Privacy Policy

Who is responsible for your information

Bark Maps, based in Massachusetts, United States, is responsible for its processing of personal information. For privacy questions, account deletion, or data rights requests, email contact@barkmaps.app.

Information we handle

When you register, we store your username, email address, password verification data, and account and session information. We store profile photos and details you choose to provide, favorites, reviews, uploaded photos, meetup or playgroup listings, and RSVPs. Hosting and security services also process technical request information, including IP addresses and browser information, to deliver the site, investigate errors, and prevent abuse.

Public information

Your username, profile image, public profile details, reviews, photos, and event listings are visible to others. Your username and profile image may appear beside your content and in an event's Going list when you RSVP. Public content may be indexed by search engines or copied by other visitors. Your account email, password verification data, and private favorites are not published as part of your profile. Avoid uploading private information or photos of others without permission.

Purposes and legal bases

We use information to provide your account and requested features, display your public contributions, keep the service secure, handle requests, and meet legal obligations. Where applicable data protection law requires a legal basis, we rely on performance of our agreement with you for account services, legitimate interests for proportionate security and service maintenance, compliance with legal obligations, and consent where required. You may withdraw consent for consent-based processing without affecting processing that was lawful before withdrawal.

Essential cookies and storage

Authentication uses essential cookies to maintain and protect your session. Browser storage may support preferences and service functionality. These are separate from analytics. Bark Maps is not entirely cookie-free: disabling essential cookies may prevent signing in. We do not use advertising trackers or sell information for cross-site behavioral advertising.

Plausible Analytics

We use Plausible Analytics to understand overall traffic and improve the site. Plausible's standard analytics uses no cookies, browser storage, or persistent visitor identifiers, and does not track people across websites or days. It records page and referral information, device and browser categories, approximate location, and visit measurements to produce aggregate statistics.

According to Plausible, IP addresses and browser request information are processed transiently to estimate location and create a daily site-specific identifier; raw IP addresses and raw User-Agent strings are not stored. Its hosted analytics data is processed and stored in the EU. We do not configure custom analytics properties to send account emails, usernames, uploaded content, or other identifying account details. Page measurements include visited URL paths, including public profile URLs.

Details are available in the Plausible Data Policy. Cookie-free analytics does not remove the privacy obligations associated with Bark Maps accounts, public contributions, or hosting services. We will update this notice when its configuration materially changes.

Providers and disclosures

Cloudflare supplies hosting, database, image storage, delivery, and security services. Providers process information needed to deliver their services. If you use an external identity provider or follow an external link, its privacy policy also applies. We may disclose information when legally required, to respond to lawful requests, or to protect rights and safety. We do not sell personal information. Service processing may occur outside your country; legally required transfer safeguards apply where relevant.

Retention and security

We keep account information while needed to provide the account and public content while it remains published. We retain limited information when necessary for security, resolving disputes, or legal requirements. Deletion from backups, caches, and external search indexes may take additional time; copies held independently by others are outside our control. We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards, but no service can guarantee absolute security.

Your choices and rights

You can edit or delete your reviews and event listings and update supported profile details through the service. Depending on applicable law, you may have rights to access, correct, erase, restrict, or obtain a portable copy of your personal information, and object to certain processing. Requests may require identity verification and are subject to lawful exceptions. Where applicable, you may complain to your local data protection authority. Account features are intended for adults; we do not knowingly solicit children's account information.