Privacy Policy

Last Updated: September 28, 2025

1. Introduction

FoodTrends Explorer ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website and services (collectively, the "Service"). Please read this policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the site.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect information about you in a variety of ways. The information we may collect on the Service includes:

Personal Data

Personally identifiable information, such as your name, email address, and password, that you voluntarily give to us when you register for an account. If you register using a third-party provider (like Google or GitHub), we will collect your name, email, and profile image as provided by that service.

User-Generated Content

We collect the information you provide when you use our Service, such as when you create personal collections of articles ("Mixes") or "like" articles. This includes the content of your Mixes and a record of the articles you have liked.

Usage and Analytics Data

Information our servers automatically collect when you access the Service, such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, and pages you have viewed. We use Vercel Analytics for this purpose, which processes data in a privacy-preserving manner.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and manage your account.
• Provide, operate, and maintain our Service.
• Personalize your experience.
• Enable you to create and share Mixes and Likes.
• Monitor and analyze usage and trends to improve the Service.
• Communicate with you, including for account verification and password resets.

4. Disclosure of Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information we have collected about you in certain situations:

• With Your Consent: We may share your information with third parties when you have given us consent to do so.
• Service Providers: We may share your information with third-party vendors that perform services for us, such as database hosting (Neon), email delivery (Resend), and analytics (Vercel).
• By Law or to Protect Rights: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect and defend our rights or property, or prevent fraud.
• Third-Party Advertisers: We use Adsterra to display advertisements on our website. Adsterra may collect information about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide relevant advertisements. We also use Google AdSense to display ads. Google may use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites. You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google's Ad Settings.

5. Advertising and Third-Party Services

We display advertisements through third-party advertising networks to help support our Service:

• Adsterra: We use Adsterra to display sponsored content and advertisements. Adsterra may collect information about your browsing behavior to provide relevant ads.
• Google AdSense: We use Google AdSense to display contextual advertisements. Google may use cookies and other tracking technologies to serve personalized ads.

These advertising partners may use cookies, web beacons, and other technologies to collect information about your visits to our website and other sites to provide relevant advertisements.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to operate the Service. For example, we use cookies to keep you logged in (authentication) and for analytics and advertising. For more detailed information, please see our Cookie Policy.

7. Data Security and Retention

We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your personal information. We will retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with the Service and comply with our legal obligations.

8. Your Data Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal data, including the right to access, correct, or delete your information. You can manage your account information from your profile page or by contacting us directly.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at [Your Contact Email].