The Penguin Eats
825 reviews Melbourne Australia since 2016

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 13 October 2026

Introduction

The Penguin Eats (“we”, “us”, or “our”) operates the website located at https://penguineats.com. We are an independent food review publication based in Melbourne, Australia, providing honest reviews and dining guides for restaurants, cafes, and eateries across Victoria.

This Privacy Policy explains how information relating to visitors is handled when you access and browse our website. It reflects our commitment to transparency, data minimization, and privacy best practices.

What Information We Collect

1. Information You Voluntarily Provide

The Penguin Eats is a publicly accessible food publication. We do not require visitors to register an account, create a profile, log in, or provide payment details to view our restaurant reviews and dining guides.

If you choose to contact us directly via email ([email protected]), submit an editorial correction ([email protected]), or communicate through direct messages on our official social media channels, we retain your email address, name, and message content solely to respond to your inquiry, review editorial feedback, or coordinate restaurant invitations. We do not sell or share contact details with third-party marketing brokers.

2. Automatically Collected Technical Data

When you visit our website, certain technical metadata is processed by our hosting infrastructure and analytics tools:

  • Hosting and Infrastructure (Cloudflare Pages): Our website is delivered via Cloudflare Pages and Cloudflare’s global content delivery network (CDN). Cloudflare processes technical network logs—including IP addresses, browser user agent, device operating system, requested URLs, HTTP response codes, and access timestamps—to securely route requests, mitigate distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) threats, and ensure high-availability content delivery. Edge logs are retained temporarily for security and performance purposes in accordance with Cloudflare’s standard retention policies.
  • Aggregated Analytics (Google Analytics 4): Where enabled, we use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand how visitors navigate our site, which restaurant reviews are most popular, and how we can improve our editorial content. GA4 collects pseudonymous interaction data, coarse device characteristics, and page engagement metrics with IP anonymization enabled. GA4 does not log raw IP addresses, and user-level data retention is limited to 14 months.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

A cookie is a small data file stored on your browser or device. We use cookies and similar technologies for the following specific purposes:

  • Essential Infrastructure & Security: Necessary for network routing, CDN performance, and Cloudflare threat management.
  • Aggregated Analytics Cookies: First-party cookies set by Google Analytics (such as _ga and container-specific cookies) to distinguish unique web browsers and calculate aggregate traffic trends over time.
  • Advertising Cookies (Google AdSense): Our website is configured for Google AdSense. In connection with site verification and advertising delivery, Google and third-party advertising partners may place and read cookies (such as DoubleClick cookies) or use web beacons, IP addresses, and other identifiers to collect information in the course of serving advertisements on this website. To learn more about how Google uses information from sites that use its services, visit How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.

Technologies We Do Not Use

To ensure visitor privacy, The Penguin Eats does not deploy:

  • Third-party social network tracking pixels (such as Meta/Facebook, TikTok, Twitter/X, or Pinterest conversion pixels).
  • Session replay software (such as Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity).
  • Third-party email marketing newsletter pop-ups or CRM chat widgets.
  • User databases, login trackers, or advertising trackers beyond disclosed Google services.

You can configure your web browser to refuse all cookies or to alert you when a cookie is being set. Most web browsers allow you to view, manage, and delete stored cookies through their settings. You can also opt out of Google Analytics measurement across all websites using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, and Switzerland

For visitors located in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, advertising is served in compliance with European privacy regulations (GDPR and ePrivacy Directive) and the IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF v2.2):

  • We utilize a Google-certified Consent Management Platform (CMP), such as Google Privacy & messaging, to obtain and manage consent for advertising cookies, measurement, and personalization.
  • Non-essential advertising cookies and personalized ad processing are not activated without your prior consent.
  • You can review or update your consent preferences at any time through our privacy notices or by clearing your browser cookies and reloading the site to re-trigger the consent interface.

United States State Privacy Rights

Residents of certain US states (including California under CCPA/CPRA, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and other applicable states) have specific privacy rights regarding personal data:

  • We do not sell personal information for monetary consideration. Where third-party advertising cookies or cross-context behavioral advertising are classified as a “sale” or “sharing” under state laws, you have the right to opt out of targeted advertising.
  • You may opt out of personalized Google advertising at any time by visiting Google Ad Settings or via the Network Advertising Initiative Opt-Out Tool.

Australian Privacy Principles

The Penguin Eats is based in Victoria, Australia. We handle all personal communications and technical data in accordance with fair information handling standards and the Australian Privacy Principles (Privacy Act 1988 Cth).

Our website links to third-party services and platforms, including:

  • Google Maps API: Used to render interactive venue pins on our Reviews by Location directory and embedded location maps on individual restaurant reviews. When viewing map embeds or navigating to Google Maps, your browser connects directly to Google servers subject to Google’s Privacy Policy.
  • Social Media: Plain outbound links to our official Instagram profile (@penguineats). We do not embed active social media tracking widgets or feed scripts.
  • Restaurant Websites: Direct links to official restaurant websites or reservation platforms provided for dining convenience.

We do not control the privacy practices or policies of external third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy statements of any external services you visit.

Data Retention and Security

Because we do not store customer profiles or payment data, our retention of personal data is limited to technical CDN logs and direct email communications initiated by you. We apply industry-standard security safeguards, including HTTPS transport encryption (TLS) across all website routes, to protect data in transit.

Children’s Privacy

Our website is not directed to individuals under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal identifiable information from children.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, feedback, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our editorial practices, you can contact us at: