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Privacy Policy

Last updated: 18 August 2026

Who we are

Foodlovers is a New Zealand website that operates the Foodlovers website at https://www.foodlovers.co.nz/ and the Foodlovers Forums at https://forum.foodlovers.co.nz/. In this policy, “Foodlovers”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to the New Zealand operator of these services.

This policy explains what information we collect, how we use and share it, and the choices available to you. Foodlovers’ Privacy Officer is Helen Jackson. For privacy questions or requests, contact [email protected] or use our contact page.

New Zealand privacy framework

This policy is written primarily for New Zealand users and is governed by the Privacy Act 2020 and its Information Privacy Principles. We aim to collect only information that is necessary for a lawful purpose, be open about our practices, keep information reasonably secure, use and disclose it appropriately, and not retain it for longer than required.

If we collect personal information about you indirectly, we will take the reasonable notification steps required by Information Privacy Principle 3A where it applies, unless a lawful exception is available. Additional privacy rights may apply to visitors outside New Zealand; the regional controls described below supplement, rather than replace, this New Zealand framework.

Information we collect

Information you provide

We collect information that you choose to provide when you:

  • post a recipe comment or participate in the forum;
  • create or manage a forum or website account;
  • submit a contact, subscription, competition or other form;
  • upload content or communicate with us.

This may include your name, email address, username, profile information, message or post content, competition entry information and any other details you submit.

Information collected automatically

When you use the site or forum, we and our service providers may collect technical information such as your IP address, browser and device type, operating system, approximate location, referring page, pages viewed, timestamps, cookie identifiers and interactions with site content or advertising.

How we use information

We use information to operate and secure the website and forum; publish and moderate user contributions; detect spam, fraud and abuse; respond to enquiries; administer subscriptions and competitions; understand and improve site performance; measure and display advertising; maintain records; and comply with legal obligations.

Comments, forum posts and profiles

When visitors leave comments or forum posts, we collect the information shown in the relevant form together with the visitor’s IP address and browser user-agent string to help with moderation, security and spam detection. Approved comments, forum posts, usernames and profile information intended to be public can be viewed by other visitors.

An anonymised string created from an email address may be provided to Gravatar to determine whether a profile image is available. Gravatar is operated by Automattic; see Automattic’s privacy policy. Comments may also be checked by the Akismet anti-spam service, which may receive the commenter’s IP address, user agent, referrer, site URL, name, email address and comment content.

Forms, subscriptions and competitions

Information submitted through contact, subscription and competition forms is used to respond to the request, deliver the requested communication or administer the promotion. We may retain form submissions for customer service, administration, fraud prevention and legal record-keeping. Marketing communications include an unsubscribe option where applicable.

Cookies and similar technologies

Foodlovers and its service providers use cookies, local storage and similar technologies. These may include:

  • Essential and functional technologies used for security, logins, account preferences, comments and forum operation.
  • Analytics technologies used to understand visits, navigation and site performance.
  • Advertising technologies used to deliver, limit, personalise and measure advertising, depending on your location and consent choices.

If you leave a comment, you may choose to save your name, email address and website in cookies for convenience. Login and account cookies may also be used to maintain sessions and preferences.

New Zealand visitors can control or delete cookies through their browser, although doing so may affect site functionality. Advertising choices can also be adjusted through any privacy or cookie control displayed on the site. As an additional regional requirement, eligible visitors in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom and Switzerland are shown a consent message that allows them to consent, decline or manage applicable advertising and data-use choices. Those visitors can later change their choices using the “Privacy and cookie settings” link. This European consent message supplements this New Zealand-focused policy and is not the primary privacy framework for New Zealand visitors.

Advertising

We use Google AdSense to display and measure advertising. Depending on your location and choices, Google and its advertising partners may use cookies, device identifiers and information about your activity to serve personalised or non-personalised ads, limit repeated ads, detect fraud and measure performance.

Learn more about how Google uses information from sites that use its services at Google’s partner sites policy and about Google’s advertising technologies at Google’s advertising policy page.

We do not sell personal information for money. Some advertising-related disclosures or uses may be treated as a “sale” or “sharing” under particular privacy laws. Where required, we provide consent or opt-out controls.

Analytics and session insights

We use services that help us understand how visitors use Foodlovers, including:

Embedded content and social features

Pages may contain embedded videos, images, maps, social buttons or other content from third parties. Embedded content behaves as though you visited the third-party website directly and may allow that provider to collect information, use cookies or monitor your interaction according to its own privacy policy.

Who we share information with

We may share information with service providers that support hosting, content delivery, security, spam prevention, analytics, advertising, email delivery, forms and website administration. These include Google, Microsoft and Automattic services described above. We may also disclose information where required by law, to protect users or our services, or as part of a business transfer. Providers process information under their own terms and privacy policies or on our behalf.

Overseas service providers and disclosures

Some service providers operate in or process information from countries outside New Zealand. We assess overseas disclosures in accordance with Information Privacy Principle 12 of the Privacy Act 2020. Where IPP 12 applies, we will take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient is subject to privacy safeguards comparable to New Zealand law, obtain the individual’s informed authorisation, or rely on another permitted basis. A provider that stores or processes information solely as our agent may be treated differently under the Act, but we still require appropriate security and handling. Providers’ privacy policies give further information about their own practices.

How long we retain information

Comments, forum posts and associated metadata may be retained indefinitely to preserve conversations, recognise follow-up contributions and support moderation. Account information is retained while an account remains active and as needed for security and administration. Form submissions and technical records are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described above or to meet legal obligations. Aggregated or de-identified information may be retained for longer.

Your New Zealand privacy rights

Under New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020, you may ask whether we hold personal information about you, request access to it, and ask us to correct information that is wrong, incomplete or misleading. If we do not make a requested correction, you may ask us to attach a statement of correction. We will respond within the time required by the Act, normally within 20 working days. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner explains these rights in its New Zealand privacy rights guidance.

You can update available account information through your profile and adjust advertising consent through any site privacy controls available to you. To make an access, correction or other privacy request, email Foodlovers’ Privacy Officer at [email protected]. We may need to verify your identity. Some information may be withheld or retained where permitted or required by New Zealand law. Visitors outside New Zealand may also have rights under laws that apply to them.

Security and privacy breaches

We use reasonable safeguards designed to protect personal information, including encrypted connections and administrative access controls. No internet service can guarantee complete security. If a privacy breach has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm, we will notify the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals as soon as practicable, unless a lawful exception applies.

Children

Foodlovers is intended for a general audience. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children in circumstances where parental or guardian consent is required. Please contact us if you believe a child has provided personal information inappropriately.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our services or legal obligations change. The latest version will be published on this page with an updated date.

Contact and complaints

For privacy questions, requests or complaints, contact Foodlovers’ Privacy Officer, Helen Jackson, at [email protected] or through our contact page. We will try to resolve your concern directly. If you are not satisfied, you may contact or make a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, New Zealand.