Privacy Policy

What data FoodEverest collects, how Google Analytics 4, the email signup, and affiliate cookies are used, and your rights under GDPR.

Last updated: 2026-08-30

Who we are

FoodEverest (foodeverest.com) is operated by Ramunas Berkmanas, an individual based in Lithuania, European Union. For data protection purposes, Ramunas Berkmanas is the data controller for information collected through this site.

What data we collect

FoodEverest does not require an account or login to use the core site. Nothing described below is required just to read the site - it only applies if you interact with the specific things listed. The data we collect falls into three categories:

• Automatically collected analytics data - through Google Analytics 4 we receive information such as pages viewed, approximate location (city/country level, derived from IP address), device and browser type, referring site, and on-site interactions (e.g. scroll depth, outbound link clicks). How much of this is tied together depends on your cookie choice: until you accept, GA4 and Microsoft Clarity both run in storage-less modes, with nothing kept on your device and no way to connect one page view to the next. See "Cookies, Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity" below for exactly what each tool does before and after you choose - including the on-page session recording Clarity performs either way.
• Data you provide if you sign up for email updates - described in "Email updates" below.
• Data set by third parties when you click an affiliate link - described in "Affiliate links and third-party cookies" below.

We do not collect names, postal addresses, or payment information through this site. If a feature that collects anything beyond what is listed here is added in the future, this policy will be updated to describe it before that feature goes live.

Cookies, Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity

FoodEverest does not set any analytics cookie until you actively say yes. On your first visit, a banner asks you to Accept or Reject analytics - the two options are given equal weight, neither is pre-selected, and nothing is stored on your device while you decide. Both of the tools below do load on every page and begin measuring immediately, in a mode that writes nothing to your device; what your choice controls is whether they may store an identifier and follow you from page to page. We use Google Consent Mode v2 to enforce this: every page loads with analytics storage and ad-related signals set to denied by default, and that default is only switched to granted after your explicit click. Google Analytics 4 runs in Consent Mode's cookieless mode while the default stands, and Microsoft Clarity runs in its equivalent no-consent mode via Clarity's ConsentV2 API - both described below. Ad-related identifiers are additionally redacted (ads_data_redaction) for as long as consent is denied.

• If you click Reject, or you don't choose at all - GA4 runs in cookieless mode. No _ga cookie is set, no identifier is written to or read from your device, and nothing links one page view of yours to the next or to a later visit. What Google does receive is a single, storage-less measurement request per page, carrying the page address, referring site, device/browser type and your IP address (from which Google derives approximate city/country before discarding it), which it reports to us only as aggregate totals. We cannot isolate you in that data.
• If you click Accept - Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google's web analytics service, switches from cookieless mode to full measurement immediately, without a page reload, and begins measuring pages viewed, approximate location (city/country level, derived from IP address), device and browser type, referring site, and on-site interactions such as scroll depth and outbound link clicks. Our GA4 property's measurement ID is G-G0KV8Z3BPZ. GA4 sets cookies (typically named _ga and _ga_<container-id>) to distinguish visitors and sessions; exact cookie names and retention periods are set by Google and may change - see Google's own cookie disclosures linked below for the current list.
• Microsoft Clarity - Clarity is a product-analytics service that builds anonymised heatmaps and session replays (mouse movement, clicks and scrolling) so we can see which parts of a page help people plan trips. It masks text you type by default, and is operated by Microsoft under its own privacy terms. Like GA4, it loads on every page and we pass it your consent choice: before you accept it runs in Clarity's no-consent mode - no _clck or _clsk cookie is set, and each page view is given a throwaway id, so your visit is never joined into one journey; after you accept it sets those cookies and stitches a session together. Please be aware of what this means in practice: unlike GA4's aggregate counting, a no-consent Clarity session is still a recording of pointer movement, clicks and scrolling on that single page. If you would rather not be recorded at all, use the browser controls or blockers described below, or the Clarity opt-out linked in Microsoft's own privacy terms. Clicking Reject also tells Clarity to delete any cookie it had previously set for this site.

Your accept/reject choice itself is remembered in your browser's local storage (not a cookie, and not sent to us or to Google) so we don't ask again on your next visit. This storage is strictly necessary to operate the consent mechanism and holds nothing beyond the word "granted" or "denied." You can change your choice at any time - click here to reopen the cookie banner, or use "Cookie settings" in the site footer on any page.

We do not use GA4 to identify you personally, and we do not combine GA4 data with any other personal data we might hold about you. You can review Google's own disclosures at policies.google.com/privacy and policies.google.com/technologies/cookies, and opt out of Google Analytics tracking across the web using Google's Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on (useful as a backstop if you've accepted here but want to opt out everywhere). Data GA4 collects is processed by Google under Google's own privacy policy and, where applicable, the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework or equivalent safeguards Google has in place for data transferred outside the EU/EEA. You can also block or delete cookies and local storage at any time through your browser's settings; doing so may affect how parts of the site behave, but will not prevent you from reading content or using affiliate links.

Email updates

FoodEverest offers two, separate, opt-in email features. They are never bundled: choosing one never signs you up for the other, and each has its own unticked-by-default consent checkbox. We are not currently sending any email for either one - both are stored and will start being used once sending is actually built and tested end to end.

The "new brands and meals" list

Where this appears on the site, it does one thing: we will email you when new brands and meals are added to the database. That is the only thing signing up gets you - there is no other newsletter, no discounts, no price alerts, and (since this site stores no live prices) never will be a price-alert feature.

What we store if you sign up: the email address you type, the date and time you ticked the consent box, and the page you signed up from.

Legal basis: consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) - the same basis used for GA4 above. Ticking the box and submitting the form is the only thing that creates this record; nothing is stored from simply visiting a page that has the signup form on it.

How to stop: because no automated email sending exists yet, there is currently no automated unsubscribe link to click - the only way to be removed right now is to email hello@foodeverest.com and ask; we delete on request, in full, immediately. Once automated sending is turned on, every email we send will include a one-click unsubscribe link in addition to this manual option.

Retention: we keep a signup record until you ask us to remove it, or until we remove it ourselves (for example, if the email notification feature described above is discontinued).

Emailing yourself a trip plan

The trail food trip planner may offer an option to email yourself the exact plan you just built, alongside its existing "Copy shopping list" and "Print" buttons - a one-time email fulfilling that specific request, not a subscription. This option only appears at all once we have finished connecting an email-sending service and tested it end to end; if you do not see it on the planner, it is not switched on yet.

What we store if you use it: the email address you type, the date and time you asked for the plan, and the plan itself as structured data - the number of days, meals per day, calorie target, what you optimised for, any diet filters, and the exact meals and quantities in your pack. We do not store a rendered copy of the email; when we send it, we rebuild it from our current meal database using that stored list, so what arrives always reflects current data rather than a frozen snapshot.

Legal basis: your own request. Typing your address and pressing "Send my plan" is the request itself, so there is no separate consent box asking you to confirm you want the email you just asked for. Consent under GDPR and the ePrivacy rules is what we need for ongoing marketing, which is a different thing: the "new brands and meals" list described above has its own independent, unticked checkbox on that same form. Leaving it unticked means you get your plan and nothing else, and you are not added to any list.

How to stop / retention: this is a single email, not an ongoing subscription, so there is nothing to unsubscribe from. You can still ask us to delete a stored request at any time by emailing hello@foodeverest.com; we delete on request, in full, immediately. Otherwise we keep it until the email has been sent plus a reasonable period afterward, or until we remove it ourselves if this feature is discontinued.

For both features: we do not sell, rent, or share this data with anyone outside of running FoodEverest itself. If we connect an email-sending service, that provider will process your email address on our behalf, strictly to send the message you asked for - this policy will name that provider once one is in use.

Affiliate links and third-party cookies

FoodEverest is reader-supported and is designed to run on affiliate links - see our full affiliate disclosure for how those work and their current status. When you click an affiliate link, you leave FoodEverest and land on a retailer's or affiliate network's site (for example, Amazon, or a brand's site reached through an affiliate network such as AvantLink or Collabs). That destination site - not FoodEverest - sets its own tracking cookie to attribute a purchase back to us if you buy something. We do not control, and are not responsible for, the cookies or data practices of these third-party sites. Review their own privacy policies for details on what they collect.

Legal basis for processing (GDPR)

As the operator is based in the EU, processing of personal data through this site is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our legal bases are:

• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) - the basis for anything stored on or read from your device for analytics, and for the email signup described above. No analytics cookie or persistent identifier is set, by GA4 or by Microsoft Clarity, until you click Accept in the cookie banner; nothing described in "Email updates" is stored until you tick that section's checkbox and submit the form.
• Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) - for the basic technical logs (such as IP address and request timestamp) that any web server or CDN generates simply by serving a page, and for the storage-less GA4 and Clarity measurement described above that runs while consent is denied. These are used only to operate, secure and understand the use of the site (including a simple rate limit on the email signup form to deter abuse), and are balanced against your rights and expectations: none of them writes to your device, none builds a profile across visits, and none can single you out. This basis does not cover cookie-based GA4 or Clarity measurement, or the content of the email signup - those require your consent, as described above.

You can withdraw GA4 consent at any time using the "Cookie settings" control described above, or by adjusting your browser's cookie and storage settings; GA4 and Clarity drop straight back to their storage-less modes and Clarity deletes the cookies it had set. If you would rather not be measured at all, the Google opt-out add-on linked above blocks GA4 entirely, and a browser-level tracker blocker will stop both. You can withdraw email-signup consent at any time by asking to be removed, as described in "Email updates" above. Withdrawing either does not affect the lawfulness of processing that already took place before withdrawal.

Your rights

If you are in the EU/EEA, UK, or a jurisdiction with similar data protection law, you generally have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request erasure of your data
• Restrict or object to certain processing
• Request a portable copy of your data
• Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting prior lawful processing
• Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority - in Lithuania, this is the State Data Protection Inspectorate (Valstybinė duomenų apsaugos inspekcija, VDAI), or your own country's equivalent authority

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below. Note that most data we hold (GA4 analytics) is processed by Google in a form that is not directly tied to your name or contact details - for that data, the fastest route is usually the opt-out tools described above.

International data transfers

Google Analytics may process data on servers outside the EU/EEA, including in the United States. Google represents that it provides appropriate safeguards for such transfers (including the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and/or standard contractual clauses). Affiliate networks and retailers you interact with after clicking an outbound link may also process data outside the EU/EEA under their own terms.

Data retention

We do not independently store or export raw GA4 analytics data outside of Google Analytics; retention there is governed by our Google Analytics account settings and Google's own policies. Your accept/reject choice is kept in your browser's local storage until you clear your browser data or change it yourself using the "Cookie settings" control - we do not receive or store a copy of that choice on any server.

The one thing we do store ourselves, on our own server, is an email signup record if you use the form described in "Email updates" above - see that section for what is stored and how retention and removal work for it. Beyond that, we do not currently store any other personal data collected through this site.

Children's privacy

FoodEverest is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will address it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the site or its data practices change. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be reflected here; we encourage you to review this page periodically.

Contact

For any privacy question or to exercise a data subject right, contact Ramunas Berkmanas at hello@foodeverest.com.