Privacy & Cookie Policy

Effective date: 1 March 2026

This Privacy & Cookie Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal data when you use FoodOrbis, including when you create an account, publish or manage a listing, communicate with other users, leave reviews, or purchase paid services. By using https://foodorbis.com, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

Who we are

Our website address is: https://foodorbis.com. FoodOrbis (“FoodOrbis”, “we”, “us”, “our”) are the data controller for personal data processed through the Platform unless otherwise stated. You can contact us at Contacts.

What data we collect

We collect information you provide directly, such as your name, email address, username, profile information, and any content you submit to the Platform. If you create a listing, we collect the information you include in the listing, such as business or brand name, category, location, contact details, opening hours, menus, photos, events, offers, and any other content you choose to publish. If you use messaging or community features, we collect the content of messages and communications you send through the Platform. If you leave reviews or ratings, we collect the review text, rating value, and related metadata. If you choose to provide invoicing or VAT details, we collect the information you submit for that purpose, such as legal name, VAT number, and address.

We also collect certain information automatically, including your IP address, browser type, device information, approximate location signals derived from IP, pages viewed, interactions on the site, timestamps, and other log and security data used to operate and protect the Platform.

If you purchase paid services, payment processing is handled by third-party payment providers (for example PayPal). We receive confirmation of payment and order information needed to provide the service and maintain accounting records, but we do not store full payment card details on our servers.

If you use our live chat support widget, we (and our live chat provider, tawk.to) will process the information you submit via chat (e.g., message content and any contact details you choose to provide, such as name or email). The chat service may also collect technical data such as IP address, device and browser information, approximate location derived from IP, and session identifiers to operate the chat and prevent abuse. And if you are logged in, we may associate your chat with your account details to provide support.

We use MailPoet to manage our email newsletters and marketing communications. To improve our services and understand how you interact with our content, we use cookie tracking to collect data on email engagement (such as open rates and link clicks), site activity, and e-commerce metrics. This data allows us to tailor our communications to your interests and provide a better user experience. By consenting to our use of tracking cookies via our cookie banner, you agree to the collection and processing of this data. You may opt-out of tracking at any time by adjusting your cookie preferences or unsubscribing from our emails.

How we use your data

We use personal data to operate the Platform and provide its features, including account creation and management, publishing and displaying listings, enabling search and discovery, allowing users to communicate, and delivering analytics or insights related to listing performance. We use personal data to process purchases, deliver paid services such as subscriptions and promotions, and maintain transaction records. We use personal data to moderate content, prevent fraud, detect spam, protect security, troubleshoot issues, improve the Platform, and comply with legal obligations such as tax and accounting requirements.

We may use your email address to send essential service communications such as account notifications, purchase confirmations, security messages, and important updates related to your use of the Platform.

If you subscribe to email updates, we use MailPoet to send newsletters or marketing communications. You can unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link included in those emails.

Legal bases for processing

Where GDPR or similar laws apply, we process personal data based on contract when it is necessary to provide the Platform and the services you request, based on legitimate interests when necessary to secure and improve the Platform and prevent abuse, based on consent for optional analytics cookies and similar technologies where required, and based on legal obligation where we must comply with applicable laws.

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use cookies that are necessary for the website to function properly, including cookies that support login, security, and site preferences.

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

We also use Google Tag and Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use the site and to improve our services. These tools may use cookies or similar technologies to collect usage data such as page views, interactions, device information, and approximate location derived from IP.

Where required, we show a cookie consent banner and do not load optional analytics until you provide consent. You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clearing your browser cookies and revisiting the site, or by using the cookie banner when it appears.

Our live chat provider (tawk.to) uses cookies and similar technologies (including local storage and session storage) to enable chat functionality, maintain sessions, and improve performance. For more information, see tawk.to’s Privacy Policy and Data Processing Addendum.

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (for example videos, images, articles, or other embeds). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with embedded content, including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Who we share your data with

We share data with service providers that help us operate the Platform, such as hosting providers, security and spam-prevention services, email delivery services, and analytics providers. We use Google Tag and Google Analytics 4 for analytics, and MailPoet for newsletter delivery if you subscribe. If you purchase paid services, payment providers such as PayPal process your payment and may receive information necessary to complete the transaction and prevent fraud.

We may disclose data when required by law or to protect rights, safety, and the integrity of the Platform.

If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

We use tawk.to to provide real-time chat support. When you use the chat widget, information related to your chat and certain technical identifiers may be processed by tawk.to on our behalf. Under their Data Processing Addendum, tawk.to acts as a processor and we act as the controller for this processing. For more information, see tawk.to’s Privacy Policy and Data Processing Addendum.

How long we retain your data

We retain personal data for as long as necessary to provide the Platform and for the purposes described in this policy. Account data is retained while your account is active and may be retained longer where required for legal, tax, accounting, or security purposes. Listing content is retained while published and may be retained for moderation, dispute resolution, or legal compliance. Transaction and billing records are retained as required by applicable accounting and tax rules. Messages and communications may be retained as needed to operate the service and enforce policies, subject to legal requirements.

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. For users that register on our website, we store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time except they cannot change their username. Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

Chat transcripts and related metadata may be retained within our live chat system for as long as needed to provide support, maintain conversation history, and for security/record-keeping. We can delete chat records upon request where feasible and where we are not required to retain them.

What rights you have over your data

Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, object to processing, and request portability of your personal data, and to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

To exercise your rights, contact us.

Where your data is sent

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service. Some of our service providers may process data outside your country. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards to protect international transfers.

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service. Some of our service providers may process data outside your country, including the transfer of analytics and customer support chat data to servers located in the United States. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards to protect international transfers. Our service providers participate in established data protection frameworks, such as the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, to ensure your data is safeguarded.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal data, but no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. Should decide to revoke your consent, you can do it at any time by using this link.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy & Cookie Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page with a new effective date.

Contact

If you have questions about this policy or your personal data, contact us.