Privacy Policy

Effective Date: August 12, 2025
Last Updated: August 12, 2025

Look, we get it – nobody loves reading privacy policies. But since we’re asking you to trust us with your cottage food business dreams (and your email address), we want to be completely transparent about how we handle your information.

Information We Collect

Information You Give Us Directly

When you sign up for our newsletter, contact us for coaching, or participate in our cottage food community, here’s what we typically collect:

  • Contact Information: Your name, email address, and phone number (if you choose to share it)
  • Location Details: Your state and sometimes city, because cottage food laws vary dramatically by location
  • Business Information: Details about your cottage food business or goals when you reach out for personalized advice
  • Communication Content: What you write to us in emails, contact forms, or community discussions

Information We Collect Automatically

When you visit goplated.com, our website automatically collects some technical information:

  • Usage Data: Which pages you visit, how long you stay, what links you click
  • Device Information: What type of device and browser you’re using
  • Location Data: General geographic location (state/region level, not your exact address)
  • Referral Information: How you found our website (search engine, social media, etc.)

We use cookies and similar technologies to collect this information. More on that below.

How We Use Your Information

For Cottage Food Education & Support

  • Sending you cottage food business tips, regulatory updates, and educational content
  • Providing personalized advice about cottage food licensing and business development
  • Connecting you with resources specific to your state’s cottage food laws
  • Responding to your questions about cottage food regulations, recipes, or business strategies

For Website Improvement

  • Understanding which content is most helpful to cottage food entrepreneurs
  • Improving our website navigation and user experience
  • Creating new content based on what our community needs most
  • Analyzing which cottage food topics generate the most questions

For Community Building

  • Sharing success stories from cottage food entrepreneurs (with permission)
  • Creating state-specific cottage food resources based on where our readers are located
  • Facilitating connections between cottage food entrepreneurs in similar situations

For Legal Compliance

  • Maintaining records as required by business and tax regulations
  • Ensuring our cottage food advice complies with current state regulations
  • Responding to legal requests if required (though we’d fight unnecessary ones)

Data Protection & Security

We protect your information with industry-standard security measures including:

  • Encrypted Data Transmission: All data sent between your browser and our servers is encrypted
  • Secure Server Storage: Your information is stored on secure servers with restricted access
  • Regular Security Updates: We keep our systems updated with the latest security patches
  • Limited Access: Only Lucas, Isabella, Emily, and our technical support have access to personal information
  • No Unnecessary Retention: We don’t keep your information longer than needed for business purposes

However, no internet transmission is 100% secure. While we work hard to protect your information, we can’t guarantee absolute security.

Your Rights (GDPR/CCPA Compliant)

You have significant control over your personal information:

Access Your Information

Want to know what information we have about you? Email us at contact@goplated.com and we’ll provide a complete summary within 30 days.

Correct Your Information

If any of your information is wrong or outdated, let us know and we’ll fix it immediately.

Delete Your Information

Want us to delete your information? We’ll remove you from all our systems within 30 days. Note that we may need to keep some information for legal or business purposes (like tax records).

Opt Out of Communications

You can unsubscribe from our emails anytime by clicking the unsubscribe link or emailing us directly.

Data Portability

Want to take your information elsewhere? We’ll provide your data in a common format so you can use it with other services.

Object to Processing

If you don’t want us to use your information for certain purposes, let us know and we’ll stop (unless we have a legal obligation to continue).

How to Exercise Your Rights: Email us at contact@goplated.com with your request. We’ll respond within 30 days and walk you through the process.

Cookies & Tracking

We use cookies (small data files stored on your device) to make our website work better:

Essential Cookies

These are required for basic website functionality:

  • Remembering your login status
  • Maintaining your preferences during your visit
  • Ensuring website security

Analytics Cookies

We use Google Analytics to understand how people use our website:

  • Which cottage food topics are most popular
  • How visitors navigate through our content
  • What devices and browsers people use
  • General geographic information about our audience

Marketing Cookies

These help us show you relevant content:

  • Remembering what cottage food topics interest you
  • Personalizing email content based on your interests
  • Tracking which of our content leads to newsletter signups

Managing Cookies: You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may limit some website functionality, but you can still access all our educational content.

Third-Party Services

We work with several trusted partners to provide our services:

Email Marketing (ConvertKit)

We use ConvertKit to send newsletters and cottage food education emails. They have access to your email address and communication preferences. ConvertKit Privacy Policy

Website Analytics (Google Analytics)

Google Analytics helps us understand how people use our website. They collect anonymized usage data. Google Analytics Privacy Policy

Payment Processing (Stripe)

For paid coaching or products, we use Stripe to process payments. We never see or store your full credit card information. Stripe Privacy Policy

Website Hosting (Host Provider)

Our website is hosted on secure servers. Our hosting provider has access to technical website data but not your personal information.

Customer Support (Email Provider)

We use professional email services to manage customer communications. These providers may have access to our email communications with you.

Children’s Privacy

Our cottage food business content is designed for adults (18+) who want to start home-based food businesses. We don’t knowingly collect information from children under 13. If we discover we’ve inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, we’ll delete it immediately.

If you’re a parent and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at contact@goplated.com.

International Visitors

Go-Plated LLC is based in New York, USA, and our services are primarily designed for cottage food entrepreneurs in the United States. If you’re visiting from outside the US:

  • Your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States
  • US privacy laws may differ from those in your country
  • We still respect your privacy rights and will honor deletion requests
  • Our cottage food advice is specific to US regulations and may not apply to your location

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We’ll update this privacy policy as our business grows and privacy laws evolve. When we make changes:

  • We’ll post the updated policy on this page with a new “Last Updated” date
  • For significant changes, we’ll email our newsletter subscribers with a summary
  • We’ll never reduce your privacy rights without giving you a chance to opt out

We recommend checking this page periodically, especially if you’re an active member of our cottage food community.

Contact for Privacy Concerns

Questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your information? We’d rather you ask than wonder.

Privacy Contact: Emily Carter at emily.carter@goplated.com (She handles all privacy-related questions personally)

Main Contact: contact@goplated.com
Phone: +1 (914) 881-8255
Mail: Go-Plated LLC, 30 W 11th St, New York, NY 10011

Response Time: We aim to respond to privacy inquiries within 48 hours, often faster.

This privacy policy was written by real humans (us) and reviewed by legal professionals to ensure compliance with applicable privacy laws. We believe privacy policies should be understandable, not intimidating.