Disclosure and Privacy Policy
PRIVACY POLICY
Last updated May 16, 2024
TBC Media, LLC (“we” or “us” or “our”) respects the privacy of our users (“user” or “you”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website (https://theblondcook.com) or any other media form, media channel, mobile website, or mobile application related or connected thereto (collectively, the “Website”). Please read this Privacy Policy carefully.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TERMS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY, PLEASE DO NOT ACCESS THE WEBSITE.
We reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time and for any reason. We will alert you about any changes by updating the “revised” date of this Privacy Policy. Any changes or modifications will be effective immediately upon posting the updated Privacy Policy on the Website, and you waive the right to receive specific notice of each such change or modification. You are encouraged to periodically review this Privacy Policy to stay informed of updates. You will be deemed to have been made aware of, will be subject to, and will be deemed to have accepted the changes in any revised Privacy Policy by your continued use of the Website after the date such revised Privacy Policy is posted.
COLLECTION OF YOUR INFORMATION
We may collect information about you in a variety of ways. The information we may collect on the Website includes:
Personal Data
Personally identifiable information, such as your name, address, email address, and telephone number, and demographic information, such as your age, gender, hometown, and interests, that you voluntarily give to us when you choose to participate in various activities related to the Website, such as newsletter subscriptions, downloads, and website comments. You are under no obligation to provide us with personal information of any kind, however your refusal to do so may prevent you from using certain features of the Website.
Derivative Data
Derivative Data is information our servers may automatically collect when you access the Website, such as your IP address, your browser type, your operating system, your access times, and the pages you have viewed directly before and after accessing the Website.
Data from Contests, Giveaways, and Surveys
Personal and other information you may provide when entering contests or giveaways and/or responding to surveys.
USE OF YOUR INFORMATION
Having accurate information about you permits us to provide you with a smooth, efficient, and customized experience. Specifically, we may use information collected about you via the Website to:
Administer sweepstakes, promotions, and contests.
Compile anonymous statistical data and analysis for use internally or with third parties.
Deliver targeted advertising, coupons, newsletters, promotions, and other information regarding the Website to you.
Allow comments on the Website.
Send you a periodic digital newsletter or Website feed.
Increase the efficiency and operation of the Website.
Monitor and analyze usage and trends to improve your experience with the Website.
Notify you of updates to the Website.
Offer new products, services, and/or recommendations to you.
Perform other business activities as needed.
Request feedback and contact you about your use of the Website.
Resolve disputes and troubleshoot problems.
DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION
We may share information we have collected about you in certain situations. Your information may be disclosed as follows:
By Law or to Protect Rights
If we believe the release of information about you is necessary to respond to legal process, to investigate or remedy potential violations of our policies, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of others, we may share your information as permitted or required by any applicable law, rule, or regulation. This includes exchanging information with other entities for fraud protection and privacy risk reduction.
Third-Party Service Providers
We may share your information with third parties that perform services for us or on our behalf, including data analysis, email delivery, hosting services, customer service, and marketing assistance.
Marketing Communications
With your consent, or with an opportunity for you to withdraw consent, we may share your information with third parties for marketing purposes, as permitted by law.
Online Postings
When you post comments, contributions, or other content to the Website, your posts may be viewed by all users and may be publicly distributed outside the Website in perpetuity.
Third-Party Advertisers
We use a third-party advertising company to serve ads when you visit the Website. This company may use information about your visits to the Website and other websites that are contained in web cookies to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.
Business Partners
We may share your information with our business partners to offer you certain products, services, or promotions you may enjoy.
Other Third Parties
We may share your information with advertisers and investors for the purpose of conducting general business analysis. We may also share your information with such third parties for marketing purposes, as permitted by law.
Sale or Bankruptcy
If we reorganize or sell all or a portion of our assets, undergo a merger, or are acquired by another entity, we may transfer your information to the successor entity. If we go out of business or enter bankruptcy, your information would be an asset transferred or acquired by a third party. You acknowledge that such transfers may occur and that the transferee may decline to honor commitments we made in this Privacy Policy.
We are not responsible for the actions of third parties with whom you share personal or sensitive data, and we have no authority to manage or control third-party solicitations. If you no longer wish to receive correspondence, emails or other communications from third parties, you are responsible for contacting the third party directly.
TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
Cookies, Web Beacons, and Tracking Pixels
We use cookies, web beacons, tracking pixels, and other tracking technologies on the Website to help customize the Website and improve your experience. When you access the Website, your personal information is not collected through the use of tracking technology. Most browsers are set to accept cookies by default. You can remove or reject cookies, but be aware that such action could affect the availability and functionality of the Website. You may not decline web beacons; however, they can be rendered ineffective by declining all cookies or by modifying your web browser’s settings to notify you each time a cookie is tendered, permitting you to accept or decline cookies on an individual basis.
Periodically, we may need to include a tracking pixel to monitor the effectiveness of information or materials we share. For example, you may subscribe to our newsletter, which may be used for advertising purposes. Newsletters sent may contain tracking pixels. The pixel is embedded in emails and allows for an analysis of the success of online marketing campaigns. Because of these tracking pixels, we may see if and when you open an email and which links within the email you click. Also, this allows the Website to adapt the content of future newsletters to the interests of the user. We do not share this information with third parties.
Internet-Based Advertising
We use third-party software from Raptive, a CMI Marketing, Inc. property, to serve ads on the Website. This third-party software may use cookies or similar tracking technology to help manage and optimize your online experience with us. For more information about opting out of internet-based ads, visit the third-party network or review the Digital Advertising Alliance Opt-Out Tool.
This Website is affiliated with CMI Marketing, Inc., d/b/a CafeMedia (“CafeMedia”) for the purposes of placing advertising on the Website, and CafeMedia will collect and use certain data for advertising purposes. To learn more about CafeMedia’s data usage, click the following link: www.cafemedia.com/publisher-advertising-privacy-policy
Website Analytics
We also partner with selected third-party vendors, such as Google Analytics, to allow tracking technologies and remarketing services on the Website through the use of first party cookies and third-party cookies, to, among other things, analyze and track users’ use of the Website, determine the popularity of certain content and better understand online activity. By accessing the Website, you consent to the collection and use of your information by these third-party vendors. You are encouraged to review their privacy policies and contact them directly for responses to your questions. We do not transfer personal information to these third-party vendors. However, if you do not want any information to be collected and used by tracking technologies, you can visit the third-party vendor or review the Digital Advertising Alliance Opt-Out Tool.
You should be aware that getting a new computer, installing a new browser, upgrading an existing browser, or erasing or otherwise altering your browser’s cookies files may also clear certain opt-out cookies, plug-ins, or settings.
Sponsored Content
We provide sponsored content in which we are compensated for recipe development, product reviews, and other work. Sponsored content may contain separate tracking pixels. The pixel may be embedded in emails or blog posts and allows an analysis of the success of online marketing campaigns. Because of these tracking pixels, we may see if and when you click on a specific link, open an email, and which links within the email you click. Also, this allows us to adapt the content of future posts to the interests of the user. This behavior may be passed on to third parties.
THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES
The Website contains links to third-party websites and applications of interest, including advertisements and external services, that are not affiliated with us. Once you have used these links to leave the Website, any information you provide to these third parties is not covered by this Privacy Policy, and we cannot guarantee the safety and privacy of your information. Before visiting and providing any information to any third-party websites, you should inform yourself of the privacy policies and practices (if any) of the third party responsible for that website, and should take those steps necessary to, in your discretion, protect the privacy of your information. We are not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of any third parties, including other sites, services or applications that may be linked to or from the Website.
The Website engages in affiliate marketing, which is done by embedding tracking links into the Website. If you click on a link for one of our affiliate partners, a cookie will be placed on your browser to track any sales for purposes of commissions.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and providing links to products or services available from Amazon.com. As part of this Amazon Associates program, the Website may post customized links, provided by Amazon, to track the referrals to the Amazon listing. This affiliate program utilizes cookies to track visits for the purposes of assigning commission on these sales.
SECURITY OF YOUR INFORMATION
We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your personal information. While we have taken reasonable steps to secure the personal information you provide to us, please be aware that despite our efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse. Any information disclosed online is vulnerable to interception and misuse by unauthorized parties. Therefore, we cannot guarantee complete security if you provide personal information.
RIGHTS RELATED TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Opt-out – You may opt-out of future email communications by following the unsubscribe links in our emails.
The General Data Protection Regulation or “GDPR” gives certain rights to individuals in relation to their personal data. In addition, we offer transparency and access controls to help users take advantage of those rights. As available and except as limited under applicable law, the rights afforded to individuals are:
Right of access – the right to be informed of, and request access to, the personal data we process about you;
Right to rectification – the right to request that we amend or update your personal data where it is inaccurate or incomplete;
Right to erasure – the right to request that we delete your personal data;
Right to restrict – the right to request that we temporarily or permanently stop processing all or some of your personal data;
Right to object –
- the right, at any time, to object to us processing your personal data on grounds relating to your particular situation;
- the right to object to your personal data being processed for direct marketing purposes;
Right to data portability – the right to request a copy of your personal data in electronic format and the right to transmit that personal data for use in another party’s service; and
Right not to be subject to automated decision-making – the right to not be subject to a decision based solely on automated decision making, including profiling, where the decision would have a legal effect on you or produce a similarly significant effect.
You may also contact us at and inform us of your desire to exercise your rights. We will reply with further instructions to verify your identity and provide details regarding the process. Please note that we may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes or to complete transactions, or when required by law.
SENSITIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION
At no time should you submit sensitive personal information to the Website. This includes your social security number, information regarding race or ethnic origin, political affiliation or opinions, religious beliefs, health information, criminal background, or other sensitive personal information. If you elect to submit such information to us, it will be subject to this Privacy Policy.
POLICY FOR CHILDREN
The Website is designed for those 18 years of age or older. Visitors under the age of 18 must have permission from their parent or guardian to use certain features of our Website. We do not knowingly collect any personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly solicit information from or market to children under the age of 13. If you become aware of any data we have collected from children under age 13, please contact us using the information provided on our Contact page.
CONTROLS FOR DO-NOT-TRACK FEATURES
Most web browsers and some mobile operating systems include a Do-Not-Track (“DNT”) feature or setting you can activate to signal your privacy preference not to have data about your online browsing activities monitored and collected. No uniform technology standard for recognizing and implementing DNT signals has been finalized. As such, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals or any other mechanism that automatically communicates your choice not to be tracked online. If a standard for online tracking is adopted that we must follow in the future, we will inform you about that practice in a revised version of this Privacy Policy.
CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS
California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the “Shine the Light” law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to us using the contact information provided below.
If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have provided your personal information with the Website, you have the right to request removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Website. To request removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below, and include sufficient detail about the public post(s) and a statement that you reside in California. We will make sure the data is not publicly displayed on the Website, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from our systems, nor can we guarantee any cached or archived version of the Website will remove such data.
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), enacted in 2018, creates new consumer rights relating to the access to, deletion of, and sharing of personal information that is collected by businesses. While we do not sell your information to any third party, we may partner with third-party service providers and affiliate partners who may gain access to your information through the use of beacons, tracking pixels, or cookies as provided in this Privacy Policy. If you are a California resident, California law may provide you with additional rights regarding our use of your personal information. To learn more about your California privacy rights, visit our Supplementary Privacy Notice for California Residents.
CONTACT US
If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact us using the information provided on our Contact page.
DISCLOSURE POLICY
Last Updated October 8, 2024
This Disclosure Policy is to inform you that information you see on the Site may be due to compensation or other business relationships; that we reserve the right to edit comments and information provided by users and third-parties; and that any health or nutritional information provided is solely as a courtesy. In addition, while we may be enthusiasts of the products or services found on the Site, it is up to you to use your best judgment and knowledge before buying or using anything you find on the Site. In addition, even if specific safety measures or concerns are not presented you are still responsible for exercising safe and legal handling of any products or services you may acquire based on information received from this Site.
COMMENT POLICY ON THE BLOND COOK
The Blond Cook is a food blog and photo gallery of recipes created to encourage and inspire you to make, enjoy, and share family-friendly meals with everyday ingredients. It is also a place for people who love food to share their enthusiasm for a recipe that they may or may not have made, to reminisce, relate or to share in the joy of delicious food. Comments are not a requirement for accessing any of the recipes found on the Site, so it may be that there are no comments regarding how a recipe turned out for any particular reader. All comments made on this Site are subject to the Site Privacy Policy. User and other third-party submitted content and/or links may be changed, altered, or modified at any time in the sole and absolute discretion of The Blond Cook or its representatives.
The Blond Cook uses several third-party tools and platforms, including social media channels, to share content and communicate with our readers.
Many of these platforms offer the ability for individuals to leave comments, which may include both words and images. We encourage visitors and followers to offer comments as they relate to the topics being discussed.
The views expressed in the comments only reflect those of the comment’s author, and do not necessarily reflect the official views of The Blond Cook or its owners.
We reserve the discretion to hide, delete, or not allow comments that contain:
Vulgar or abusive language;
Personal or obscene attacks of any kind;
Offensive terms targeting individuals or groups;
Threats or defamatory statements;
Links to any site;
Suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity;
Multiple successive off-topic posts by a single user or repetitive posts copied and pasted by multiple users, or spam;
Unsolicited proposals or other business ideas or inquiries;
Recipe ratings and comments when substitutions are made;
Recipe ratings when you did not make the recipe; or
Promotion or endorsement of commercial services, products, or entities.
The Blond Cook does not hesitate to approve critical comments as long as the criticism is relevant to the post where the comment will appear and is constructive and polite.
Since comments are moderated, they do not appear on the website until they have been approved.
Finally, we reserve the right to turn off comments at any time without notice.
ADVERTISING
This Site accepts various forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions, or other forms of compensation.
The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics, or posts made on this Site. The content, advertising space, or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content, although we will take efforts to be in compliance with the Federal Trade Commission guidelines for disclosure of content provided as part of a material business relationship where appropriate. In addition, the Site may utilize advertising networks or affiliate programs to bring you products or services for which you may have an interest. This compensation may impact how products or services are displayed on the Site.
The Blond Cook may be compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though we may receive compensation for posts or advertisements, all opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products are based on the experience of the writer and are true to the best of our knowledge. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be independently verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party in question.
AFFILIATE PROGRAM PARTICIPATION
The Blond Cook engages in affiliate marketing, which is done by embedding tracking links into the Site. If you click on a link to an affiliate partnership, a cookie will be placed on your browser to track any sales for purposes of commissions.
The Blond Cook is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and links to Amazon.com. As part of the Amazon Associates program, The Blond Cook will post customized links, provided by Amazon, to track the referrals to their website. This program utilizes cookies to track visits for the purposes of assigning commission on these sales.
The Blond Cook also participates in affiliate marketing programs with other third-parties which may utilize cookies to track visits for the purpose of assigning commission on sales.
For more information about how cookies are used on the Site, please refer to our Privacy Policy above.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
All content, including photographs and videos, created by The Blond Cook is subject to copyright restrictions. Sometimes we work with third parties to provide photography or video content. If you’d like to share any of the recipes, photos, videos, or articles from the Site please do so through the share features enabled on the post. We have tried to make it easy for you to share our posts on social media. In addition, we often have available the option to email or print the recipe for your personal use only.
We ask that if you wish to repost or reproduce any text, recipe, photograph, or video content that you please contact us to find out about our licensing service.
“The Blond Cook” is a United States registered trademark owned by Amy Brinkley.
HEALTH AND NUTRITION INFORMATION
Any specific health claim or nutritional claims or information provided on the Site are for informational purposes only. Nothing on the Site is offered or intended to be a substitute for professional medical, health, or nutritional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Statements within the Site have not been evaluated or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This Site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. You assume full responsibility for consulting a qualified health professional regarding health conditions or concerns, and before starting a new diet or health program. The owner, writer(s), and publisher(s) of the Site are not responsible for adverse reactions, effects, or consequences resulting from the use of any recipes or suggestions provided or procedures undertaken hereafter.
If nutritional information is provided on a recipe, such information is provided as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. This information is a product of online calculators and should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. If the accuracy of any nutritional information is important to you, reliance on such information provided on the Site is not suggested.
DRINK RESPONSIBLY
The Blond Cook will occasionally include recipes that include wine, beer, or spirits or provide reviews of beverages intended to be consumed by those of legal drinking age. This content is intended for those 21 and over. Always drink responsibly.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The owner of this website does not consent to the content on this website being used or downloaded by any third parties for the purposes of developing, training or operating artificial intelligence or other machine learning systems (“Artificial Intelligence Purposes”), except as authorized by the owner in writing (including written electronic communication). Absent such consent, users of this website, including any third parties accessing the website through automated systems, are prohibited from using any of the content on the website for Artificial Intelligence Purposes. Users or automated systems that fail to respect these choices will be considered to have breached [these Terms of Service][this Agreement].
We have included on the pages of this website a robots meta tag with the “noai” or “noimageai” directive in the head section of the HTML page. Please note that even if such directives are not present on any web page or content file, this website still does not grant consent to use any content for Artificial Intelligence Purposes unless such consent is expressly contained.