Privacy Policy

1. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to XKD.org, the XKD member dashboard, XKD certification and assessment features, pet-registration tools, public pet-profile pages, and related services that link to this policy (collectively, the “Services”). In this policy, “XKD,” “we,” “us,” and “our” mean XKD.org. “You” means a visitor, member, account holder, pet owner, breeder, marketplace participant, or other person who uses the Services.

This policy does not govern the privacy practices of independent websites, payment providers, social platforms, animal professionals, breeders, sellers, buyers, or other third parties that may be linked to or interact with the Services. Review their policies before providing them with information.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly, information generated when you use the Services, and information we receive from others when you authorize or direct them to provide it. The information we collect depends on the features you use.

2.1 Account and contact information

• Your name, email address, password hash, account role, XKD number, and account-preference information.
• Information you provide in support requests, correspondence, feedback, or account-verification requests.
• Where offered and provided by you, business, breeder, marketplace, billing, or shipping information.

2.2 Pet, registration, and certification information

• Pet details you submit, such as name, species, breed, sex, color, birthday, age, spay/neuter status, microchip number and company, identifying markings, favorites, biography, registration information, and photos.
• Your assessment or certification activity, including attempts, completion status, score, and the date on which an assessment is passed. XKD does not publish an assessment score on a public pet profile.
• Information needed to investigate ownership, safety, fraud, misuse, or a request concerning a registration.

2.3 Device and usage information

When you access the Services, we and our hosting, security, and technology providers may automatically receive technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device and operating-system information, referring page, pages or features used, timestamps, and diagnostic or security logs. We use this information to operate, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the Services.

3. How We Use Information

We use personal information only as reasonably necessary to provide, maintain, protect, and improve the Services; to comply with law; and for the purposes described in this policy or otherwise disclosed at collection. This includes using information to:

• Create, authenticate, administer, and secure member accounts.
• Create and maintain pet records, XKD numbers, certification status, public-profile links, and member-selected profile settings.
• Process and record assessment activity and determine whether an account has satisfied a certification requirement.
• Respond to requests, communicate about your account or the Services, and provide service, security, policy, and transaction notices.
• Detect, investigate, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, unauthorized access, safety concerns, policy violations, and legal claims.
• Monitor availability, improve functionality, understand aggregate service use, and maintain backups and business records.
• Comply with applicable laws, enforce our agreements, and protect the rights, safety, and property of XKD, members, animals, and others.

4. Public Pet Profiles and Your Choices

XKD lets members create public pet profiles. If you make a pet profile public, the profile may be visible to anyone who has the link and may be indexed by search engines. Public profiles may display selected pet information, including the pet’s name, species, breed, profile photo, age, biography, XKD number, certification or registration status, and any other pet information you affirmatively elect to show publicly.

XKD is designed not to display the account holder’s email address, street address, telephone number, database ID, private notes, or non-public account information on a public pet profile. You remain responsible for reviewing your public-profile choices and for not placing personal, sensitive, or third-party information in a pet name, biography, photo, markings, or other field that you choose to publish.

You may update a profile’s public settings through your member account, subject to recordkeeping, security, legal, and technical limitations. Removing information from a public profile does not remove copies that may already have been saved, shared, cached, or indexed by third parties.

5. How We Share Information

We do not sell personal information for money. We do not disclose personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We may share information in the following limited circumstances:

• Public-profile publication. Information you elect to make public on a pet profile is shared publicly as described in Section 4.
• Service providers. We may disclose information to vendors that provide hosting, storage, email, security, website operations, payment processing, support, analytics, or other services for XKD, subject to appropriate contractual or legal obligations.
• Legal and safety reasons. We may disclose information where we reasonably believe disclosure is required or appropriate to comply with law, legal process, or a lawful governmental request; to enforce our agreements; or to protect rights, safety, property, users, animals, or the public.
• Business transactions. Information may be transferred in connection with a proposed or completed merger, financing, acquisition, restructuring, sale of assets, bankruptcy, or similar transaction, subject to applicable law.
• With your direction or consent. We may share information when you ask us to do so or authorize the disclosure.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

XKD may use cookies, session cookies, local storage, and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember security and display preferences, prevent abuse, understand how the Services perform, and maintain core functionality. You can usually control cookies through your browser settings. Blocking or deleting cookies may prevent some parts of the Services from working correctly.

7. Data Retention

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including to provide the Services, maintain registration and certification records, meet legal, accounting, tax, security, and recordkeeping requirements, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. Retention periods vary by information type, the purpose of processing, and applicable law. We may retain de-identified or aggregated information for longer periods.

8. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures intended to protect information from unauthorized access, alteration, loss, misuse, or disclosure. No internet transmission, storage system, or security control is completely secure. You are responsible for safeguarding your password and promptly notifying us if you believe your account has been accessed without authorization.

9. Your Privacy Choices and Requests

You can review and update much of your account and pet information by signing in to your XKD account. You may request access to, correction of, deletion of, or a copy of personal information we hold about you by emailing help@xkd.org with the subject line “Privacy Request.” We may take reasonable steps to verify your identity and authority before responding. We may decline or limit a request where permitted or required by law, including where the request would affect another person’s rights, compromise security, prevent compliance with law, or conflict with our legitimate recordkeeping needs.

Residents of jurisdictions with additional privacy rights, including California residents where applicable, may have rights to know, access, correct, delete, obtain a portable copy of, limit certain uses of, or opt out of certain processing of personal information. XKD will honor applicable rights after verifying a request. We will not discriminate against you for exercising rights available under applicable privacy law.

10. Children’s Privacy

The Services are not directed to children under 13, and XKD does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without legally required authorization. If you believe a child has provided personal information to XKD without appropriate authorization, please contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate action.

11. International Users

XKD operates from the United States. If you use the Services from another country, you understand that your information may be processed and stored in the United States or other locations where XKD or its service providers operate, which may have data-protection laws different from those in your location.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in the Services, our data practices, or applicable law. When we make changes, we will revise the “Last Updated” date above. If a change is material, we may provide additional notice through the Services, by email, or by another reasonable method. Your continued use of the Services after an updated policy takes effect is subject to the updated policy, to the extent permitted by law.

13. Contact Us

For questions, concerns, or privacy requests, contact:

XKD.org

Florida, USA

Email: help@xkd.org

Website: https://www.xkd.org