Privacy policy
Last updated: [date β fill in POLICY_DATE]
1. Who we are
Rate My Jack Russell ("we", "us") is run by [Operator name β fill in SITE_OPERATOR], [physical or postal address β fill in SITE_ADDRESS], South Africa. We are the "responsible party" for your personal information under POPIA.
Our Information Officer is [Information Officer β fill in INFO_OFFICER]. Contact: [contact email β fill in CONTACT_EMAIL].
2. What we collect
| Information | Why | Lawful basis (POPIA s11) |
|---|---|---|
| Username, email address, password (stored only as a one-way bcrypt hash), avatar | To create and secure your account, let you log in, and send password-reset emails | Needed to provide the service you asked for; your consent |
| Dog photos you upload, dog names and captions | To show and rate them, and to run the weekly Best of the Week | Your consent (you choose to upload) |
| Your ratings, forum posts, replies and Bark Box chat messages | To run the site's features | Your consent |
| Reports you make and moderation decisions | To keep the community safe | Our legitimate interest in a safe site |
| IP address and timestamps of logins, sign-ups, uploads, posts and reset requests | Security: rate limits against spam and password guessing | Our legitimate interest in protecting the site and its users |
| Web server logs (IP address, page requested, browser type) | Running the site, fixing errors, stopping attacks | Our legitimate interest |
We do not collect your real name, phone number, location or payment details, and we don't use advertising or third-party tracking cookies.
3. Photos and the "sniff test"
Every upload is checked by image-recognition models that run on our own server to confirm it shows a terrier. Your photo is not sent to any outside AI service. Before storing, we resize the photo and re-save it, which strips hidden metadata such as GPS location. Photos that fail the check are not stored, but we keep a short technical record (the model's verdict and scores, not the image) to improve the check.
Please don't upload photos that show people, especially children, or personal details like house numbers or car registrations.
4. What's public
Your username, avatar, photos, dog names, captions, average ratings, forum posts and chat messages are visible to anyone on the internet, including people who aren't logged in. Your email address and your individual ratings are never shown publicly.
5. Cookies
We use only essential cookies: one keeps you logged in (rmjr_sid, 30 days) and one protects forms against forgery (rmjr_anon). There are no analytics or advertising cookies.
6. Who we share it with
- Hosting: the site runs on a virtual server rented from Hostinger, located in Germany (Hostinger data centre, Frankfurt).
- Email: password-reset emails are sent through [email provider used for password-reset mail β fill in EMAIL_PROVIDER], which processes your email address to deliver them.
- The law: if we're legally required to, for example by a court order.
We don't sell your personal information or share it for marketing.
Cross-border transfer (POPIA s72): because our server and/or email provider may be outside South Africa, your information may be stored or processed in another country. We only use providers that are bound by data-protection laws or agreements offering protection substantially similar to POPIA. [Owner: confirm this for the providers you choose.]
7. How long we keep it
- Your account, photos and posts: until you delete them or your account.
- Security records (rate-limit entries): up to 2 days. Password-reset links expire after 60 minutes and are deleted within a day.
- Server logs: up to [14] days. Backups: up to [14] days, after which deleted data disappears from backups too.
- Moderation records about content that broke the rules may be kept longer if needed to protect the community or meet a legal duty.
8. How we protect it
HTTPS everywhere, passwords stored only as bcrypt hashes, login rate limits, a firewall, key-only server access and regular security updates. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your information, we'll tell you and the Information Regulator as POPIA s22 requires.
9. Your rights
Under POPIA you can:
- ask what personal information we hold about you and get a copy;
- ask us to correct or delete it;
- object to how we process it, or withdraw consent;
- delete your account yourself at any time on the My account page. This removes your photos, ratings, posts and chat messages.
Email [contact email β fill in CONTACT_EMAIL] from the address on your account. We'll reply within a reasonable time, normally 30 days.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa): complaints are lodged online at eservices.inforegulator.org.za. General enquiries: [email protected], 010 023 5200. Address: Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191.
10. Children
Under POPIA, anyone under 18 is a child. If you're under 18, you need your parent's or guardian's permission to join. If you're a parent and think your child joined without permission, contact us and we'll delete the account.
11. Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we'll update the date above and post a notice on the site.