PRIVACY POLICY

©2008 Chef Space ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Please refer to the legal notice below for our Privacy Policy.

This policy was last updated on September 19, 2008.

Introduction

This website is operated by Chef Space, and this privacy policy applies to this website only. Chef Space is a culinary social media service available to anyone wanting to locate, learn, share and discuss the latest about food and dining with other Members. The Services offered by Chef Space may be accessed using our web site. Access to Chef Space requires registering for a membership and creating a personal profile.

At Chef Space, we respect our members and understand that you are concerned about privacy, so we've instituted policies intended to ensure that your personal information is handled safely and responsibly. We also have posted this privacy policy to let you know what kind of information we collect, how it is handled, with whom it may be shared, what choices you have regarding our use of your information, and how you may access some of the data you provide to us.

As we continue to develop our website and take advantage of technologies to improve the services we offer, this policy likely will change. We therefore encourage you to refer to this policy on an ongoing basis so that you understand our current privacy policy.

If you have any questions about this policy, you can contact us by sending an email to privacy@chefspace.com; or by postal mail at CHEF SPACE CUSTOMER SERVICE, ATTN: PRIVACY MASTER, PO BOX 114, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55025-0114

Information We Collect

We collect various types of information depending upon how you use the Site. Initially, when you become a Chef Space Member, we collect your name, email address, and password.

When you post User Content (as defined in the Chef Space Terms of Use) on the Site, you do so at your own risk. Please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other Users with whom you may choose to share your pages and information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that User Content you post on the Site will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any security measures contained on the Site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of User Content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other Users have copied or stored your User Content. Any improper collection or misuse of information provided on Chef Space is a violation of the Chef Space Terms of Service and should be reported to privacy@chefspace.com. If you choose to use our invitation service to tell a friend about our site, we will ask you for information needed to send the invitation, such as your friend's email address. We will automatically send your friend a one-time email inviting him or her to visit the site. Chef Space stores this information to send this one-time invitation, to register a friend connection if your invitation is accepted, and to track the success of our referral program. Your friend may contact us at privacy@chefspace.com to request that we remove this information from our database. Chef Space may also collect information about you through the operation of the service in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience. By using Chef Space, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.

We may also acquire customer lists from other parties so that we may invite new people to visit Chef Space. Our policy is to acquire only lists of people who have indicated that they are willing to receive email offers.

What Are Cookies and Do We Use Them?

A cookie is a small piece of information sent by a Web site that is saved on your hard disk by your computer's browser. It holds information a site may need to interact with you and personalize your experience. At Chef Space, we use two kinds of cookies: session cookies and persistent cookies.

Session cookies exist only for as long as your browser remains open. Once you exit your browser, they go away. We use session cookies to maintain information we need to have in order for you to use Chef Space. For example, the Session ID cookie that we ask your browser to hold retains the ID for your personal account.

Persistent cookies, in contrast, last from visit to visit; they do not go away when you exit your browser. We use a persistent cookie that stores your login ID (but not your password) to make it easier for you to login when you come back to Chef Space. We will use your information to enhance your site experience. However, you can use our site without accepting a persistent cookie. To do so, you should set your browser options to reject persistent cookies. Alternatively, you can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, which gives you the opportunity to decide whether you want to accept it or not. In many instances, the Help button on your browser toolbar will tell you how you can take these steps.

Cookies can be used by a web site to recognize you. But that does not necessarily mean any personal information is stored in the cookies. At Chef Space, we store no personal information about you in the cookies. Anything you choose to tell us about yourself (such as your email address) is stored safely and separately on our secured servers, and you need to provide a password to access it.

We also use cookies to look at how groups, rather than individuals, use our web site. On the web, cookies help us develop an understanding so that we can continue to improve Chef Space.

How Do We Use Your Information?

We may use your information in a number of ways, including the following:

  1. In order to serve you better, we may use that information to improve your overall Chef Space experience.
  2. To improve the content on our Web site, we may use cookies to find out which parts of our site are visited most often.
  3. To enhance your online experience, we may use it to recognize you and welcome you to the site.
  4. For marketing and promotional purposes, we may send out email to our Members about services, products or events that we think may be of interest to them. We also may send you offers for discounts or free services.

Do We Share Your Information?

We may share the information with third parties, including responsible companies with which we have a relationship. For example:

  1. Like other companies, Chef Space may use third party advertising companies to serve ads (e.g., banners or links) on its behalf. These companies may employ cookies and action tags (also known as single pixel gifs or web beacons) to measure advertising effectiveness. Any information that these third parties collect via cookies and action tags is anonymous.
  2. When visiting third party web sites, they will receive your information because you will be visiting their web sites or using their links and, in doing so, you may provide information directly to them. You therefore should refer to their privacy policies to understand how they handle your information and what kinds of choices you have.
  3. Chef Space also may share your personal information with outside companies that perform services for Chef Space. For example, we may retain an outside company to manage a database containing certain customer information or to create and distribute an email offering. In those situations, the outside party is performing work for Chef Space, and Chef Space takes appropriate steps designed to ensure your information is used only to provide the services requested by Chef Space, and not for other purposes.
  4. Additionally, Chef Space may share account or other information when we believe it is necessary to comply with law or to protect our interests or property. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, agents or government agencies in connection with issues such as privacy or copyright.
  5. And in the event that some or all of the business assets of Chef Space are sold or transferred, we generally would transfer the corresponding information about our members.
  6. Finally, Chef Space may share your personal information with unrelated outside companies so that they can directly market their products or services to you if we feel that a company offers products or services that we believe may be of interest. We also may provide you with the opportunity to sign up on our Web site to receive such email offers.

What Choices Do You Have Regarding the Use of Your Information?

We provide you with a number of choices regarding our handling of your personal information.

If you do not want to receive email from Chef Space and/or do not want us to share your information with unrelated third parties for marketing purposes, please submit a request electronically by doing the following:

To change your privacy options:

  • Send an email to privacy@chefspace.com stating "Please do not send me email" or
  • Click on the communication settings link at the bottom of any Chef Space email communication.
  • Note: Once you have submitted your request you should assume that it has been successfully received and your request is being processed. Please allow us 10 business days from when the request was received to complete the removal, as some of our emails may already have been in process before you submitted your request.
  • If you prefer to, you may contact Chef Space by mail at CHEF SPACE CUSTOMER SERVICE, ATTN: PRIVACY MASTER, PO BOX 114, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55025-0114, to notify us of your request. Again, please allow us 10 business days from when the request was received to process your removal.

Can I Access My Information?

If you are a registered member of Chef Space, you can update your information at any time by logging into your account and accessing features such as Edit Profile.

Is My Information Secure?

Chef Space is committed to doing its best to maintain the security of information collected on our site. To try to prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place the appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

Profile, Blogs, Recipes and Discussion Groups

When you register with Chef Space, you create your own profile. Your profile information, as well as your name, email and photo, are displayed to other members of Chef Space to enable you to connect with people. We may occasionally use your name and email address to send you notifications regarding new services offered by Chef Space that we think you may find valuable.

Profile information is used by Chef Space primarily to be presented back to and edited by you when you access the service and to be presented to others permitted to view that information. In some cases (e.g., posting to your wall), other Chef Space members may be able to supplement your profile.

Chef Space may send you service-related announcements from time to time through the general operation of the service. For instance, if a friend sends you a new message, or someone posts on your wall, you may receive an email alerting you to that fact. Generally, you may opt out of such emails from the Profile Settings page, though Chef Space reserves the right to send you notices about your account even if you opt out of all voluntary email notifications.

What About Information About Children?

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act took effect on April 21, 2000 and imposes certain requirements on web sites directed toward children under 13 that collect information on those children, or on web sites that know they are collecting information on children under the age of 13. We want to let you know that it currently is our policy not to collect personal information on any person under 13. If this policy changes, we will revise this portion of its privacy policy and will comply with the requirements of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which include providing notice and choice to each child's parent or guardian before collecting personal information.

Thank you for using Chef Space.