Privacy Policy & Disclosures

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Privacy Policy

Who We Are:

Shoyu Sugar, ShoyuSugar.com is owned by Shoyu Sugar, a Sole Proprietorship registered in Hawaii, USA.

Shoyu Sugar understands that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your information is used and shared online. 

Our site only collects and uses information in ways that are consistent with your rights and our obligations under the law. Namely, data is processed:

• When you give specific and express consent for us to do so
• When necessary for the performance of a contract, where you are a party to that contract (for example, if you buy something we will need to collect payment and delivery information in order to deliver that product to you)
• When necessary for compliance with a legal obligation
• When necessary in order to protect the vital interest of the data subject (you) or of another natural person
• When necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us, except where such interest is overridden by your interest or fundamental rights and freedoms. 

This Policy applies to our use of any and all data collected by us in accordance with your use of our site. 

Please be sure to carefully read this Privacy Policy and ensure that you understand it.

YOU ARE CONSIDERED TO HAVE ACCEPTED OF OUR PRIVACY POLICY WHEN YOU FIRST USE OUR SITE. If you do not agree to and accept our privacy policy, then you must stop using our site. 

By using our site you certify that you are an adult, at least 18 years of age.

What personal data we collect and why we collect it

Personal Information Collected on this Website

No personally-identifiable information is collected on this website from persons that browse our website. The only personally-identifiable information collected on this website is gathered in our comment area and on specified sign up forms, where fields are provided so that you can provide your name and email address to leave a comment or receive a download, newsletter or other emails on updates, giveaways, or other offers. We collect this information so that we can respond to the comments or questions that you post. 

For additional detail on how we collect and use personally identifiable information, please see the table below.

Anonymous Information Collected on this Website

We record anonymous data. Most of the information that we collect from this website is anonymous information, such as the pages you visit. Other anonymous data we may collect might include the name of your internet service provider, the website that you used to link to our site, other interests you have, basic demographic information, the websites that you visit from our site, and your IP address. The data is used for statistical purposes only, but you, as the individual user, remain anonymous. We use this anonymous information to help improve the content of this site and to compile aggregate statistics about individuals using our site for internal market research purposes.

For additional detail on how we collect and use anonymous information, please see the table below.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your computer or device by our site when you visit certain parts of our site.

When you visit our website, we may assign your computer one or more cookies to facilitate access to our website, personalize your online experience and record information about your visit. 

Through the use of a cookie, we also may automatically collect information about your online activity on our website, such as the web pages you visit, the links or advertisements you click on and other actions you take while on our website. 

The cookies do not store any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) about you. 

Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies. 

If you choose to decline cookies, please note that some of the features and services of our website may not function properly.  We also use cookies for purposes such as maintaining continuity during an online session; gathering data about the use of our site; monitoring online promotions; and anti-fraud and information security purposes.

We may allow third-parties, advertising companies and ad networks (“Advertisers”) to display advertisements on our website. Advertisers may use tracking technologies, such as cookies, to collect information about users who view or interact with their advertisements. 

Our website does not provide any PII to these Advertisers, but they may collect information about where you, or others who are using your computer, saw and/or clicked on the advertisements they delivered, and possibly associate this information with your subsequent visits to the advertised websites. They also may combine this information with personal information they collect directly from you. The collection and use of that personal information is subject to the particular Advertiser’s privacy policy. 

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.).

Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. 

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracing your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website. 

Links to Other Sites

Our website does contain links to affiliate and other websites. Our site does not claim nor accept responsibility for any privacy policies, practices and/or procedures of other such websites. Therefore, we encourage all users and visitors to be aware when they leave our website and to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. The aforementioned Privacy Policy agreement applies only and solely to the information collected by our website.

Through affiliate links, identifying information may be carried over to an outside site to show that you visited that site from our site to ensure proper commissions are issued.

Shoyu Sugar is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Service/Tool/Method to collect data	Data Collected	How it’s Collected	Why it’s Collected	Legal Basis for collection
MailerLite	Name, email address, IP address	Form submission	To deliver downloads, newsletters or other emails on updates, giveaways, or other offers.	Consent
Contact Forms	Name, email address	Form Submission	To allow the data subject to contact our site with any questions, comments, or other information they would like to submit privately	Consent
Comments	Name, email address, website, Ip address, and browser user agent string	Form submission	We collect the data show in the comments form and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection	Consent and Necessity
Google Analytics	Posts and pages visited,name of your internet service provider, the website that you used to link to our site, other interests you have, basic demographic information, the websites that you visit from our site, and your IP address	Cookie	For statistical purposes to provide a better user experience	Consent & Necessity
Jetpack by WP	Posts and pages visited,name of your internet service provider, the website that you used to link to our site, other interests you have, basic demographic information, the websites that you visit from our site, and your IP address	Cookie	For statistical purposes to provide a better user experience	Consent & Necessity
Adsense	Ad impressions, video-related events (i.e. pause, mute, 100% plays, etc.) or errors, and ad click events.	Cookie	Various cookies are used for the following purposes: delivering targeted advertisements to specific visitors, storing user identifiers, and collecting anonymous ad platform stats	Consent
Share A Sale		Cookie	Used by cloudflare to identify trusted web traffic	Necessary
Instagram		Cookie	Helps prevent cross site request forgery	Necessary
Pinterest	Track the usage of services	Cookie	Helps prevent cross site request forgery	Necessary
Stripe	Payment and delivery information	Form Submission	To deliver products and process payments	Necessary for performance of a contract or purchase

Who we share your data with

We contract with the third parties listed in the table above to supply products, services, and a good user experience on our behalf. These include payment processing, delivery of goods, search engine facilities, advertising, and marketing. 

In some cases, these parties may require access to some or all of your data, when that is the case we take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data will be handled safely, securely, and in accordance with the law. 

How long we retain your data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

For users that register on our website, we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

Information collected using Google analytics is retained for 26 months.

Information submitted through forms, such as email forms or contact forms are retained until such a time as the data subject chooses to unsubscribe or invokes their right under GDPR to be forgotten. 

What rights you have over your data

If you have an account on this site or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. 

You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Similarly, if you have subscribed to our email list you can unsubscribe at any time and make a request to the site administrator to have all personal data obtained via our email marketing service erased.

Resident Rights of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nebraska, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, or Virginia

If you reside in one of the above states, a state based data privacy law gives you the right to ask if we sell or disclose your personal information to third parties. 

We do not sell your personal information to third parties for others’ direct marketing. We have not sold your personal information in the past. The law also gives you the right to opt out of such sales. You may do so by submitting a request via our contact information below.

Where we send your data

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service. 

How to contact us

Should you have any questions, concerns regarding our site or this privacy policy, or data privacy rights requests you may contact us at Malia@ShoyuSugar.com.

Changes to our privacy policy

We may change this privacy policy as we deem necessary from time to time or as required by law. Any changes will be posted on our site and you will have been deemed to have accepted them on your first use of our site following alterations. You should check this page regularly to ensure you are keeping up to date. 

Terms & Conditions

By Using ShoyuSugar.com, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS OUTLINED BELOW.

To also review our privacy policy, please click here: 

Terms

By accessing this website, you are agreeing to be bound by these website Terms and Conditions of Use, all applicable laws, and regulations, and agree that you are responsible for compliance with any applicable local laws. If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are prohibited from using or accessing this site. The materials contained in this website are protected by applicable copyright and trademark law.

Use License

Permission is granted to temporarily download one copy of the materials (information or software) on Shoyu Sugar’s website for personal, non-commercial transitory viewing only. 

This is the grant of a license, not a transfer of title, and under this license, you may not:

• use the materials for any commercial purpose, or for any public display (commercial or non-commercial);
• attempt to decompile or reverse engineer any software contained on Shoyu Sugar’s website;
• remove any copyright or other proprietary notations from the materials; or
• transfer the materials to another person.

This license shall automatically terminate if you violate any of these restrictions and may be terminated by Shoyu Sugar at any time. Upon terminating your viewing of these materials or upon the termination of this license, you must destroy any downloaded materials in your possession whether in electronic or printed format.

To access or use the Site, you must be 18 years of age or older and have the requisite power and authority to enter into these Terms and Conditions. Children under the age of 18 are prohibited from using the Site. 

Information provided on the Site and in the Service related to membership sites and other information are subject to change. Shoyu Sugar makes no representation or warranty that the information provided, regardless of its source (the “Content”), is accurate, complete, reliable, current, or error-free.

Revisions and Errors

The materials appearing on Shoyu Sugar’s website could include technical, typographical, or photographic errors. Shoyu Sugar does not warrant that any of the materials on its website are accurate, complete, or current. Shoyu Sugar may make changes to the materials contained on its website at any time without notice. Shoyu Sugar does not, however, make any commitment to update the materials.

Site Terms of Use Modifications

Shoyu Sugar may revise these terms of use for its website at any time without notice. By using this website you are agreeing to be bound by the then current version of these Terms and Conditions of Use.

Governing Law

Any claim relating to Shoyu Sugar’s website shall be governed by the laws of the State of Hawaii without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Mandatory Arbitration. Any dispute or controversy arising out of or relating to any interpretation, construction, performance, termination or breach of these Terms & Conditions, will be settled by final and binding arbitration by a single arbitrator to be held in Kahului, Hawaii , in accordance with the American Arbitration Association national rules for resolution of employment disputes then in effect, except as provided herein. The arbitrator selected shall have the authority to grant any party all remedies otherwise available by law, including injunctions, but shall not have the power to grant any remedy that would not be available in a state or federal court. The arbitrator shall have the authority to hear and rule on dispositive motions (such as motions for summary adjudication or summary judgment). The arbitrator shall have the powers granted by Hawaii  law and the rules of the American Arbitration Association which conducts the arbitration, except as modified or limited herein.

Account Creation

In order to use the services and/or products offered on the website, you will be required to provide information about yourself including your name, email address, username and password, and other personal information. 

You agree that any registration information you give to us will always be accurate, correct, and up to date. You must not impersonate someone else or provide account information or an email address other than your own. Your account must not be used for any illegal or unauthorized purpose. You must not, in the use of the service or product, violate any laws in your jurisdiction.

Lawful Purposes

You may use the Site, Service, and/or products for lawful purposes only. You agree to be financially responsible for all purchases made by you or someone acting on your behalf through the Site. 

You agree to use the Site and to purchase services or products through the Site for legitimate, non-commercial purposes only. 

You shall not post or transmit through the Site or social media groups managed by site or Shoyu Sugar any material which violates or infringes the rights of others, or which is threatening, abusive, defamatory, libelous, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, vulgar, obscene, profane, or otherwise objectionable, contains injurious formulas, recipes, or instructions, which encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law.

Refusal of Services/Products

The Services and/or products are offered subject to our acceptance of your order or requests. We reserve the right to refuse service to any order, person or entity, without the obligation to assign a reason for doing so. No order is deemed accepted by us until payment has been processed. We may at any time change or discontinue any aspect or feature of the Site, Product or Service, subject to us fulfilling our previous responsibilities to you based on acceptance of your payment.

Duration of Agreement

Once confirmed, we will provide you access to the purchased Service or product. You agree and understand that access to the Service/product may at times be influenced and affected by third parties that we use to provide the Service (web hosting, membership site plugins, etc.). You agree and understand that no breach of contract action may be initiated against Shoyu Sugar when there are reasonable delays in the access of the Service or product.

Shoyu Sugar reserves the right to terminate the Service or product, and or access to certain features of the Service or product, with or without prior notice to you. We will make reasonable efforts to provide notice but is not required to do so under the terms of this agreement.

Lifetime Access is for the lifetime of the Service or product. If for any reason, Shoyu Sugar should dissolve or cease to exist, then your access to the Service or product terminates.

Cancellations & Refunds

We offer a money back guarantee should you be unhappy with the service or product. To request a refund please contact support at Malia@ShoyuSugar.com.

You may also cancel your monthly subscription at any time via your account page, but due to the nature of the Service or product no refunds will be made for any membership fees already paid, excluding the  money back guarantee as stated above.

Once you cancel you will no longer have access to the Service or product, including all content and community resources, once your current membership period is completed.

The  refund period only applies to your first subscription and cannot be used more than once.

It is entirely your responsibility to ensure that you cancel your account in good time should you no longer require the Service and do not wish to be billed further.

Changed Terms

We may at any time amend these Terms and Conditions. Such amendments are effective immediately upon notice to you by us posting the new Terms and Conditions on this Site. 

Any use of the Site or Service by you after being notified means you accept these amendments. 

We reserve the right to update any portion of our Site and Service, including these Terms and Conditions, at any time. We will post the most recent versions to the Site and list the effective dates on the pages of our Terms and Conditions.

Waiver

No waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement by Shoyu Sugar shall be deemed, or shall constitute, a waiver of any other provision, whether or not similar, nor shall any waiver constitute a continuing waiver. No waiver shall be binding unless executed in writing by Shoyu Sugar.

Severability

If any term, provision, covenant, or condition of this Agreement is held by an arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void, or unenforceable, the rest of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired, or invalidated.

Advertising and Partnerships

As I travel, I am always looking to explore a destination’s food culture – you will often find me visiting local markets, farms, vineyards, breweries, attending cooking classes or trying out new restaurants or traditional specialties. I have been known to spend hours walking up and down the aisles of grocery stores in a new country, marveling at differences in tastes, packaging and spices. Some of the best meals of my life have been served from tiny food carts and eaten sitting on plastic stools in the street.

I’m often actively researching travel or food stories for this site and other freelance outlets and love to join in on culinary FAM trips, tours or site visits when my schedule allows. If you can point me towards the best farmers market, a local coffee farm, or a foodie hangout, I’m thrilled!

As a nod to my home state of Hawaii, I keep a section for my most popular Hawaii content active, including where to stay, what to eat and things to do, based on my own personal experiences. I will not recommend a restaurant, hotel or activity if I haven’t tried it personally, although I’m always happy to pass on Kama’aina deals and specials to my readers via a blog post (where appropriate) or via social media channels.

If you’re interested in how your brand or destination may be a good fit for a partnership or would like a current media kit, please drop me a line at malia@shoyusugar.com.

*Please note that Shoyu Sugar is not currently accepting on-page advertising at this time.