Privacy Policy

Dog Friendly Kent is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you use our website and services.

By using Dog Friendly Kent, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

1. Data Controller

Dog Friendly Kent is operated by Apex Assets Group Ltd, a company registered in the United Kingdom.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Personal Information from Owners

When you claim a business listing or create an account as a field owner, we collect:

• Email address (for account management and authentication)
• Business name and contact information
• Payment information (processed securely by Stripe)
• Listing details (descriptions, images, amenities)

2.2 Personal Information from Visitors

When you subscribe to our newsletter or use our services, we collect:

• Email address (for newsletters, updates, and gear recommendations)
• Consent preferences (newsletter opt-ins, notification preferences)
• Submission data (if you submit a field listing request)

2.3 Automatically Collected Information

We automatically collect certain information when you visit our website:

• Browser type and version
• Device information and IP address
• Pages visited and time spent on pages
• Booking link clicks (for analytics)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

4. Third-Party Sharing

We only share your information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website and conducting our business. These parties are contractually obligated to keep your information confidential and use it only for the purposes we specify.

4.1 Stripe (Payment Processing)

When you subscribe to a Premium or Professional tier, your payment information is processed by Stripe, our secure payment processor. Stripe collects:

• Payment card information
• Billing address
• Email address for receipts

We do not store your complete payment card details on our servers. Stripe's privacy policy can be found at stripe.com/privacy.

4.2 Affiliate Networks (Amazon & Awin)

Dog Friendly Kent participates in affiliate programmes including the Amazon Associates programme and the Awin affiliate network. When you click on affiliate product or booking links on our website, the respective network may collect:

• Click data and browsing behaviour
• Purchase or booking information (to track affiliate commissions)
• A cookie stored on your device to attribute the referral

Current affiliate partners accessed via these networks include Amazon UK, Shorefield Holidays, and Aniwell Pets. All affiliate links are identified with rel="sponsored" attributes and are disclosed where they appear on the site.

Amazon's privacy policy: amazon.co.uk/privacy

Awin's privacy policy: awin.com/gb/legal/privacy-policy

4.3 Google AdSense (Advertising)

Dog Friendly Kent uses Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google and its advertising partners use cookies and similar tracking technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website and other websites across the internet. This is known as interest-based or personalised advertising.

Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to our site and/or other sites on the internet.

• Google may use the DoubleClick cookie and other cookies to serve ads
• Ads may be personalised based on your interests and browsing history
• Google AdSense uses a cookie to track conversions and ad interactions

You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of third-party vendor advertising cookies by visiting aboutads.info.

For more information about how Google uses data from sites that use its advertising services, visit: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites

4.4 Google OAuth (Authentication)

We use Google OAuth for secure account authentication. When you sign in with Google, we receive:

• Email address
• Profile name
• Profile picture (optional)

Google's privacy policy applies to this data collection and can be found at policies.google.com/privacy.

5. Your Rights Under GDPR

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• SSL/TLS encryption for data transmission
• Secure authentication via Google OAuth
• Payment data processed exclusively by PCI-compliant Stripe
• Regular security audits and updates
• Access controls limiting employee access to personal data

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required by law.

• Owner Account Data: Retained while your account is active, plus 2 years after closure for legal compliance
• Newsletter Subscribers: Retained until you unsubscribe
• Payment Records: Retained for 7 years for tax and accounting purposes
• Analytics Data: Aggregated and anonymized after 24 months

8. Cookies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. When you first visit, our cookie consent banner will ask for your permission before non-essential cookies are placed.

8.1 Essential Cookies

• Authentication session cookies (keeps you logged in)
• Cookie consent preference storage

8.2 Analytics Cookies

• Website traffic and usage analytics (page views, session duration)
• Affiliate link click tracking (Amazon Associates, Awin)

8.3 Advertising Cookies

With your consent, we allow Google AdSense to place advertising cookies on your device. These cookies enable Google and its advertising partners to serve personalised ads based on your interests and prior browsing history — including visits to this and other websites.

• Google DoubleClick: Used to serve and track Google AdSense advertisements
• Google Ads personalisation: Tailors ad content to your interests
• Conversion tracking: Records ad interactions and clicks

You can opt out of personalised advertising at any time by visiting Google Ads Settings or aboutads.info. You can also withdraw your cookie consent at any time by clearing your browser's local storage for this site and revisiting — the consent banner will reappear.

You can control and delete all cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling cookies may limit some functionality of our website, including account login.

9. Children's Privacy

Dog Friendly Kent is not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child, please contact us immediately at info@dogfriendlykent.uk, and we will delete the information promptly.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
• Notify active users via email if changes significantly affect your rights
• Provide a 30-day notice period before material changes take effect

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.