This Privacy Policy explains how Vito’s Italian Cucina (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, and protects your information when you visit https://www.vitositaliancucina.com (the “Website”), subscribe to our recipe emails, contact us, or buy from our shop. By using the Website, you agree to the practices described here.
Who We Are
Vito’s Italian Cucina is a recipe and cooking website run by Chef Vito Giambalvo. We share traditional, family-inspired Italian recipes, cooking videos, and Vito’s Italian Cucina merchandise such as aprons, hats, and bowties.
If you have any questions about this policy, you can reach us through our contact page.
Information We Collect
We collect only the information we need to run the Website, answer your questions, and fulfill your orders.
Information you give us
- Contact form: your name, email address, subject, and message when you use the “Ask Vito A Question” form.
- Newsletter sign-up: your email address (and name, if provided) when you join our “Never Miss A Recipe” email list.
- Shop orders: your name, billing and shipping address, email address, phone number, and order details when you buy from our shop. Payment card details are entered directly with our payment processor and are not stored on our servers.
- Comments: your name, email address, website (optional), and comment text if you leave a comment on a recipe post.
Information collected automatically
- Device and usage data: IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, pages viewed, time spent on pages, referring website, and approximate location (city or country level).
- Cookies and similar technologies: small files stored on your device that help the Website work, remember your preferences and cart, and measure how visitors use the site. See the Cookies section below.
We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal information such as health data, government ID numbers, or financial account numbers.
How We Use Your Information
We use your information to:
- Reply to your recipe questions and messages.
- Send our recipe newsletter and updates you signed up for (you can unsubscribe at any time).
- Process, ship, and support your shop orders, including order confirmations and customer service.
- Publish and moderate comments on recipe posts.
- Understand which recipes and pages are popular so we can improve the Website and create better content.
- Show relevant ads and measure how well our promotions perform.
- Protect the Website against spam, fraud, and security threats (for example, using captcha on our forms).
- Meet our legal, tax, and accounting obligations.
We do not sell your personal information.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar tools for the following purposes:
| Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Essential | Keep the Website, shopping cart, and checkout working securely |
| Preferences | Remember your settings and choices |
| Analytics | Measure visits, traffic sources, and page performance |
| Advertising | Measure ad performance and show relevant ads on other platforms |
You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect how parts of the Website, such as the shop, work.
Third-Party Services We Use
We work with trusted third parties who help us run the Website. They may collect or process information on our behalf under their own privacy policies:
- WordPress and WooCommerce: power the Website and our online shop.
- PayPal: processes shop payments. Your payment details go directly to PayPal. See the PayPal Privacy Statement.
- Google (Analytics, Search Console, Google Fonts, reCAPTCHA where used): help us understand traffic, show the Website in search, load fonts, and block spam. See the Google Privacy Policy.
- Meta (Facebook and Instagram, including the Meta Pixel where used): helps us measure and improve our ads. See the Meta Privacy Policy.
- YouTube: our recipe videos are embedded from YouTube, which may set cookies when you play a video.
- Image delivery (ShortPixel CDN): serves optimized images for faster page loads.
- Email service provider [NAME, e.g. Mailchimp/MailerLite]: stores subscriber emails and sends our newsletter.
Our Website also links to our social profiles on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn. Those platforms handle your data under their own policies.
To opt out of personalized ads, you can visit Google Ad Settings, your Facebook ad preferences, or the Digital Advertising Alliance opt-out page.
How We Share Your Information
We share personal information only when needed:
- Service providers: hosting, payment, shipping, email, analytics, and advertising partners who help us run the Website and shop.
- Shipping carriers: your name and address so we can deliver your order.
- Legal reasons: when required by law, court order, or to protect our rights, users, or the Website.
- Business changes: if the Website is sold or transferred, your information may move to the new owner under this same policy.
How Long We Keep Your Information
- Contact messages: as long as needed to answer you and handle any follow-up.
- Newsletter data: until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it.
- Order records: as long as required for tax, accounting, and legal purposes.
- Comments: for as long as the post is published, unless you ask us to remove them.
- Analytics data: according to the retention settings of the analytics provider.
How We Protect Your Information
The Website uses SSL encryption (HTTPS), secure payment processing through PayPal, and spam protection on our forms. We limit access to personal information to people who need it to run the Website. No method of online transmission or storage is 100% secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Your Privacy Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you.
- Correct inaccurate information.
- Delete your personal information.
- Opt out of marketing emails at any time using the “unsubscribe” link in any email.
- Opt out of targeted advertising or the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information as defined by laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA).
- Withdraw consent and object to or restrict certain processing, if you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom (GDPR / UK GDPR).
- Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
To use any of these rights, contact us at [YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS]. We will respond within the time required by applicable law and will not treat you differently for exercising your rights.
Do Not Track: Some browsers send “Do Not Track” signals. There is no common standard for these signals, so the Website does not currently respond to them. We do honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals where required by law.
Children’s Privacy
The Website is meant for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
Third-Party Links
Our recipes and pages may link to other websites, such as YouTube, social media platforms, or product and ingredient sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites. Please review their privacy policies before sharing information with them.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to the Website, our services, or the law. The “Last updated” date at the top shows when it was last changed. Please check this page regularly.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, please contact us:
- Website: Ask Vito A Question
