Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Cicada Coffee Bar is a specialty café and editorial website located at 106 Prospect Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States. For any privacy question or request, contact us at cicadacoffeebar@gmail.com or +1 (617) 714-4766.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information you provide directly

• Contact form submissions: your name, email address, selected subject, and message content. These are stored in our secure database so we can respond and keep a record of our correspondence.
• Email correspondence: if you email us directly, we retain your address and message for as long as needed to handle your inquiry.
• Event & wholesale inquiries: business name, estimated headcount, and event details you choose to share.

2.2 Information collected automatically

• Log data: like most websites, our servers record your IP address, browser type, device type, referring pages, and timestamps. This is used for security and performance monitoring.
• Cookies & similar technologies: we may use cookies to remember preferences, measure traffic, and understand which articles readers find useful. See Section 6 for details and controls.
• Analytics: we use privacy-conscious analytics to understand aggregate usage (pages visited, time on page, approximate geography). We do not build individual advertising profiles.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To respond to messages, inquiries, and event requests you send us
• To operate, maintain, and improve the website and our café services
• To monitor the security of the site and prevent abuse or fraud
• To understand readership trends and improve our reviews and content
• To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms

We do not sell your personal information, rent it, or share it with data brokers. Ever.

4. Legal Bases for Processing (EEA/UK Visitors)

If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we process your personal data under the following bases: consent (e.g., when you submit the contact form), legitimate interests (site security, analytics, improving services), and legal obligation (where records are required by law). You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us.

5. How Long We Keep Data

Contact form messages are retained for up to 24 months, then deleted unless an ongoing business or legal reason requires longer retention. Server logs are rotated regularly and typically kept for no more than 90 days. You may request earlier deletion at any time (see Section 9).

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use the following categories:

• Essential cookies: required for the site to function (security, load balancing, remember form inputs while you type). These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: optional, used to understand aggregate site usage. You can decline these without losing any site functionality.
• Third-party embeds: some pages may embed content (e.g., maps or videos) from third parties, which may set their own cookies when you interact with them.

Most browsers let you block or delete cookies via settings. Blocking all cookies may affect some site features but not core content access.

7. Affiliate Links and Third-Party Websites

Some articles contain affiliate links to retailers such as Amazon. When you click these links, the retailer may place cookies on your device to attribute any purchase. We do not control these cookies, and their use is governed by the retailer's own privacy policy. See our Disclaimer for our full affiliate disclosure.

8. How We Share Information

• Service providers: trusted vendors who host our website, database, and email systems — bound by contract to process data only on our instructions.
• Legal requirements: if required by law, subpoena, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Cicada, our customers, or others.
• Business transfers: in the unlikely event of a merger or sale, data may transfer to the successor entity under the same protections described here.

9. Your Rights and Choices

For everyone

• Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Ask us to correct inaccurate information
• Ask us to delete your information (“right to be forgotten”)
• Object to or restrict certain processing

California residents (CCPA/CPRA)

You have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request its deletion, to correct it, and to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, so there is nothing to opt out of — but the right stands regardless.

To exercise any right, email cicadacoffeebar@gmail.comwith the subject “Privacy Request.” We respond within 30 days and will verify your identity before acting.

10. Data Security

We protect data with encrypted transport (HTTPS), access-restricted databases, least-privilege credentials, and regular software updates. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, but we work to industry standards and will notify affected users promptly of any breach as required by law.

11. Children's Privacy

This website is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us data, contact us and we will delete it immediately.

12. International Transfers

Our servers are located in the United States. If you access the site from outside the U.S., you understand that your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, which may have different data protection laws than your jurisdiction.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be noted on this page with a new “last updated” date. Continued use of the site after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

14. Contact Us

Questions, requests, or complaints about this policy or your data: email cicadacoffeebar@gmail.com, call +1 (617) 714-4766, or write to Cicada Coffee Bar, 106 Prospect Street, Cambridge, MA 02139.