Privacy Policy

Effective date: November 10, 2026

Cooking Contest Central® (“CCC,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates cookingcontestcentral.com. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and disclose personal information when you visit our website, create an account, purchase a membership or product, subscribe to emails, contact us, or participate in CCC activities.

Information we collect

Information you provide. Depending on how you interact with CCC, we collect your name, email address, account username and credentials, billing or mailing address, membership and purchase details, newsletter preferences, messages, survey responses, and information submitted through our forms.

Contest and community submissions. When you enter a CCC-hosted contest or submit content, we collect the information requested on the entry or submission form. This may include contact details, eligibility information, recipes, photographs, biographies, social media handles, and other materials you choose to provide. Winners may need to provide additional information for prize delivery, eligibility verification, or required tax reporting.

Information collected automatically. Our website and service providers collect technical and usage information such as IP address, browser and device information, referring pages, pages viewed, visit timing, interactions, and cookie or similar identifiers. Security and access logs help us operate the website, troubleshoot problems, and prevent abuse.

How we use information

We use information to create and manage accounts; provide membership access and digital purchases; process payments and renewals; send receipts, account notices, and contest alerts; respond to inquiries; administer contests and deliver prizes; publish submitted content as described in the applicable submission terms or contest rules; send newsletters and promotional messages; measure website and email performance; improve our content and services; protect the website and community; and meet legal, accounting, and recordkeeping obligations.

Memberships, purchases, and payments

CCC uses WooCommerce to manage memberships, subscriptions, and purchases. Payments are handled through payment providers, including Stripe or PayPal depending on the payment method used. These providers process payment details under their own privacy notices. CCC receives transaction information needed to manage your purchase, such as payment status, transaction identifiers, and limited payment-method details. Review the Stripe Privacy Policy and PayPal Privacy Statement for their practices.

Newsletters and email communications

We use Mailchimp and website email services, including Jetpack where used, to manage subscriptions and deliver emails. Relevant contact information, subscription preferences, and membership status are processed to send the appropriate communications. Email services may collect delivery, opening, and link-click information to help measure and improve messages; these measures can be affected by your email provider’s privacy features.

You can unsubscribe from newsletters and promotional emails using the unsubscribe link in the message. Unsubscribing from marketing does not cancel your membership. We may still send messages necessary to manage your account, purchases, payments, or security. Learn more in Intuit’s privacy statement for Mailchimp and Automattic’s Privacy Policy for Jetpack.

Cookies and website analytics

Cookies and similar technologies support functions such as sign-in, account sessions, shopping carts, preferences, website security, and analytics. Some cookies are necessary for features you request; others help measure website use.

We use Google Analytics through MonsterInsights to understand how visitors find and use CCC. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar identifiers to collect information about website interactions, browser and device details, and visits. Learn how Google uses information from sites and apps that use its services. Google also offers a Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on for supported browsers.

Jetpack also provides website statistics and related website services. Its processing is described in Automattic’s Privacy Policy linked above. You can manage or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking cookies may affect sign-in, checkout, or other features. Browser cookie controls do not necessarily stop all tracking technologies.

How information is disclosed

Service providers. Information is processed by providers that help deliver our services, including website hosting, maintenance, security, backups, forms, membership management, payment processing, email delivery, and analytics. These providers receive information relevant to the services they perform.

Contest administration. For CCC-hosted or co-branded contests, relevant entry information and submitted materials may be disclosed to judges, contest administrators, sponsors, and prize-fulfillment providers to evaluate entries, verify eligibility, administer the contest, or deliver prizes, as described in the applicable entry form and official rules. Those rules also explain any publication of winners’ names, locations, recipes, or photographs. Sponsor access is limited to recipes, photographs, and information needed for judging, eligibility verification, and prizes. We do not provide entrants’ email addresses or email lists to contest sponsors for their own marketing.

Content you share. Comments, forum posts, profiles, recipes, photographs, and other content you submit for publication may be visible to the public or to members, depending on the feature and applicable submission terms. Avoid including information you do not want that audience to see. Publicly available content may be copied or indexed by others.

Legal and business purposes. Information may be disclosed when required by law or legal process, to protect rights and safety, investigate fraud or misuse, or in connection with a merger, sale, or other business transfer, subject to applicable law. We may also disclose information at your direction or with your consent.

Advertising, affiliate links, and external websites

As of the effective date of this policy, CCC does not run programmatic display advertising, use affiliate links, or use advertising pixels or remarketing tools. If we introduce these features, we will update this policy to describe the providers and data practices involved and provide any notices, choices, or consent mechanisms required by applicable law.

CCC links to independently operated contest websites, brands, social platforms, and other resources. Information you provide directly to those sites is governed by their privacy policies and contest rules. Embedded content, such as videos or social media posts, may allow its provider to collect technical information and use cookies when it loads or when you interact with it.

Retention and security

We retain information for the purposes described in this policy, including maintaining accounts, providing services, administering contests, resolving disputes, preventing abuse, and meeting legal, tax, and accounting obligations. Retention depends on the type of information, the relationship with you, and applicable requirements. Copies may remain in backups until those backups expire through the normal backup cycle.

We use reasonable administrative and technical measures designed to protect personal information. No online system or transmission method can be guaranteed completely secure.

Your choices and privacy requests

You can review available account settings, update your information, change email preferences, or contact CCC to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information. Depending on where you live and which laws apply, you may also have rights to obtain a copy of your information, withdraw consent, restrict or object to processing, or opt out of certain data uses. We will handle requests as required by applicable law and may need to verify your identity. Some information must be retained for legal requirements or other permitted purposes.

Send requests to Info@cookingcontestcentral.com or through our Contact page, and identify the request as a “Privacy Request.” Do not include payment-card details, tax identification numbers, or account passwords in your message.

Children’s privacy

CCC is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information to CCC, contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate action. Individual contests may have additional age requirements.

International visitors

CCC operates in the United States. Information may be processed in the United States and other countries where our service providers operate. These countries may have different privacy laws from those where you live. Where applicable law requires protections for international transfers, those requirements apply.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as our services and practices change. We will post the updated version and effective date on this page and provide additional notice or obtain consent when required by applicable law.

Contact us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal information, contact Cooking Contest Central at Info@cookingcontestcentral.com or through our Contact page.