Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to PawVet Picks (the “Site”) — the website you’re reading right now. It covers how we collect, use, store, and protect any information you share with us when you visit the Site, sign up for our newsletter, submit a contact form, or click a link to an external retailer.

It does not cover third-party websites, including Amazon or any retailer whose links appear in our reviews. When you leave PawVet Picks by clicking a product link, you are subject to that retailer’s privacy policy. We encourage you to read it. (Amazon’s is long. We know.)

If you have questions about anything in this document, please use the contact page. We actually read those messages.

We use the information we collect for the following purposes only:

• To send the newsletter — if you subscribed, we’ll send new reviews, recall alerts, and seasonal pet care information. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link.
• To respond to contact form submissions — we use your email and message to reply to your question.
• To improve the Site — aggregate analytics data (not individual-level) tells us which content is useful, what’s broken, and what people search for so we can write more of it.
• To detect and prevent abuse — IP data is used to identify and block malicious traffic, spam form submissions, and security threats.

We do not sell your data. We do not share your email address with advertisers, brands, or manufacturers. We do not use your information to serve targeted advertising. We do not have a marketing partnership with any pet brand — that’s the point of this site.

We want to be direct about how this works: affiliate commissions are how PawVet Picks stays financially viable. Without them, we could not purchase every product at retail price, pay for veterinary review time, or keep the lights on. This is the funding model we chose precisely because it aligns our interests with yours — we earn more when you purchase products that are actually good, not when we recommend things that fail.

What this does not change: Products are purchased at full retail price before any review. Manufacturers cannot buy reviews, submit products for consideration, or influence our conclusions. A product’s presence on Amazon does not make it more likely to be reviewed. A product’s commission rate does not affect its score. Our senior Beagle has arthritis and does not care about commission structures.

When you click an Amazon affiliate link, Amazon may set cookies on your browser as part of their standard affiliate tracking. These cookies are governed by Amazon’s Privacy Policy. We do not receive personal data about your Amazon purchases — only aggregate commission data (e.g., “someone purchased a dog bed”).

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the personal data we hold:

• The Site is served over HTTPS. All data in transit is encrypted.
• Access to newsletter subscriber lists is limited to the people who manage the newsletter — currently two people.
• Contact form submissions are received via encrypted email and deleted after we’ve responded.
• We do not store credit card or payment information — we don’t sell products directly.

No method of internet transmission or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, and we won’t pretend otherwise. What we can guarantee is that we are not reckless with your data, we minimize what we collect, and we don’t keep it longer than necessary.

Newsletter: Every newsletter contains a one-click unsubscribe link. Clicking it removes you from the mailing list immediately. No confirmation form to fill out, no “are you sure?” screen.

Cookies: Your browser settings give you control over cookies. Most browsers allow you to block third-party cookies, clear existing cookies, or be notified when a cookie is set. See your browser’s help documentation for instructions.

Analytics opt-out: If we use Google Analytics, you can opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-out Add-on. If we use a privacy-focused alternative like Plausible, no personal data is collected by the analytics system at all.

Data deletion: To request deletion of any personal data we hold about you, contact us through the contact page with “Data Deletion Request” in the subject line. We will process your request and confirm deletion within 30 days.

Do Not Track: We respect browser-level Do Not Track signals where technically feasible. Our analytics configuration is set to honor DNT headers.

We update this Privacy Policy when our practices change, when we add new services, or when legal requirements change. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

For material changes — changes that meaningfully affect how we collect or use your data — we will notify newsletter subscribers by email before the change takes effect. Non-material changes (typo corrections, clarifying language, removing a reference to a service we no longer use) will be updated without notification, though the updated date will reflect the change.

Continued use of PawVet Picks after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. If you disagree with any changes, you can unsubscribe from the newsletter and discontinue use of the Site. We will be sad, but we will understand.

This policy was last materially updated on May 1, 2026. The previous version is available on request via the contact page.