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Hantol

Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information Hantol (hantol.co.uk) collects when you visit the site, leave a comment, rate a recipe, sign up for recipe emails or send a message, why we collect it, and what choices you have. Hantol is a UK recipe website written by Hannah Peterson. In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean Hantol.

If you have any question about your privacy, email us at support@hantol.co.uk.

Who is responsible for your information

Hantol is the data controller for the personal information described here, under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. You can contact us about anything in this policy at support@hantol.co.uk.

Information we collect

When you browse the site

  • Server and security logs. Like every website, our hosting server receives your IP address, browser type, the page you asked for and the time. We use this to deliver pages, keep the site secure and stop abuse. Our own security and activity logs store only a shortened IP address (the last part is removed). They are automatically deleted after 90 days.
  • Our own visit statistics. We count page views to see which recipes are popular. For this we use a short-lived cookie and a scrambled code that changes every day. We do not store your full IP address for these statistics, and we cannot use them to identify you.
  • Country check. Your IP address may be checked against a database stored on our own server to see which country a visit comes from. This is used for statistics and site protection. Your IP address is not sent anywhere for this check.

When you leave a comment or rate a recipe

We collect the name, email address, comment and star rating you enter, plus a scrambled (hashed) version of your IP address to help us spot spam and repeated ratings. Your email address is never shown publicly. Every comment is checked by hand before it appears on the site, and we may edit or remove comments that break our Terms & Conditions. A small cookie remembers that you have already rated a recipe so your rating is not counted twice.

When you sign up for recipe emails

If you enter your email address to get new recipes by email, we use double opt-in: we first send a confirmation email, and you only receive recipe emails after you click the link in it. We store your email address, whether you have confirmed, the dates you signed up, confirmed or unsubscribed, and a scrambled version of your IP address to prevent abuse. Recipe emails are sent from notifications@hantol.co.uk.

Every email has an unsubscribe link. One click stops all future recipe emails. After you unsubscribe, we keep your email address on a "do not email" list so you are not added again by mistake.

When you contact us

If you use the contact form or email us, we receive your name, email address and message, plus a scrambled version of your IP address and your browser type to help block spam. We use this only to read and reply to your message. When we write a reply, we may use an AI writing assistant to help draft it. In that case the text of your message is processed by the AI provider only to produce the draft. Every reply is checked before it is sent.

Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small text files stored by your browser. We use:

  • Strictly necessary cookies that make the site work and keep it secure, for example remembering that you have already rated a recipe. These do not need your consent.
  • Statistics cookies: our own short-lived visit counter (it lasts 6 hours) and, where switched on, Google Analytics (see below).
  • Advertising cookies set by our advertising partner Ezoic and its partners (see below). These are only used with your consent where the law requires it.

When you first visit, a consent message from our consent management platform (CMP) lets you accept or refuse advertising and analytics cookies, or choose purpose by purpose. You can change your choice at any time with the privacy or cookie settings link shown on the site, or by clearing cookies in your browser. If you refuse, you will still see ads, but they will not be personalised.

Advertising (Ezoic)

Hantol is free to read because it shows ads. Ads are served by Ezoic Inc. and its advertising partners. Ezoic and its partners may use cookies, web beacons and similar technologies to show ads, measure them, limit how often you see the same ad, prevent fraud and, if you agree, show ads based on your interests. Information they may process includes your IP address, device and browser information, the pages you visit and how you interact with ads.

Where UK GDPR applies, personalised ads and advertising cookies are only used after you give consent through the CMP. The CMP follows the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework and passes your choice to Google and other partners (including Google Consent Mode).

The section below is provided by Ezoic and lists the partners it works with:

You can learn more about how Google uses information from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. You can opt out of personalised ads from many companies at youronlinechoices.eu and manage Google ad settings at adssettings.google.com.

Google Analytics 4

We may use Google Analytics 4, provided by Google, to understand how visitors use the site, for example which pages are viewed and how long visits last. Google Analytics uses cookies and receives information such as your device, browser, approximate location (city or country) and the pages you view. In the UK and EEA, analytics cookies are only used after you agree in the consent message. Without consent, Google Consent Mode sends only limited signals without cookies. Google may process this information outside the UK under its own safeguards. Learn more at policies.google.com/privacy. You can also install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

Why we use your information (legal bases)

  • Consent: advertising and analytics cookies, personalised ads, recipe emails. You can withdraw consent at any time.
  • Legitimate interests: running and securing the website, preventing spam and abuse, counting visits in a privacy-friendly way, moderating comments, and replying to your messages.
  • Legal obligation: keeping information when the law requires it.

Who we share information with

We do not sell your personal information. We only share it with service providers that help us run the site:

  • our web hosting and email provider (Hostinger), which stores the website, its database and our mailboxes;
  • Ezoic and its advertising partners, and Google (Analytics and ads), as described above;
  • an AI writing assistant provider, only for the text of messages we are replying to, as described above.

We may also share information if the law requires it, or to protect the site, our readers or others from fraud or abuse.

Some of these providers may process information outside the UK. When they do, they use legal safeguards such as UK adequacy regulations or the International Data Transfer Agreement / Addendum.

How long we keep information

  • Comments and ratings: for as long as they are shown on the site, or until you ask us to remove them.
  • Recipe email subscriptions: until you unsubscribe. After that, only your email address is kept on the "do not email" list.
  • Contact messages: for as long as needed to deal with your message, then deleted. You can ask us to delete them at any time.
  • Security and activity logs: 90 days.
  • Cookies: from the end of your visit up to about one year, depending on the cookie. Advertising partners set their own periods, shown in the consent message.

Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the right to:

  • access the personal information we hold about you;
  • correct information that is wrong;
  • delete your information (the "right to be forgotten");
  • restrict or object to how we use it, including objecting to direct marketing at any time;
  • data portability, which means getting your information in a commonly used format;
  • withdraw consent at any time, for example by unsubscribing or changing your cookie choices. This does not affect anything done before you withdrew.

To use any of these rights, email support@hantol.co.uk. We will reply within one month. If you are unhappy with how we handle your information, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. We would appreciate the chance to sort it out first.

Children

Hantol is a general recipe website and is not aimed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us their details, please contact us and we will delete them.

Links to other websites

Our recipes may link to other websites or include content such as videos from other sites. Those sites have their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for how they handle your information.

Security

The site uses HTTPS encryption, access to our admin area is protected, and we keep security logs. No website can be 100% secure, but we work to protect your information.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example when we add a new feature or partner. The "last updated" date at the top shows when it last changed.

Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal information: support@hantol.co.uk.