Who we are
Our website address is: https://oldcountrytable.com.
This site is operated by Matthew P., based in Portugal. For any privacy-related questions or requests, you can contact us at oldcountrytable@proton.me. We are the data controller responsible for your personal data as described in this policy.
What personal data we collect and why
Comments
When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, along with the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string, to help with spam detection.
An anonymised string created from your email address (a “hash”) may be shared with the Gravatar service to check whether you have an account there. The Gravatar service’s privacy policy is available at: https://automattic.com/privacy/. If your comment is approved, your profile picture will be publicly visible alongside your comment.
Media
If you upload images to the website, please avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract location data from images published on the site.
Contact forms
If you contact us directly (for example, via our contact page or by email), we collect the information you provide, such as your name, email address, and the contents of your message, in order to respond to your enquiry.
Newsletter and email list
If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address (and, if provided, your first name) via our email service provider, Kit (ConvertKit). We use this information solely to send you content updates, recipes, and occasional promotional material related to this site, and you can unsubscribe at any time using the link included in every email. Kit’s own privacy policy governs how they process this data on our behalf: https://kit.com/privacy.
Cookies
If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies, for your convenience so you don’t have to re-enter your details when leaving another comment. These cookies last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we set a temporary cookie to determine whether your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we also set cookies to save your login information and screen display choices. Login cookies last two days, and screen option cookies last a year. If you select “Remember Me,” your login persists for two weeks. Logging out removes your login cookies.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie is saved in your browser. This cookie contains no personal data and simply records the post ID of the article you edited. It expires after 1 day.
Cookies used for analytics, advertising, and personalisation (including Google Analytics, Google AdSense, and any other advertising partners named below) are only set with your explicit consent, which you can give, decline, or adjust at any time via the cookie preference tool available on this site.
Cookie categories we use
Necessary cookies — always active, cannot be disabled, as the site cannot function without them. These do not require consent under GDPR.
| Cookie | Purpose | Duration |
| WordPress session/login cookies | Maintains your logged-in session (admin use) | 2 days, or 2 weeks with “Remember Me” |
| WordPress test cookie | Checks whether your browser accepts cookies | Session only |
| Cookie consent record | Stores your cookie preference choices | 365 days |
Functional cookies — require your consent. Used to remember your preferences and improve your experience.
| Cookie | Purpose | Duration |
| Comment cookies | Remembers your name, email, and website if you leave a comment | 1 year |
| Screen options cookie | Remembers display preferences (admin use) | 1 year |
Analytical cookies — require your consent. Used to understand how visitors use the site.
| Cookie | Purpose | Duration |
| Google Analytics (_ga, _gid, and related) | Measures site traffic, visitor behaviour, and page performance | Up to 2 years |
Advertising cookies — require your consent. Used to serve and personalise advertising.
| Cookie | Purpose | Duration |
| Google AdSense / Google Ads (_gads, IDE, and related) | Serves and measures advertising, may personalise ads based on browsing | Up to 2 years |
| Pinterest cookies | Set when you interact with Pinterest Save buttons or embedded pins | Varies by Pinterest’s own policy |
As this site grows, we may add further advertising partners (such as Ezoic or Mediavine); this table will be updated accordingly, and any new cookie categories will only activate with your consent.
You can view, change, or withdraw your cookie preferences at any time using the cookie preference tool available via the icon on this site.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (for example, videos, images, or Pinterest pins). Embedded content from other websites behaves exactly as if the visitor had visited that other website directly.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with the embedded content — including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged into that website.
Third-party services we use
We use a number of third-party services to operate this site, deliver content, and generate revenue. Each processes certain data according to its own privacy policy, linked below:
- Google Analytics — used to understand how visitors use our site (pages visited, time on site, general location and device information). Google’s privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
- Google AdSense — used to display advertisements on this site. These partners may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this or other websites. You can learn more about Google’s advertising practices and opt-out options at: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads
- Amazon Associates — this site participates in the Amazon Associates affiliate program. Some links on this site are affiliate links, meaning we may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases made through them, at no additional cost to you. Amazon may set its own cookies when you click these links; see Amazon’s privacy notice: https://www.amazon.com/privacy
- Pinterest — we use Pinterest’s “Save” and embedding functionality, which may set cookies when you interact with pinned content. Pinterest’s privacy policy: https://policy.pinterest.com/privacy-policy
- Kit (ConvertKit) — our email newsletter provider, as described above.
- Zume — processes data as necessary to host and serve this website, and helps protect the site from malicious traffic and improve load times.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. Where third-party advertising partners process data for ad personalisation, this only occurs with your consent, managed through our cookie preference tool.
International data transfers
Some of the third-party services listed above (including Google, Amazon, and Kit) are based in, or transfer data to, the United States or other countries outside the European Economic Area. Where this occurs, these providers rely on legal safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent mechanisms to ensure your data continues to receive an adequate level of protection.
Who we share your data with
If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.
Beyond the third-party services listed above, we do not share your personal data with any other third party except where required by law.
How long we retain your data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely, so we can recognise and automatically approve any of your follow-up comments rather than holding them in a moderation queue.
If you register an account on this site, we store the personal information provided in your user profile. You can see, edit, or delete your personal information at any time (except your username), and website administrators can also see and edit this information.
Cookie consent records are retained for 365 days, after which they are automatically deleted.
Newsletter subscriber data is retained for as long as you remain subscribed, and is deleted from our email provider’s systems within a reasonable period after you unsubscribe.
Your rights over your data
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectification — request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Erasure — request that we delete your personal data, except where we are legally required to retain it for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
- Restriction — request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
- Data portability — request an exported copy of the data you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used format.
- Object — object to our processing of your data, including for direct marketing purposes.
- Withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent (such as advertising cookies), you can withdraw that consent at any time via our cookie preference tool, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at oldcountrytable@proton.me.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. In Portugal, this is the Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (CNPD) at https://www.cnpd.pt.
Where your data is sent
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
Children’s privacy
This site is not directed at children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can remove it.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal, operational, or regulatory reasons. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.
Last Updated: