Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 16, 2026 Last Updated: October 23, 2026

Into K Food (“we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have when you visit intokfood.com (the “Site”).

Into K Food is an English-language publication about Korean food, written for readers around the world. The Site is operated from the Republic of Korea, and most of our readers are located outside Korea. Because our audience is international, this policy is written to cover the rights of readers in the United States, the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.

1. Who We Are

Into K Food is an independent food publication. For the purposes of the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation, Into K Food is the data controller for personal information collected through this Site.

You can reach us at contact@intokfood.com or through our Contact page.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide voluntarily

  • Your name and email address, when you contact us
  • Any information you choose to include in a message sent through our contact form

You do not need to register an account to read our content, and the Site does not host public comments.

Information collected automatically

  • IP address and the general location it indicates (typically city or region level)
  • Browser type, device type, and operating system
  • Pages visited, time spent on the Site, and the page or search that referred you
  • Information collected through cookies and similar technologies, as described in Section 4

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Operate, maintain, and improve the Site
  • Respond to your questions and messages
  • Understand traffic patterns and which topics readers find useful
  • Display advertising
  • Meet our legal obligations

We do not use your information to make automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help a website remember your visit. We use:

  • Essential cookies — required for the Site to function, including security and cookie-consent preferences
  • Analytics cookies — to measure traffic and usage (Google Analytics)
  • Advertising cookies — to serve advertising, including personalized advertising

Consent

We ask for your consent before setting non-essential cookies, using the cookie banner shown when you first visit. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time using the cookie settings link in our footer. Embedded content such as YouTube videos does not load until you accept marketing cookies.

You can also control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect how parts of the Site function.

Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control

Some browsers and privacy extensions send a “Do Not Track” (DNT) or “Global Privacy Control” (GPC) signal. The Site does not currently respond to these signals automatically. You can decline non-essential cookies at any time through our cookie banner or the cookie settings link in our footer.

5. Advertising

We use Google AdSense to display advertising on this Site.

  • Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites.
  • Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to our Site and other sites on the Internet.
  • You can opt out of personalized advertising at Google My Ad Center.
  • To learn how Google uses information from sites that use its services, see Google’s Privacy & Terms.
  • You can opt out of personalized advertising from many other vendors at optout.aboutads.info and youronlinechoices.eu.

Other third-party vendors and ad networks may also serve ads on this Site and set their own cookies. We do not control those cookies.

6. Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how readers use the Site — for example, which articles are read most, how long visitors stay, and which sites or searches referred them. This information is aggregated and is not used to identify individual readers.

You can opt out of Google Analytics across all websites by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

7. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information for money, and we do not rent or trade it.

We may share information with:

  • Service providers who help us run the Site, such as our web host, email provider, and analytics provider
  • Advertising partners, as described in Section 5
  • Legal authorities, when required by law or where necessary to protect our rights or the safety of others

If we are ever involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will post a notice on this page if that happens.

8. Data Retention

We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law.

  • Contact form messages are kept in our email system for as long as needed to respond to and follow up on your inquiry, and are deleted on request.
  • Analytics data is retained by Google Analytics for 2 months at the event level and 14 months at the user level, after which it is deleted automatically. The user-level period resets each time a returning visitor is active on the Site.

You can ask us to delete your information at any time by writing to contact@intokfood.com.

9. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you
  • Request correction of information that is inaccurate
  • Request deletion of your personal information
  • Object to or restrict certain processing
  • Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing already carried out
  • Receive a copy of your data in a portable format

To exercise any of these rights, email contact@intokfood.com. We will respond within the time required by applicable law. We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request.

Visitors in the EEA and the United Kingdom

We process your personal data under the GDPR and UK GDPR. Our legal bases are:

  • Consent — for analytics and advertising cookies, and for embedded content such as YouTube videos
  • Legitimate interests — for operating, securing, and improving the Site
  • Legal obligation — where we are required to retain or disclose information

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority.

Visitors in California

Under the CCPA, as amended by the CPRA, you have the right to know what personal information is collected, to request its correction or deletion, to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information, and not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights.

We do not sell personal information for money. However, the use of advertising cookies on this Site may qualify as “sharing” for cross-context behavioral advertising under California law. You can opt out in either of two ways: decline advertising cookies in our cookie settings, or use the Google opt-out links in Section 5.

We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal information as that term is defined under California law.

10. Children’s Privacy

This Site is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 — or under 16, where a higher age applies under local law, including in some EEA countries. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including HTTPS encryption across the Site. However, no method of transmission or storage over the Internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. International Data Transfers

The Site is operated from the Republic of Korea. If you visit from another country, your information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in Korea, or in other countries where our service providers operate — including the United States.

For readers in the EEA and the UK: the European Commission has recognized the Republic of Korea as providing an adequate level of data protection, which permits transfers from the EEA to Korea without additional safeguards. Where our service providers process data in other countries, those transfers are made under Standard Contractual Clauses or another lawful transfer mechanism.

13. External Links and Embedded Content

Some articles include embedded YouTube videos. An embedded video behaves as if you had visited YouTube directly: YouTube, which is operated by Google, may set cookies and collect information about how you interact with the video. These videos load only after you accept marketing cookies through our cookie banner; until then, a placeholder is shown in their place. Google describes its practices in its Privacy Policy.

The Site contains links to third-party websites, including restaurants, recipe sources, and retailers. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. We encourage you to read their privacy policies before sharing information with them.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised effective date. If the changes are significant, we will make that clear on the Site. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

15. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information:

Into K Food Email: contact@intokfood.com Contact form: intokfood.com/contact