Last updated: 15 September 2026
This policy explains what Gather Dinners collects when you visit gatherdinners.com, why it is collected, who else can see it, and what you can ask us to do about it. It is written to be read rather than skimmed past.
Who is responsible
Gather Dinners is an independently operated recipe publication. The site is the data controller for the information described here. All privacy requests go through the contact form with PRIVACY REQUEST in the subject line.
What is collected
Information you give us
The contact form asks for your name, email address, a subject and a message. That is sent to us so we can reply, and it is kept only as long as needed to handle the exchange and any follow-up. If you leave a comment, WordPress stores the comment text, the name and email you entered, and your IP address, so the comment can be shown and moderated for spam.
Information collected automatically
Like every web server, our host records standard log data for each request: IP address, date and time, the page requested, the referring page, and your browser and operating system. These logs exist for security, abuse prevention and diagnosing errors, and they are rotated by the host on its own schedule.
Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small files placed on your device. Gather Dinners uses them to keep the site working, to understand which pages are read, and, where advertising is served, to control what you are shown. The full breakdown, category by category, is in the cookie policy.
Why it is used
- To run the site and deliver pages quickly and correctly, including caching and security filtering.
- To answer you when you use the contact form or leave a comment.
- To understand what is read, in aggregate, so that recipes people actually use get improved first.
- To fund the site through advertising, where measurement and frequency control require limited data.
- To meet legal obligations and to defend against fraud, abuse and automated attack.
Where the law requires a legal basis, ours is: your consent for non-essential cookies and for advertising personalisation; legitimate interest for security, aggregate audience measurement and answering your messages; and legal obligation where a rule requires the data to be kept.
Who else sees it
We do not sell your personal information and we do not trade contact details. A small number of service providers necessarily process data on our behalf:
- Hosting. The site runs on Hostinger, which stores the site files, database and server logs.
- Analytics. Where an analytics tool is active, it reports aggregate page and traffic data. Individual readers are not identified to us by name.
- Advertising. If and when advertising is served, the ad partner and its own vendors may set cookies or read device identifiers to select ads and measure them. Their handling of that data is governed by their policies, not this one, and the vendors in use are listed in the consent tool on the site.
- Embedded content. Pages may embed material from other sites, such as video players or social posts. Embedded content behaves exactly as if you had visited the other site directly, and can collect data and set its own cookies.
Data may be processed in countries outside your own, including the United States. Where transfers out of the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom take place, they rely on the safeguards the relevant provider has put in place, such as standard contractual clauses.
How long it is kept
Contact form messages are kept while the conversation is open and for a reasonable period afterwards in case the matter returns. Comments and their metadata stay for as long as the comment is published. Server logs follow the host retention schedule. Cookies expire on the timetable set out in the cookie policy, and you can clear them at any time from your browser.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you, to have it corrected, to have it deleted, to restrict or object to how it is used, to receive it in a portable format, and to withdraw consent you previously gave. Under the GDPR and UK GDPR these rights apply to readers in the EEA and the UK. Under the CCPA and CPRA, readers in California may request disclosure and deletion, and may opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information; Gather Dinners does not sell personal information, and where advertising involves sharing for cross-context behavioural advertising, the consent tool on the site is how you decline it.
To exercise any of these, use the contact form with PRIVACY REQUEST in the subject line. We answer within the period the applicable law allows and we do not treat you differently for asking. You also have the right to complain to your national data protection authority.
Children
This site is written for adults and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, write to us and it will be deleted.
Do Not Track and global privacy signals
Browsers send a Do Not Track header inconsistently and there is no agreed standard for honouring it, so this site does not respond to it. Where a recognised opt-out signal such as Global Privacy Control is received, it is treated as a request to decline non-essential and advertising cookies.
Security
The site is served over HTTPS, access to the administration area is restricted, and security filtering is applied at the host. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security, but the data handled here is deliberately kept minimal for that reason.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes materially, the date at the top is updated and the change is described here. Continuing to use the site after a change means the revised policy applies to your visit.