Cookie Policy

Last updated: November 1, 2025

This Cookie Policy explains how DishesMadeEasy.com (“Dishes Made Easy,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) uses cookies and similar technologies on our website. It should be read together with our Privacy Policy. By continuing to browse or use our site, you agree that we can store and access cookies and similar technologies as described here. Where required by law, we will request your consent before placing non-essential cookies.

If you have questions about this Cookie Policy, please contact us via our contact page: https://dishesmadeeasy.com/contact-us/.

1) What are cookies and similar technologies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device by a website. They are widely used to make websites work, to keep them secure, and to provide information to site owners.
Pixels/Tags are small code snippets that load when you visit a page or perform an action; they help with analytics, ad measurement, and debugging.
Local storage/Session storage are browser features that let a site store data on your device.
SDKs/Device identifiers (in apps) perform similar roles to cookies; we operate a website, not a mobile app, but advertising partners may rely on comparable identifiers across environments.

For simplicity, we refer to all of these as “cookies” in this policy.

2) Why we use cookies

We and our service providers (including advertising and analytics partners) use cookies for these purposes:

Strictly Necessary – to make the site work (page loading, security, fraud prevention, server balancing, comment submission).
Functional – to remember choices (e.g., name remembered in a comment field).
Performance/Analytics – to understand page views, popular recipes, navigation patterns, and to fix bugs and improve content.
Advertising/Targeting – to fund our free content by showing ads, limiting how often you see an ad, measuring ad performance, preventing invalid traffic, maintaining brand safety, and—where permitted—delivering interest-based advertising.

3) Types of cookies we set

A) First-party cookies (set by DishesMadeEasy.com)

Session and load-balancing cookies (Strictly Necessary): keep the site responsive and secure during your visit.
Preference cookies (Functional): remember your display name or choices in forms you submit, where available.
Analytics cookies (Performance): help us understand which recipes are popular and how users navigate (aggregated statistics).

B) Third-party cookies (set by our partners)

Advertising and measurement: ad servers, exchanges, supply-side platforms, verification and brand-safety tools, and fraud-prevention services may set cookies to deliver and measure ads, apply frequency caps, and ensure quality.
Analytics: partners that help us aggregate traffic metrics and detect issues.
Content delivery and media: services that optimize images or embed media.

The specific cookies and durations used by third parties can change over time as partners update their products. Partners may use information from this and other sites or apps to provide measurement, security, and (where permitted) interest-based advertising.

4) Legal bases and consent

EU/UK users: Where required by law, we request your consent before using non-essential cookies (e.g., for personalized ads or certain analytics). If a consent banner is presented, you can review or change your choices there.
Other regions: We rely on legitimate interests for necessary operations and, where applicable, obtain consent for non-essential purposes per local law.

Withdrawing consent or blocking cookies may affect certain features (for example, analytics precision or remembering your comment display name).

5) Managing cookies and choices

You can control cookies in several ways:

Browser settings: Most browsers let you block or delete cookies, including from specific sites. You can also set browsers to send “Do Not Track” or similar signals; many sites do not respond to DNT, but see GPC below.
Global Privacy Control (GPC): If your browser sends a valid GPC signal, we treat it as a request to opt out of certain data uses where required by law.
Consent banner (where shown): If a banner or preferences panel is presented, use it to grant, refuse, or withdraw consent for non-essential cookies.

Note: Blocking or deleting cookies may reduce site functionality (e.g., preferences may not persist; some media or ad features may not load as intended).

6) Advertising and interest-based ads

We monetize our content through third-party advertising and measurement partners. These partners may:

store or read cookies on your device;
use techniques like pixel tags and local storage;
receive or derive information (e.g., IP address, browser type, page URLs) to deliver, measure, and improve advertising, apply frequency caps, fight fraud/invalid traffic, and maintain brand safety;
where permitted by your choices and applicable law, use historical browsing data to infer interests for interest-based advertising.

If you prefer not to receive interest-based advertising from our site’s ad placements, you can:

refuse or withdraw consent in any consent banner presented to you;
manage cookies in your browser to limit third-party tracking; and
where applicable, rely on GPC to communicate an opt-out preference (we honor GPC where required).

Even after you opt out, you may still see ads—just not tailored using cross-site behavioral data.

7) Analytics

We use analytics to understand how visitors use our site so we can improve recipes, page layouts, and navigation. Analytics typically use cookies or similar identifiers to produce aggregated reports (e.g., total page views, time on page). Where required by law, we obtain your consent before enabling non-essential analytics.

8) Data retention via cookies

Session cookies usually expire when you close your browser.
Persistent cookies remain for a set period and are removed automatically after expiry or when you clear them.
Local/session storage persists until cleared by you or by site logic.

Retention periods differ by cookie and partner; ad and analytics partners manage their own durations. We keep cookie-derived data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy and our Privacy Policy.

9) Security and fraud prevention

Certain cookies help us and our partners detect and prevent invalid traffic, spam, and abuse. For example, cookies can signal unusual activity patterns or confirm that page loads and ad impressions come from real browsers, supporting a healthy ecosystem for advertisers and readers.

10) Children’s privacy

Our site is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13 (or another age as defined by local law). We do not knowingly place or use cookies to serve personalized ads to children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, please contact us through https://dishesmadeeasy.com/contact-us/ so we can take appropriate steps.

11) International transfers

Cookies and related data may be processed in countries other than your own. Where EU/UK data protection laws apply, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as Standard Contractual Clauses) when partners process data outside the EEA/UK. Partners are responsible for their own compliance and safeguards.

12) Updates to this Cookie Policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in law, technology, or our practices. The “Last updated” date at the top indicates when changes took effect. If we make material changes, we will provide additional notice where appropriate. Continuing to use the site after changes become effective means you accept the updated policy.

13) Contact us

To ask questions or exercise choices related to cookies and similar technologies, please contact us using our form: https://dishesmadeeasy.com/contact-us/. To help us respond, include your name, the email address you used on our site (if applicable), your country or state of residence, and a clear description of your request.

14) Glossary (plain language)

Strictly necessary cookies: required for the website to function and to keep it secure.
Functional cookies: remember choices (e.g., form preferences).
Performance/Analytics cookies: collect aggregated statistics about how visitors use the site.
Advertising/Targeting cookies: help deliver, limit, and measure ads, prevent fraud, and—where allowed—tailor ads to interests.
Global Privacy Control (GPC): a browser signal that communicates a user’s privacy/opt-out preference.