Last updated: December 2025
Website: https://www.ratemybark.com
RateMyBark.com is a light-hearted entertainment website where visitors can view, rate, and (optionally) upload dog images. We respect your privacy and aim to be transparent about what data we handle. This policy explains how information is used, what cookies are active, and how you can control them.
We do not collect personal information directly. We do not ask for or store your:
During normal site usage, only minimal technical data required to serve any website (IP address, device type, browser version) is processed temporarily by the server. This information is not linked to your identity and is not stored long-term.
RateMyBark uses a single essential cookie created automatically by PHP. This cookie is required for secure operation (including validating ratings) and does not require consent under GDPR/ePrivacy regulations.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHPSESSID | Essential (First-Party) | Maintains a secure session between your browser and the server. Not used for tracking, advertising, or analytics. | Session-only (deleted when your browser closes) |
This cookie is strictly necessary and does not require consent.
To understand how visitors interact with RateMyBark.com, we use Google Analytics (GA4). These cookies are optional and are only enabled if you explicitly give consent via the cookie banner.
The following cookies may be set once consent is provided:
| Name | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Analytics (Third-Party) | Distinguishes unique visitors. | 2 years |
| _gid | Analytics (Third-Party) | Tracks interactions with pages and features. | 24 hours |
| _gat | Analytics (Third-Party) | Helps limit high traffic requests to Google’s servers. | 1 minute |
| _ga_XXXXXXX | Analytics (Third-Party) | Used by Google Analytics 4 for session analysis. | 2 years |
Analytics cookies are not essential and remain disabled unless you accept them. You may withdraw consent at any time.
Google may process anonymized interaction data to help us understand visit patterns,
popular pages, and technical performance. We do not collect or send personal information
such as names, emails, or exact locations.
For full details, view Google’s privacy policy:
Google Privacy Policy
We use Analytics solely to:
We do not use Analytics for advertising or cross-site tracking.
When you rate a dog, a temporary token is used purely to prevent spam or cheating. This token:
Your ratings remain anonymous.
If you upload a dog image, we store the image file along with basic technical data (filename, upload time, file size). We do not collect your name, email, or any identifying information.
You may request removal of your uploaded image at any time.
We do not sell, trade, or share visitor data with advertisers or unrelated third parties. Data is shared only with Google as part of Analytics (if consent is given).
Under GDPR/UK-GDPR and US privacy laws (CCPA/CPRA), you may:
We may update this Privacy & Cookie Policy from time to time. The updated version will always be posted on this page with a revised date.
For privacy or data-related questions, contact:
Email: support@ratemybark.com
Website: https://www.ratemybark.com