analytics scripts remain completely blocked from loading, and no analytics cookies or cookieless pings are sent.
Information we don't collect
We don't offer reader accounts, a newsletter or paid features, so we don't collect passwords, payment details, phone numbers or mailing addresses. Our site search runs locally in your browser, and your search terms aren't sent to our servers or to an outside search provider (see Section 6). We do not collect cross-site advertising identifiers.
3. How We Use Information
We use the information described above to:
- publish approved recipe reviews and show star ratings on recipe pages
- read and reply to your emails, including questions, corrections and suggestions
- improve recipes, for example by clarifying a step or quantity readers found confusing
- analyze aggregate readership trends (such as our most visited recipe categories) and diagnose technical page errors when analytics consent has been granted
- moderate reviews and screen out spam, abuse and offensive content
- deliver the site and protect it from attacks and automated abuse
- meet legal obligations and protect the rights and safety of our readers and the site
We don't use your information to build advertising profiles.
4. Recipe Reviews, Ratings, and Public Content
You can leave a review on individual recipe pages. When you submit one, our review system stores:
- the display name you enter (up to 60 characters)
- your star rating, from 1 to 5
- your comment (up to 1,000 characters)
- the recipe context (title and slug), review status, and the date and time of your submission
The review form doesn't ask for your email address, phone number, mailing address or social media profile, and you don't need an account to use it. In our database implementation, review submissions do not store email addresses, IP addresses, or browser user-agent strings. Reviews are processed and stored on Cloudflare's infrastructure (Cloudflare Pages Functions and Cloudflare D1), which runs the site's review system.
Moderation
New reviews are held for moderation and do not appear on the site until they are approved. Pending and rejected reviews are not publicly visible. We may decline or remove reviews that are spam, abusive, off-topic or contain personal information.
Public display
Approved reviews are public. Anyone visiting the recipe page can see your display name, rating, comment and the date you posted. A first name or nickname works fine as a display name, and we ask that you don't include contact details or other personal information in your comment.
Edits and removal
To ask us to edit or remove a review, email us at [email protected] with the recipe link, the display name you used and roughly when you posted it. Because reviews aren't linked to an account or email address, we can't always confirm who wrote a review, so we review and handle these requests as appropriate, subject to reasonable verification and operational requirements.
5. Contact Emails and the Website Contact Form
Our Contact page includes an inquiry form to help organize questions and feedback. Online form submission is not currently configured, and the form does not transmit messages through a website backend or database.
Instead, clicking “Send Message” presents a direct-email notice with an “Open in Your Email App” button that opens your personal email client with your message and subject line pre-filled. Nothing reaches us unless you open your email application and actually send that email to our kitchen inbox.
You can also email us directly at [email protected].
When you email us, we receive your email address, your name if you include it, the subject line, your message and anything else you choose to share. Our inbox is hosted by Google's Gmail service, so messages are processed and stored by Google under Google's Privacy Policy.
We use your email to read and answer it, follow up on corrections or suggestions, and keep a record of reader communication. We don't add you to any marketing mailing lists.
6. Cookies, Browser Storage, and Similar Technologies
Cookies are small text files a website can store in your browser. Browser storage, such as local storage, works in a similar way.
Analytics cookies and browser storage
The Recipes Table does not set third-party advertising cookies or load advertising networks. For readership measurement, we operate Google Analytics 4 under a strict opt-in model:
- Analytics cookies (
_gaand_ga_8713GCVE0L): Set by Google Analytics only after you click “Accept Analytics” on our banner. The_gacookie distinguishes individual visitors, and the container-specific cookie (_ga_8713GCVE0L, formatted without the “G-” prefix) maintains session status. Under Google's standard defaults, these cookies remain in your browser for up to 2 years from the date they are set or refreshed, unless deleted sooner via browser settings or our Cookie Preferences control. Browser cookie lifetime is distinct from server-side event retention in Google Analytics (see Section 12). If you decline or ignore consent, these cookies are never set, and no analytics script is downloaded. - Consent preference (
trt_cookie_consent): Stored in your browser's local storage to remember whether you granted or denied analytics consent, so the banner does not repeatedly prompt you on each page view.
Cloudflare security cookies
Cloudflare, which hosts and protects the site, may set cookies or tokens needed for its security features, depending on how external security rules are configured and how incoming traffic appears to its network. Examples include security cookies used by bot management or challenge clearance tokens set when a visitor completes an automated verification check. These help Cloudflare tell real visitors apart from automated traffic. For details, see Cloudflare's Privacy Policy.
Site search
When you use the search bar, your browser downloads a static recipe index from our site and finds matches locally on your device. Your search terms aren't sent to our servers or to an outside search provider.
Your choices
You can block or delete cookies and clear site data in your browser settings. Our recipes and articles don't depend on tracking cookies, so they remain readable with standard privacy settings. If you block security cookies, you may see automated security verification checks more frequently.
7. Cloudflare Hosting, Technical Logs, and Website Security
The Recipes Table is hosted on Cloudflare Pages, and our recipe review system runs on Cloudflare's serverless infrastructure. When your browser connects to the site, Cloudflare's edge servers process technical request information such as:
- your IP address
- browser type, operating system and language preferences
- the pages and files requested, and the referring URL
- the date and time of each request
Cloudflare uses this information to deliver pages, route traffic across its network, and protect the site from attacks, bots and other abuse. Cloudflare may also provide aggregated traffic and security statistics in our account dashboard.
This processing happens at Cloudflare's infrastructure level rather than in our website application code, and Cloudflare handles it under its own terms and Cloudflare's Privacy Policy. Because Cloudflare operates global data centers, this information may be processed across different countries.
8. Third-Party Services and External Media
Besides Cloudflare, the site relies on a small number of outside services:
- Google Analytics (Google LLC / Google Ireland Limited): When opted in, provides aggregate website readership measurement under Basic Google Consent Mode v2. Advertising personalization and Google Signals are disabled. See Google's Privacy Policy and Google Analytics Data Safeguards.
- Google (Gmail): Hosts our kitchen email inbox for reader communications. See Google's Privacy Policy.
- Author imagery and badges: Recipe author badges on the site use locally hosted The Recipes Table Kitchen imagery, and culinary blog articles display a local CSS badge. Your browser does not make requests to third-party photo networks for author identities.
- Self-hosted typography: Our editorial fonts are packaged with the site and served directly from our own domain, so reading a page doesn't send requests to Google Fonts servers.
9. Pinterest and Social Sharing Features
Recipe images on the site include a Pinterest Save button. The button is built into our own page code. It doesn't load Pinterest's scripts or set Pinterest cookies when you view a page.
Pinterest is only involved when you click the button. A Pinterest window then opens with the recipe link and image ready to save, and your activity on Pinterest is covered by Pinterest's Privacy Policy.
We also link to our Pinterest profile, which takes you directly to Pinterest's website.
10. Advertising and Analytics
Advertising Networks: The Recipes Table does not show advertisements from Google AdSense, Mediavine, Raptive, or any other advertising network. Our website code does not include advertising tracking pixels such as the Meta Pixel, Pinterest Tag, TikTok Pixel, or affiliate tracking scripts.
Website Analytics: We use Google Analytics 4 for editorial planning and aggregate traffic reporting. We operate Basic Google Consent Mode v2: no analytics tags or cookieless tracking requests execute unless you affirmatively click “Accept Analytics.” If you decline or ignore the banner, Google Analytics scripts remain blocked from executing. Google Signals and advertising personalization signals are disabled.
Cloudflare Infrastructure: Cloudflare edge delivery and security reporting described in Section 7 operates at the hosting network level and is not managed by our analytics consent banner.
11. How Information Is Shared
We don't sell personal information, and we don't share it for targeted cross-context advertising. We share information only in these situations:
- Public reviews: Approved recipe reviews and ratings are visible to anyone who visits the site.
- Service providers: Cloudflare (hosting, security, and review storage), Google (email hosting), and Google Analytics (pseudonymous readership analytics, only with prior affirmative consent) process technical connection data as part of the operational services they provide.
- Legal and safety reasons: We may disclose information if the law requires it, in response to a valid legal request, or when reasonably necessary to protect the site, our readers or others from fraud, abuse or harm.
- Ownership changes: If The Recipes Table is sold, merged, or transferred, the information we hold may be transferred as part of that change, subject to this policy.
12. Data Retention and Security
- Reviews: Approved reviews stay on the recipe page while the recipe is published, unless they are removed after an editorial request or moderation. Reviews that are not approved are not shown publicly.
- Emails: We keep reader emails in our inbox for as long as reasonably needed to reply, follow up on corrections and maintain a record of kitchen communications.
- Analytics data: When analytics consent is granted, user- and event-level data retention in Google Analytics is determined by the property's active retention configuration in Google Analytics (the standard default is 2 months unless configured up to 14 months in Google Analytics Admin). Aggregated, non-personal metrics are used for long-term culinary content planning.
- Technical logs: Cloudflare and Google retain infrastructure connection data according to their own operational and security policies.
- Security: The site uses HTTPS encryption across all pages, and we take reasonable steps to protect the information we hold. No website, email service or storage system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security against all potential risks.
13. Privacy Choices and Applicable Rights
You can:
- use the site without giving us personal information. Reading and searching recipes don't require an account.
- choose whether to allow analytics cookies via our consent banner. You can review, update, or withdraw your decision at any time by clicking “Cookie Preferences” in the website footer. Withdrawing consent immediately halts further analytics collection and clears accessible analytics cookies from your browser.
- opt out of Google Analytics across the web using the official Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
- choose what goes in a review, including using a nickname as your display name.
- ask about your information. You can ask what personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct or delete it, such as a review you posted or past emails. Email [email protected] with enough detail for us to locate the record.
- manage cookies and site data in your personal browser settings.
Depending on where you live, privacy laws may provide you with additional rights, such as receiving a copy of your personal data, objecting to certain uses, or filing an inquiry with a data protection authority. We respond to inquiries within a reasonable time and as required by the law that applies to you. We may ask for reasonable verification details to confirm a request, and we may be unable to act on a request that cannot be verified or where an applicable legal exception applies.
14. Children’s Privacy
The Recipes Table is a general-audience website for home cooks. It is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
The recipe review form does not ask for age or contact details, so parents and guardians may wish to guide younger family members when using the site. If you believe a child under 13 has sent us personal information through a review or direct email, please contact us at [email protected], and we will take appropriate steps to remove it from our active records.
15. External Websites and Links
Our recipes, culinary roundups and pages may link to outside websites, including Pinterest and culinary references. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content or privacy practices. We encourage you to review the privacy notice of any outside website you visit.
16. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We will update this policy when our practices change—for example, if we introduce advertising networks, analytics tools, a newsletter subscription, or an active backend contact form.
The “Last updated” date at the top of this page indicates when revisions were made. Changes become effective immediately upon posting on this page. We encourage readers to check back periodically to stay informed.
17. How to Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to make a request about your information, or want to discuss a recipe, you can reach out directly to The Recipes Table Kitchen: