Roch Dog Inc ("Roch Dog", "we", "us") provides dog friendly hotel certification, a directory of dog friendly hotels and travel information, and the Kali concierge service across WhatsApp and email. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why, who we share it with, and the rights you have over it.

Information we collect

When you message Kali on WhatsApp or by email, we collect your phone number, email address, name, and the content of your messages. We use this to answer your questions about dog friendly hotels, trails, vets, restaurants and travel, to make introductions, to handle bookings and referrals, and to improve the service.

Approved users have their conversation history kept while their relationship with us is active. People we have not approved have their messages held for two hours in a temporary cache, then discarded. We keep logs for service quality and to train and correct the service. We never share conversation content with advertisers and we never sell it.

You may tell us your dog's name, breed, age, dietary needs, health notes and travel plans. We use it to give better answers. We do not use it for advertising.

For hotels and business partners we hold business contact details, roles, and the history of our dealings on certification, partnership and referrals.

If you apply to lead Roch Dog in your city, we collect the information on your application form (name, email, phone, location, languages, current role, motivation, and any links you provide) and we may review publicly available professional information about you as part of normal hiring due diligence.

We collect publicly available information about hotels, including pet policies, fees, amenities, room types and named business contacts, as part of an independent rating service in the public interest. Our scores, grades and rankings are editorial opinion based on objective criteria applied consistently.

We use cookieless website analytics. Aggregated visit numbers only, no cross-site tracking, no personal profiles.

How we use it

To provide and improve the service, answer your questions, fulfil bookings and referrals, run the certification and directory, assess applications, keep the service secure, and meet our legal and accounting obligations.

Sharing

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising. We use service providers who process data on our behalf to host the site, deliver messages, process payments, run analytics, and handle email. We may also share information with professional advisers under confidentiality, and with law enforcement or regulators where the law requires it.

How long we keep it

Messages from people we have not approved are held for two hours in a temporary cache, then discarded. Approved user conversation history is kept while the account is active, plus 12 months after last contact. Hotel and partner records are kept while the relationship is active. Applicant records are kept while active or accepted, and for 24 months after a decline. Directory and research data is kept for the operational life of the service. Payment and accounting records are kept for seven years.

Security

We protect personal information with encryption in transit, access controls and regular review. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to keep your data safe.

Children

Roch Dog is not directed at children under 18 and we do not knowingly collect their data.

Your US privacy rights

Depending on your state of residence (including California under the CCPA and CPRA, and Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, Utah, Oregon and other states with comprehensive privacy laws), you may have the right to know what personal information we hold about you and how we use it, to access a copy of it, to correct inaccurate information, to delete your information, to opt out of any sale or sharing for targeted advertising (note that we do not sell or share your information for those purposes), and to limit the use of sensitive personal information.

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights. To make a request, email privacy@rochdog.com. We will verify your identity before we act, and respond within the timeframe your state law requires (45 days in California, extendable once with notice). You may use an authorised agent to make a request on your behalf.

California "Shine the Light": we do not share personal information with third parties for their own direct marketing.

UK and EEA residents

If you are in the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, the UK GDPR and EU GDPR apply to our processing of your personal data. This section adds to the rest of the policy.

Roch Dog Inc is the data controller. We rely on the following lawful bases: performance of a contract (providing the concierge and certification services, and handling applications); legitimate interests (running an independent hotel rating service, securing and improving the service, and business outreach using publicly available information); explicit consent (any marketing); and legal obligation (accounting and tax records).

You have the right to access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, and data portability. To exercise them, email privacy@rochdog.com. We respond within one calendar month, which we may extend by two further months for complex requests, telling you why.

As a US company we process your data in the United States. We rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and its UK Extension, and on Standard Contractual Clauses with our service providers, to protect data transferred out of the UK and EEA.

You have the right to complain to your local supervisory authority. In the UK that is the Information Commissioner's Office, the ICO.

Changes

If we make material changes we will update the effective date above and, where appropriate, notify you.

Contact

Roch Dog Inc, Delaware, USA. Privacy enquiries: privacy@rochdog.com.