Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Istanbul Restaurants (restaurantsistanbul.com) is an independent restaurant guide covering dining venues in Istanbul, Turkey. We are not affiliated with any restaurant, booking platform or food delivery service. Questions about this policy can be sent to info@restaurantsistanbul.com.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of data:

• Usage data: Pages visited, time on page, referrer URL, browser type, device type and approximate geographic location (city level). Collected automatically via Google Analytics.
• Search queries: Search terms entered on the site may be logged anonymously to improve search quality.
• Cookies: See Section 4 for full details.
• Contact submissions: If you email us, we store your email address and message content only to respond to your inquiry.

We do not collect names, payment information, or create user accounts.

3. How We Use Your Data

• To operate and improve the website and restaurant database.
• To display relevant advertisements via Google AdSense.
• To measure site traffic and understand which content is most useful (Google Analytics).
• To detect and prevent fraud or technical abuse.

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data to third parties.

4. Cookies

Our site uses cookies — small text files stored on your device. Below is a summary of the cookies we use:

Google AdSense uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our site and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to our site and/or other sites on the Internet. You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.

You can also control cookies at browser level. Visit aboutcookies.org for instructions on how to manage or delete cookies in your browser.

5. Third-Party Advertising

We use Google AdSense to display advertisements on this site. Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads. These ads may be targeted based on your previous visits to our site or other sites. The data collected through AdSense cookies is governed by Google's Privacy Policy.

6. Third-Party Links

Restaurant pages may contain links to external websites (restaurant websites, map services, reservation platforms). We have no control over the content or privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to read their privacy policies.

7. Data Retention

Google Analytics data is retained for 14 months by default. Contact form emails are kept only for as long as necessary to resolve your inquiry and are deleted thereafter.

8. Your Rights (GDPR / KVKK)

If you are in the European Economic Area or Turkey, you have the following rights:

• Right to access the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to request correction of inaccurate data.
• Right to request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten").
• Right to object to processing for direct marketing.
• Right to data portability.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@restaurantsistanbul.com.

9. Children's Privacy

This site is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be indicated by an updated "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact

For any privacy-related questions or requests, please contact: info@restaurantsistanbul.com