What this policy covers
This page explains how Chef Melissa (chefmelissa.shop) handles your information when you read recipes, use the kitchen tools, or send a message. It applies to this website only, not to any third-party sites linked from recipes, guides, or advertisements.
Chef Melissa is a public reading site. You don't need to create an account, log in, or hand over personal information to read recipes or guides. The pantry checklist and recipe scaler save your entries to your own browser, not to our servers.
Information you give me directly
If you email me at hello@chefmelissa.shop, I receive whatever you send: your name, your email address, the recipe URL you mention, and any details about your kitchen you include. I use those details to reply to you and, if useful, to fix the recipe page so the next reader doesn't hit the same issue.
I don't put email addresses on a marketing list, sell them, or share them with anyone. I keep messages long enough to track corrections and to remember what you wrote if you write again.
Information collected automatically
Like every website, this site receives basic technical information when you visit: your approximate IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, the page you arrived from, the pages you visit, the time of the visit, and any error messages thrown by the hosting provider. That information helps me keep the site working, fix broken pages, and protect against spam and abuse.
I do not use this technical information to identify you personally unless I have to investigate a security or abuse incident.
Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small files a browser stores. Local storage is a similar feature that lets a page remember a setting. This site uses both for a few specific purposes:
- Essential storage for the pantry checklist and the recipe scaler so they remember your entries when you close the tab. This stays in your browser; it isn't sent to any server.
- Analytics if and when I add a privacy-respecting analytics tool. As of the date at the top of this page, I'm not running one.
- Advertising cookies through Google AdSense, which is described in the next section.
You can block cookies in your browser. The recipe pages and guides will still read fine. The two tools that use local storage will simply forget what you typed.
Google AdSense and advertising disclosures
This site uses Google AdSense to show ads. Ads pay for the domain, the hosting, and the writing. Here is what you need to know about how AdSense works on chefmelissa.shop:
- Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites.
- Google's use of advertising cookies enables Google and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet.
- You may opt out of personalised advertising at Google Ads Settings.
- You may also opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting aboutads.info or, in Europe, youronlinechoices.eu.
- How Google uses information from sites that use its services is explained in Google's policy.
I don't pick which specific ad you see. Google's system does, based on its policies, the page content, your settings, and your region. I'm responsible for not showing prohibited categories of ads.
EEA, UK, and Switzerland visitors
If you live in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have additional rights under the GDPR or UK GDPR. Before any personalised ad is shown to you, you should see a consent message from a Google-certified consent management platform asking whether you accept the use of cookies for personalisation. You can change your choice later from the privacy settings page.
You also have the right to ask what information I hold about you, to ask me to correct it, and to ask me to delete it. Email hello@chefmelissa.shop and I'll handle the request within a reasonable time.
How information is used
I use information to run the site, reply to messages, fix broken pages, fight spam, comply with legal requests, and serve ads through AdSense. I don't use information to make decisions about you in any other context. This is a cooking site, not a credit, employment, medical, or financial service.
Sharing information
I share limited information only with the services that make the site work: the hosting provider, Google AdSense, and any analytics or security tool I use. Each of those has its own privacy policy. I don't sell email addresses, contact-form messages, or any other reader information.
I will disclose information if a court or law-enforcement body legally requires it, or if it's necessary to investigate a security problem.
Children
This is a general-audience cooking site and isn't aimed at children under 13. I don't knowingly collect personal information from children. If you're a parent and believe your child sent me a message, email me and I'll delete it.
How to contact me about privacy
Email hello@chefmelissa.shop. Tell me what you'd like (a copy of what I have, a correction, a deletion). Plain English is fine. I'll reply within a few working days.
Changes to this policy
If I add a new tool, a new analytics provider, or a new ad partner, I'll update this page first. The date at the top of this page is the last time I changed anything substantive. Cosmetic edits don't change the date.