← Recipes

Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 27, 2026

Kitchen (kitchen.vijaya.io) is a personal recipe site run by Vijaya Laxmi. This page explains what data the site handles, what it doesn't, and which third-party services are involved. The short version: the site uses Google Analytics for basic page-view stats (details below) and nothing is collected for advertising.

Stored on your device

The site uses your browser's localStorage to remember two things — both stay on your device and are never sent to a server:

  • kitchen-favs — list of recipe IDs you've saved with the heart button
  • theme — your light / dark mode preference

You can clear these any time from your browser's site-data settings.

Third-party services

Some features rely on external services. If you choose to use them, your data is handled under each service's own privacy policy:

  • Google Analytics 4 — page views on the live site are logged to Google Analytics so I can see which recipes are read most. GA sets cookies (_ga, _ga_*) and collects standard data including page URL, referrer, approximate location (derived from IP at country / city level), device type, browser, and screen size. It runs only on the production site, not in local dev. See Google's privacy policy.
  • Giscus — comments are powered by Giscus and require signing in with GitHub. Your comments are stored as discussions in this site's GitHub repository.
  • Substack — the newsletter signup is hosted by Substack. If you subscribe, Substack stores your email and handles delivery. See their privacy policy.
  • Web3Forms — the recipe-request form submits your name, email (optional), and request to Web3Forms, which forwards it to me by email.
  • Buy Me a Coffee — the tip-jar link takes you to Buy Me a Coffee, where any payment is handled entirely on their site. This site receives no payment details.
  • GitHub Pages — the site is hosted on GitHub Pages. GitHub may collect server logs (including IP addresses) for security and reliability under their privacy statement.
  • Amazon Associates — recipe pages may contain affiliate links to Amazon. Clicking one will set Amazon's own cookies on your device so they can attribute any purchase you make. This site doesn't see your purchase details — only an aggregate report of clicks and earnings. See the disclosure page for more.

What's not collected

  • No tracking pixels, no fingerprinting
  • No advertising networks
  • No selling or sharing of any data

Your rights

If you've subscribed to the newsletter or sent a recipe request, you can email me at vijaya2798@gmail.com to ask what's stored, request a copy, or have it deleted.

Children

This site isn't directed at children under 13 and doesn't knowingly collect data from them.

Changes

If this policy changes, the "last updated" date above will change with it.

Contact

Questions? Email vijaya2798@gmail.com.