Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Information you give us directly

• Comments and recipe reviews — name (or display name), email address (not published), and any content you submit (star rating, written review, questions).
• Newsletter sign-up — if you subscribe to "The Mentor's Notes," your email address is collected and stored by our newsletter provider, Substack, not on our own servers. See Substack's own privacy policy for how they handle that data.
• Contact/feedback forms — if you email us or fill out a contact form, we receive your name, email address, and message content.

Information collected automatically

When you browse the Site, certain information is collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies:

• IP address, browser type, device type, and operating system
• Pages visited, time spent on pages, referring/exit pages, and links clicked
• Approximate geographic location (city/region level, derived from IP address)

Information from third parties

• If you interact with our content on Pinterest, Instagram, or other social platforms, those platforms may share limited engagement data with us (e.g., through the Pinterest tag described below).
• Affiliate networks (see Section 4) may share aggregate click and conversion data tied to the tracking links you clicked — they do not share your personally identifying information with us.

2. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the Site and understand how it's used:

Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand aggregate site traffic and behavior. Google may use this data consistent with its own Privacy Policy. You can opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Pinterest tag: We use the Pinterest tag to measure how visitors who arrive from Pinterest interact with our Site, and to improve our own Pinterest content and campaigns. Pinterest's use of this data is governed by Pinterest's Privacy Policy.

Affiliate tracking cookies: When you click a link to Amazon, Target, Walmart, or Instacart from our Site, a cookie is placed by that retailer (or its network, such as Impact) to track the referral. These cookies are governed by the respective retailer's own privacy policy, not ours. We do not have access to your purchase details — we only receive aggregate commission and click data.

Managing cookies: Most browsers let you block or delete cookies through their settings. Blocking essential cookies may affect site features like the shopping list tool. Blocking analytics or advertising cookies will not affect your ability to browse or use recipes.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use collected information to:

• Operate, maintain, and improve the Site and its features (recipe search, shopping lists, reviews)
• Respond to comments, questions, and feedback
• Send the newsletter to subscribers who opt in (via Substack)
• Understand which content and categories resonate, to guide what we create next
• Detect, prevent, and address spam, abuse, or security issues
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not sell your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

4. Affiliate Disclosure

My Menu Mentor participates in affiliate marketing programs, which means we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on our Site, at no additional cost to you.

• As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases made through Amazon links on this Site.
• We are also a member of the Target Partners program and the Walmart affiliate program, both managed through the Impact affiliate network, and may earn commissions on qualifying purchases made through those links.
• We participate in Instacart's Content Creator program and may earn a commission when you use our Instacart links, subject to Instacart's own terms.

These programs place tracking cookies to attribute purchases to our Site. We only recommend products and equipment we believe are genuinely useful to home cooks; affiliate relationships do not influence which recipes we publish.

5. Third-Party Services We Use

Each of these services may collect information independently under their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review those policies if you have concerns about how they handle your data.

6. Your Privacy Choices & Rights

All visitors:

• You may decline cookies through your browser settings (see Section 2).
• You may unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email, or by managing your subscription directly on Substack.
• You may request that we delete a comment or review you submitted by emailing us at the address below.

California residents (CCPA/CPRA): You have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion of that information, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information (which, under California law, can include some advertising/analytics cookies). To exercise these rights, email us at the address below. We do not knowingly sell personal information in the traditional sense; the analytics and advertising cookies described in Section 2 are the closest equivalent, and you may opt out of those as described there.

EU/UK visitors (GDPR): If you are located in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, you have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your personal data, and to object to certain processing. Contact us at the address below to make a request.

We will respond to verified privacy requests within a reasonable time, generally within 30–45 days.

7. Children's Privacy

My Menu Mentor is not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

8. Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect the information we collect, but no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of information you submit to the Site.

9. Data Retention

We retain comment, review, and contact-form information for as long as reasonably necessary to operate the Site and respond to inquiries, or until you request deletion. Newsletter subscriber data is retained by Substack according to their own retention practices until you unsubscribe.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, tools, or legal requirements. The “Last Updated” date at the top will reflect the most recent revision. Continued use of the Site after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise any of the rights described above, contact us at: