Privacy policy

1. Who we are

"PetPlanWise.com" (the "Site") is operated by PetPlanWise Editorial. The Site provides educational pet cost estimates. We do not collect or store sensitive personal information through the Site's calculators — they run entirely in your browser.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information you provide

The calculators on this Site run client-side. Inputs you provide (pet type, size, state, etc.) are stored locally in your browser via localStorage for convenience and are never transmitted to our servers.

If you email us through our contact page, we receive your email address and the message contents, retained only as needed to respond.

2.2 Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, our hosting infrastructure (and any analytics or advertising providers we use) may automatically collect:

• Log data — IP address, user agent, referrer URL, pages requested, timestamps. Used for security, abuse prevention, and aggregated traffic understanding. Retained for up to 30 days.
• Cookies and similar technologies — first-party cookies for site preferences (e.g., the dismissed-state of our mobile result bar), and third-party cookies set by analytics or advertising partners.
• Web beacons / pixels — small image files used by analytics or advertising providers to measure ad delivery and engagement.
• Approximate location — derived from your IP address (city/state level, not GPS).
• Device and browser information — type, operating system, screen size, language.

3. How we use information

• To operate, secure, and improve the Site, including measuring traffic and improving content.
• To respond to your inquiries when you contact us.
• To comply with legal obligations and protect against fraud or abuse.
• To present aggregated, anonymized statistics about how the Site is used.

4. Cookies, analytics, and advertising providers we use

We name our third-party providers explicitly so you can review their own privacy policies and opt-out controls:

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4) — provided by Google LLC. Sets cookies (e.g. _ga, _ga_*) and processes IP address and event data to produce aggregated traffic reports. We have IP anonymization enabled and we do not enable Google Signals or cross-device identity stitching. Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy. Opt out via the GA Opt-out Browser Add-on.
• Affiliate tracking redirects — when you click an affiliate link (clearly labeled "Sponsored" on the page), the destination affiliate program (e.g. Lemonade, Embrace, CareCredit) may set its own cookies on its domain. We do not control those cookies. See each partner's privacy policy for details.
• Hosting (Vercel) — our hosting provider keeps short-term server logs (IP, user agent, referrer) for abuse prevention. Vercel privacy policy.

We do not use cross-site retargeting pixels, ad-tech identity graphs, or "data broker" enrichment.

5. Legal bases (GDPR / UK GDPR)

If you visit from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, our legal bases for processing the categories above are:

• Legitimate interest — operating, securing, and understanding aggregated use of the Site.
• Consent — for non-essential analytics cookies, captured via the cookie banner on first visit. You can withdraw consent at any time by clicking "Cookie preferences" in the footer or by clearing site cookies.
• Legal obligation — to comply with applicable law and respond to lawful requests.

You have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, port, and object to processing of your personal data. Email us via the contact page to exercise any of these rights.

6. California rights (CCPA / CPRA)

California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, to delete it, to correct it, and to opt out of any "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA. To submit a verifiable consumer request, email us at martin@petplanwise.com with the subject line "CCPA request" and the action you want us to take. We will respond within 45 days.

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information — clicking this link resets your cookie preferences and disables non-essential analytics on this device.

7. Your choices

• Manage non-essential cookies through the cookie banner (footer "Cookie preferences" link).
• Disable cookies entirely in your browser at any time.
• Use private/incognito browsing to reduce tracking.
• Install the Google Analytics Opt-out Add-on.
• Email us at the address on the contact page for any privacy request.

8. Data retention

• Server access logs: up to 30 days.
• GA4 event data: 2 months (the shortest setting available in GA4).
• Email correspondence: retained only as needed to respond, typically 12 months.
• Local browser preferences (localStorage): retained on your device until you clear it.

9. Children

The Site is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Updates

We may update this policy. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent change. Material changes will be flagged at the top of this page.