Middle Eastern Street

1. Who We Are

MiddleEasternStreet.com is a community-driven website helping Middle Eastern Canadians find authentic restaurants, grocers, and businesses across Canada. Think of us as a digital cousin who knows all the best spots in town.

We're based in Canada, and we follow Canadian privacy laws (that's PIPEDA for the curious ones). Our community is here in Canada, and this policy is written with you in mind.

2. What Information We Collect

We only collect what we need to make the site useful for our community.

A. Information You Choose to Share

When you join our community, you might share:

• Account Info: Your name and email address (so we know who's who in the community)
• Profile Details: Optional stuff like a photo or what city you're in (helps connect you with local finds)
• Your Contributions: Reviews of your favourite shawarma spot, photos of that amazing kunafa you discovered, corrections when a restaurant moves locations, and comments you share with the community
• Messages to Us: When you reach out with questions, feedback, or to report an issue

B. Business Owners

If you own or manage a restaurant, grocery store, or bakery, you might also share:

• Business details (address, phone number, hours)
• Menu information
• Ownership verification (just to make sure you're really you)

C. Information Collected Automatically

Like most websites, we automatically collect some technical info:

• How you use the site (which pages you visit, what you search for)
• Basic device info (like your browser type and IP address)
• Your general location (city/province based on your IP, not your street address)

D. Our Starting Point Data

To give the site a head start, we've gathered basic business listings from public directories. Think of this as a rough draft—we're counting on our community to correct, update, and improve this information.

3. How We Use Your Information

Everything we do is aimed at building a better resource for our community:

• To Show You the Goods: Display restaurant listings, reviews, and photos shared by people like you
• To Keep Things Accurate: When you correct a phone number or update hours, we make those changes so everyone benefits
• To Connect With You: Send occasional updates about new features or community news (only if you want them)
• To Improve the Site: Understand what people are searching for and how to make the experience better
• To Keep Things Respectful: Monitor for spam, fake reviews, or content that doesn't belong

4. When We Share Your Information

We will never sell your information. Period. That's not what this is about.

We only share information in these limited situations:

• With the Community: Your reviews, photos, and corrections are shared publicly on the site—that's the whole point! People want to know what you think.
• With Service Providers: We use trusted Canadian and international services to host the website and send emails. They only access data to provide those services.
• When Required by Law: If a Canadian court or legal authority requires us to share information (very rare), we'll comply.
• If You're a Business Owner: Your business details (address, phone, hours) are listed publicly so customers can find you.

5. Cookies (The Digital Kind, Not the Baklava Kind)

We use small data files called "cookies" to make the site work properly:

• Essential Cookies: Keep you logged in and remember your preferences
• Analytics Cookies: Help us understand what features people actually use (so we know what to improve)
• Your Choice: Most browsers let you control cookies. If you turn them off, the site will still work, but some features might be less smooth.

Hungry for baklava? That's a different kind of cookie altogether.

6. How Long We Keep Your Information

We keep your information as long as it's useful to the community:

• Account Info: Until you delete your account
• Reviews & Photos: Until you remove them or delete your account
• Business Listings: As long as the business is open (if a place closes, please let us know so we can update it!)

You can ask us to delete your information anytime—just reach out.

7. Keeping Your Information Safe

We take reasonable steps to protect your information using standard security practices. Think of it like locking your car in a decent neighborhood—good practice, but no guarantee is absolute.

We use encryption, secure servers, and limit access to personal information. But the internet is the internet, and we can't promise 100% security (neither can anyone else who's honest about it).

8. Your Rights

This is your community, and you have control:

• See Your Info: Ask us what we have about you
• Fix Mistakes: Correct anything that's wrong
• Delete Stuff: Remove your reviews or account anytime
• Unsubscribe: Opt out of emails with one click
• Take It With You: Request a copy of your data

Just email us or use our Help page, and we'll sort it out—no complicated legal jargon required.

9. Links to Other Sites

Our directory includes links to restaurant websites, Instagram pages, and other external sites. Once you leave our site, their privacy rules apply. We recommend checking them out, but we're not responsible for what happens elsewhere on the internet.

10. Kids Using the Site

MiddleEasternStreet.com is for folks who are old enough to enjoy Middle Eastern food (and we mean everyone!). But if you're under 13, please wait a few years before joining. We don't intentionally collect information from children.

11. Where Your Data Lives

We're a Canadian site serving the Canadian community. Your information is primarily stored in Canada. Some service providers might process data elsewhere, but we ensure they follow appropriate protections.

12. Updates to This Policy

If we make changes to this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If the changes are significant, we'll let you know via email or a notice on the site.

13. Questions? Talk to Us

This is a community, and we're here to help. If anything here is unclear, or if you have questions about your privacy:

• Email: info@middleeasternstreet.com
• Help Page: middleeasternstreet.com/help

Or just stop by the site and use the contact form—we're real people who actually respond.

Thank you for being part of MiddleEasternStreet.com. Together, we're building something for our community. 🇱🇧🇪🇬🇮🇶🇯🇴🇱🇧🇵🇸🇸🇾