Better Together For Dogs — Privacy Policy

01 · Overview

Better Together For Dogs (BTD) is a non-commercial, community-led platform offering free marketing resources, foster programs, and partnership tools for shelters, rescues, and foster caregivers worldwide.

This Privacy Policy describes the information we collect when you visit bettertogetherfordogs.org, how we use it, and the choices you have. It complements our Terms of Service (AGB) and applies to all users, registered or anonymous.

02 · Information We Collect

We collect and process the following categories of data when you use the platform:

• Account data: your email address, role (admin or member), display name, and a generated user id — collected only when you register.
• Submission data: content you submit to the platform — comments, foster applications, photo submissions, organization contact details — is stored on our database and shown on the relevant pages.
• Browser data: page views, approximate region derived from your browser locale, preferred language, and timezone city — used only for aggregate analytics.
• Files you upload: photos, documents, or other files you choose to attach — stored in our storage provider and referenced from your submissions.

03 · How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate the platform — display your submissions, process foster applications, route email notifications.
• Improve the platform — measure which pages and resources are used and refine content based on usage.
• Communicate with you — respond to inquiry emails and notify you about your submissions.
• Comply with our legal obligations.

04 · Cookies & Local Storage

We use minimal browser storage to provide core functionality and remember your language preference:

• Session cookies (necessary): for authentication and session continuity — these cannot be disabled.
• Language preference (local storage): remembers your selected UI language each time you use the language switcher.
• Consent preference (local storage): remembers whether you accepted or declined non-essential cookies.

If you decline non-essential cookies via the consent banner, we do not run any analytics collector that requires consent. We continue running aggregate page-view counting which only logs page path + approximate region, never personal identifiers.

05 · Third-Party Services We Use

We rely on a small set of third-party processors to operate the platform:

• Hosting and database provider (Base44): stores all platform data and serves the website.
• File storage provider: stores uploaded files (photos, documents, generated PDFs/JPGs).
• Petfinder API: enriches dog listings when a partner organization shares a Petfinder feed URL.
• Google Fonts: serves the Inter and Space Grotesk fonts used across the site.

06 · Data Retention

Account data is retained until your account is deleted or you request removal.

Submission data is retained for as long as your submission is active on the platform and for up to 90 days after you request deletion (in case the deletion is rolled back due to error).

Aggregate analytics events are retained for 12 months and then automatically purged.

07 · Your Rights

European Union (GDPR), CCPA, and similar regimes grant you the following rights:

• Access: ask us for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: ask us to correct any incorrect or incomplete data.
• Erasure: ask us to delete your personal data.
• Portability: receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Objection: opt out of processing for specific purposes.
• Withdraw consent: revoke any consent you previously gave.

To exercise any of these rights, email info@bettertogetherfordogs.org. We respond within 30 days.

08 · Content License & Takedown

By submitting photos, comments, foster applications, organization details, or other content to the platform, you grant BTD a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to display and use that content in connection with platform operations. You represent and warrant that you own or have permission to share that content and that it does not infringe any third party’s rights.

Shelter organizations retain ownership of their own listings, contact information, and dog data shared with us.

Takedown procedure: if you find a piece of your content on this platform that you did not authorize, you can request its removal by emailing info@bettertogetherfordogs.org with the link. We acknowledge the request within 72 hours and remove the content unless we have a documented rights review reason to keep it.

09 · Petfinder API Disclosure

BTD uses the public Petfinder API to enrich dog listings when a shelter or rescue shares a Petfinder feed URL with us.

Petfinder API terms require attribution of the source listing and prohibit re-use of content beyond the shelter’s own site and partner platforms.

We display the originating shelter name next to any amplified listing that came from Petfinder and re-review the Petfinder API terms quarterly to ensure continued compliance.

10 · Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy can be directed to info@bettertogetherfordogs.org.

We may update this policy from time to time; continued use of the platform after changes constitutes acceptance.