Privacy Policy

1. Who controls your information

Guiden & Weekes Ltd, trading as AnimalAds.ie, is the controller of personal data collected through AnimalAds. AnimalAds is an Irish online advertising marketplace and does not become the buyer or seller in a transaction.

To contact us about privacy, submit a private request through our contact form and select “Problem with the site”. Write “Privacy request” at the beginning of the message. We may ask for information needed to confirm your identity before acting on a request.

2. Information we collect

Account and seller information may include your name, email address, telephone and optional WhatsApp number, county or town, account type, business name and seller, breeder, establishment, rescue or livestock registration information.

Advert information includes descriptions, prices, photographs, animal identification and compliance details, declarations, microchip and registry information, listing status, reports, review notes and moderation records. Information placed in a live advert is public, including the seller-provided identification or registration information shown on that advert.

Operational information includes authentication records, necessary session data, advert views, telephone reveals, WhatsApp clicks, page paths, referring website hosts, security logs and information submitted through reports or the contact form. Our internal page counter does not store raw IP addresses, complete browser user-agent strings or persistent visitor identifiers.

3. Why we use it and our legal bases

We process account, advert and contact information to provide the service, publish and manage adverts, enable contact between users and administer accounts. This is necessary to perform our contract with users and to take requested steps before that contract.

We process compliance, reporting, security and moderation information to prevent fraud and misuse, protect users and animals, enforce platform rules, investigate complaints, establish or defend legal claims and cooperate with lawful authorities. We rely on our legitimate interests in operating a safe and accountable marketplace and, where applicable, compliance with legal obligations.

We use aggregate traffic and performance information to understand whether the service works and improve it. AnimalAds does not use personal data for third-party advertising and does not sell personal data.

4. Human review and AI assistance

Animal adverts are reviewed before publication. AnimalAds may use an AI service to compare an advert’s main photograph with its stated animal category and to highlight unusual prices or other matters for human review. A photograph and limited advert labels may be sent to the AI provider for this purpose.

AI output is only an indicator. It does not verify ownership, identity, registration, health, welfare or legality, and AnimalAds does not take a final enforcement decision solely from an automated flag.

5. Who receives information

We use service providers acting on our behalf, including Supabase for database, authentication and image storage; Vercel for hosting, security, performance and privacy-focused analytics; and an AI model provider, accessed through Vercel’s AI infrastructure, when an animal photograph is checked. These providers process information under their contractual and security arrangements.

A seller’s contact number is disclosed when a visitor deliberately uses the reveal control. If a seller enables WhatsApp, the visitor is sent to WhatsApp and WhatsApp’s own terms and privacy practices apply. We may disclose information to professional advisers, insurers, payment providers if payments are introduced, regulators, courts, An Garda Síochána, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, local authorities or animal-welfare bodies where lawful and necessary.

6. International transfers

The primary AnimalAds database is hosted in the European Union. Some hosting, security, communications or AI suppliers may process limited information outside the European Economic Area. Where GDPR restricted-transfer rules apply, we require an approved transfer mechanism such as an adequacy decision or contractual safeguards.

7. Retention

We keep active account and advert information while it is needed to provide AnimalAds. Draft or removed advert content and images are normally deleted or anonymised within 12 months unless needed for a report, dispute or legal obligation. Contact-event and internal traffic records are normally retained for up to 13 months. Contact-form submissions are normally retained for up to 24 months.

Reports, verification decisions, moderation actions, declarations and relevant account or advert evidence may be retained for up to six years after the matter closes where reasonably needed for safety, fraud prevention, regulatory cooperation or legal claims. We may retain less information for longer where it has been irreversibly anonymised.

8. Cookies and measurement

AnimalAds uses strictly necessary authentication and security technology to keep users signed in and protect the service. Vercel Web Analytics uses anonymised measurements without cookies. Speed Insights measures technical performance. Our own traffic counter stores a page path and, when available, the referring website’s hostname, but no raw IP address or persistent visitor identifier.

If AnimalAds later introduces advertising, marketing or another non-essential cookie or tracker, we will update this notice and request consent before using it where required.

9. Your rights

Subject to the GDPR and applicable Irish law, you may request access to your personal data, correction, erasure, restriction, portability or object to processing based on legitimate interests. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it without affecting earlier lawful processing. Rights can be limited where information must be retained for legal obligations, claims or the rights of others.

You may complain to Ireland’s Data Protection Commission at dataprotection.ie. Please contact us first if you would like us to investigate a concern.

10. Security, children and changes

We use access controls, row-level database policies, restricted administrator tools, audit records and other proportionate safeguards. No online service can promise absolute security. Users must be at least 18 to create an account or place an advert; AnimalAds is not directed at children.

We will update the effective date and provide appropriate notice if our processing changes materially. This notice should be read with the AnimalAds Terms and Animal Advertising Rules.