Privacy policy

Last updated : 21/09/2026

Introduction

PetFoodStats is committed to protecting the privacy of its users. This policy describes the data collected, its use, and your rights under GDPR.

Data collected

  • 1. Account data: name, email address (upon registration)
  • 2. Usage data: technical events (product page viewed, merchant CTA click, search term, favourite added), hashed session identifier (first-party pfs_sid cookie), anonymised IP address (SHA-256 + monthly rotating salt, plaintext IP never stored)
  • 3. Preferences: language, favourites, pet profiles

Purpose of processing

  • Provide and personalise the service (scores, recommendations, favourites)
  • Ensure site security (bot detection, abuse prevention)
  • Improve the service (anonymised usage statistics)

Data sharing

Your personal data is neither sold nor shared with third parties for commercial purposes. It may be communicated to our hosting provider strictly for service execution.

Cookies

PetFoodStats only uses first-party technical cookies required for site functionality and internal audience measurement: user session, CSRF, language preference, and an audience-measurement cookie "pfs_sid" (30-day lifetime, HttpOnly, SameSite=Lax) that identifies a visitor anonymously in order to aggregate usage statistics. No advertising cookies, no third-party tracking cookies.

Audience measurement and usage statistics

PetFoodStats measures site usage with a privacy-friendly internal tool (no data ever sent to Google Analytics or equivalent). Collected events (e.g. product page view, merchant CTA click, search term) are associated with a hashed session identifier (SHA-256 of the pfs_sid cookie) and an anonymised IP address (SHA-256 + cryptographic salt rotated monthly). The plaintext IP is never stored. Raw event data is retained 90 days then automatically purged. Aggregated statistics (top products, top brands, top searches) are only exposed above a K ≥ 5 anonymity threshold (any aggregate row with fewer than 5 distinct sessions is discarded), ensuring these statistics cannot re-identify any visitor.

Your rights (GDPR)

Under GDPR, you have the right to access, rectify, delete and port your personal data. You can exercise these rights by contacting us at the address below. You can also delete your account directly from your profile.

Data retention

Your account data is retained as long as your account is active. Upon account deletion, your personal data is erased within 30 days. Raw audience-measurement events are retained 90 days then automatically purged. Anonymised aggregates (K ≥ 5) may be retained indefinitely for statistical purposes since they cannot identify a visitor.

Contact

For any question regarding your personal data: contact@petfoodstats.com