Privacy Policy

Last updated 26 July 2026

jeffraben.com is a personal, family website run by Jeff Raben. It is not a business, it sells nothing, and it has no advertisers. This page explains exactly what it collects and what happens to it.

Who this is for

Most of the site is public to read. A small number of people — family and close friends — have accounts so they can add their own recipes, ballparks, states and barbecue records. Accounts are created by the site owner; there is no public sign-up.

What is collected

• Account details. A first name, and an email address and/or a mobile number, so a sign-in link can be sent. A display name if you choose one.
• Your PIN. Stored only as a one-way cryptographic hash. It cannot be read back, by the site owner or anyone else.
• What you add. Recipes, ballparks visited, states visited, barbecue contests and restaurants, and judge certifications including any certificate image you upload.
• Sign-in records. The date you last signed in, and the IP address of failed sign-in attempts, kept briefly to slow down password guessing.

How it is used

Only to run the site: to sign you in, to show your own entries back to you, and to send you a sign-in link when you ask for one or when the owner sends you an invitation. That is the whole list.

Text messages

• Texts are sent only to people whose mobile number the site owner entered by hand, who are known to him personally and are expecting to hear from the site.
• The only texts sent are sign-in links and account notices. There is no marketing, no promotion, and no recurring or automated campaign.
• Reply STOP to any message to receive no further texts. Reply HELP for help.
• Message and data rates may apply, depending on your carrier plan.
• Mobile numbers are never shared with anyone, sold, or used for marketing — by this site or by any third party.

Who it is shared with

Nobody. Personal information collected here is not sold, rented, traded, or shared with third parties, and is never used for marketing purposes.

Two service providers necessarily handle data in order to deliver it, and do nothing else with it: the web host that runs the site and its database, and the messaging provider that delivers text messages. Neither is permitted to use the information for their own purposes.

Cookies

• A session cookie that keeps you signed in while you browse.
• A “keep me signed in” cookie, if you tick that box, so you do not have to enter your PIN again on that device. It holds a random token, not your PIN, and it is replaced every time it is used. Signing out deletes it.

No advertising or cross-site tracking cookies are used.

Analytics

Some public pages use Google Analytics to count visits. It records ordinary web request information such as approximate location, browser and pages viewed. It is not linked to your account and is not used to identify you.

Keeping and deleting your information

Information is kept for as long as the account exists. Ask and your account and everything attached to it will be deleted — there is no process to go through, just say so.

Children

The site is not directed at children under 13 and no account is created for one without a parent asking for it.

Changes

If this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it.

Contact

Questions, corrections, or deletion requests: jeff@rabenit.com.