Florida Food Watch

Effective date: August 20, 2026

This Privacy Policy applies to FloridaFoodWatch.com and the accounts, watchlists, alerts, forms, articles, and other website features Florida Food Watch provides.

Information you provide

Account information. When you create or manage an account, we collect information such as your display name, email address, account username, alert preferences, acceptance of the Terms and Privacy Policy, and other information needed to administer the account. Passwords are processed through WordPress security functions and are not stored as readable plain text.

Watchlists and alerts. We store the restaurant license identifiers you add to your watchlist, your email-alert preference, and related account activity so we can display your saved restaurants and provide requested inspection, closure, and reopening notifications. Basic accounts currently support up to 10 watched restaurants.

Contact and advertising inquiries. When you submit a contact, correction, story-tip, partnership, or advertising form, we collect the information you enter. Depending on the form, this may include your name, email address, subject, message, company or organization, business website, advertising interest, and estimated budget. Submissions may be delivered to us by email and archived in the Florida Food Watch backend so we can respond, review requests, and maintain appropriate business records.

First-party member analytics

For signed-in members, Florida Food Watch records limited product-usage metrics associated with an internal member identifier. These metrics may include account creation and login events, broad page types viewed, watchlist additions and removals, attempts to add a restaurant after reaching the watchlist limit, watchlist-capacity events, and changes to alert preferences.

These first-party metrics are stored as daily aggregated counts for up to 730 days. This analytics table does not intentionally store passwords, password-reset tokens, IP addresses, full browser user-agent strings, names, email addresses, or the specific restaurant or inspection IDs a member viewed.

Information collected automatically

Our hosting, content-delivery, security, analytics, and advertising services may automatically receive technical information such as your IP address, browser and device type, operating system, referring page, pages requested, approximate location derived from your network, request timestamps, cookie identifiers, and information used to detect fraud, abuse, or security threats.

We use WordPress login and security cookies to keep members signed in, protect forms, and provide account features. Cloudflare and our hosting providers may process request and device information to deliver, cache, protect, and monitor the website.

Google advertising and measurement services

Florida Food Watch uses Google advertising and measurement technologies, including Google AdSense and Google tag services. Third-party vendors, including Google, may place or read cookies, use web beacons, or process IP addresses and information about visits to this and other websites to serve, personalize, limit, and measure advertisements; detect fraud and abuse; and understand website usage.

Learn more about how Google uses information from sites that use its services. You can manage Google ad personalization through Google Ad Settings. Browser settings and any consent controls offered on the website may provide additional cookie choices.

How we use information

Provide, administer, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the website.
Create and maintain accounts, watchlists, preferences, and requested alerts.
Send welcome messages, service notices, password-reset messages, newsletters, and inspection-related alerts that you request or enable.
Respond to questions, correction requests, story tips, support requests, and advertising inquiries.
Understand audience and feature usage through first-party and third-party measurement.
Display, personalize, limit, and measure advertising and sponsorship campaigns.
Prevent abuse, investigate security incidents, enforce our Terms, and comply with legal obligations.

How information is shared

We share information with service providers only as reasonably necessary for services such as website hosting, content delivery, security, database and API operations, email delivery, analytics, advertising, and technical support. Advertising and analytics providers may collect information directly through their technologies as described above and process it under their own privacy policies.

We may also disclose information when required by law; to protect Florida Food Watch, our users, or others; to investigate abuse or security threats; or as part of a merger, financing, reorganization, or transfer of the website or its assets. We do not sell account registration information or private form submissions for money.

Public records and editorial information

Florida Food Watch publishes information derived primarily from public government records, including restaurant licensing and inspection records. Information lawfully available in official records or otherwise made public is handled as editorial and public-records information rather than information a visitor privately submits through the website.

Data retention

Account information, watchlists, and preferences are generally retained while the account remains active or as needed to provide the service. First-party member analytics are retained for up to 730 days. Form submissions, correspondence, security records, and business records are retained for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose collected, dispute resolution, fraud prevention, operational continuity, and legal obligations. Service providers may retain logs and backups according to their own retention schedules.

Your choices and requests

You can update certain account details, change alert preferences, and remove restaurants from your watchlist through your account. Marketing messages will include an unsubscribe method when required; account, security, or other service messages may still be sent when necessary to provide the service.

You may control cookies through your browser and Google advertising settings. You may also use the Contact page to request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information associated with you. We may need to verify your identity and may retain information when permitted or required by law.

Security

We use administrative and technical safeguards intended to protect personal information. No website, network, or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure, and we cannot promise that unauthorized access or disclosure will never occur.

Children’s privacy

Florida Food Watch is a general-audience service and is not directed to children under 13. Children under 13 may not create an account or submit personal information through the website. If you believe a child under 13 provided personal information, contact us so we can review and delete it as appropriate.

Third-party websites

The website may link to government agencies, restaurants, advertisers, social platforms, and other third parties. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies, not this Privacy Policy.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as the website, service providers, and legal requirements change. We will post the revised policy on this page and update the effective date. Material changes may also be communicated through the website or account email when appropriate.

Contact

Questions or privacy requests may be submitted through the Contact page.