Privacy & Cookies

Information we collect

When you start or submit an adoption application, we may collect contact information, household and property details, animal-care history, veterinary information, references, application answers, electronic consent records, and photos or videos you provide. When an authorized administrator requests technical support, we may also collect the support message, the dashboard page involved, and an optional screenshot.

How we use information

We use this information to review adoption eligibility, verify zoning and property information, evaluate animal-care plans, contact veterinarians and references when authorized, arrange home checks, communicate with applicants, coordinate matching and transportation, protect animal welfare, and maintain records related to the adoption process.

How information may be shared

Information may be shared with trusted rescue, sanctuary, veterinary, transportation, or adoption partners when reasonably necessary to review or coordinate an application and when permitted by the applicant’s acknowledgments. We may also use service providers that support hosting, file storage, communications, automation, mapping, public-record research, and application administration.

Public records and research tools

Cotton Branch may compare application information with publicly available zoning, parcel, ownership, or other property records. Google Maps Platform may process the property address to provide address suggestions, confirm the address entered in the application, and calculate a driving route when authorized team members request an estimate. When authorized team members start a property verification, the property address is sent to Google’s Gemini service to research parcel records and zoning or animal-keeping rules. The team reviews the results and cited public sources as part of the adoption process.

Cookies and browser storage

This application uses only cookies and browser storage that are necessary for security, sign-in, and interface preferences. An essential secure cookie keeps an applicant signed in on the same device for up to seven days after using an emailed sign-in link. Team-only preferences may remember the dashboard sidebar and color theme on that device.

Cotton Branch does not currently use advertising cookies, cross-site tracking, or analytics tools on this application, and we do not sell applicant information. Because these technologies support requested features rather than advertising, the application does not display a cookie-consent banner. You may clear cookies and stored site data through your browser settings, but doing so may sign you out or reset saved display preferences.

Data retention and security

We retain application information and administrator technical-support conversations for as long as reasonably needed for adoption review, animal-welfare records, operational needs, dispute resolution, and legal obligations. Uploaded application media and technical-support attachments are initially kept in private Cloudflare storage. After seven days, the system copies eligible files to Cotton Branch’s private Google Drive archive, verifies the copy, and removes the Cloudflare copy. Moving a file after seven days does not mean that the archived Google Drive copy is deleted after seven days.

To protect unfinished applications, we use short-lived, single-use applicant sign-in links. Authorized team members use short-lived, single-use email verification codes. Technical-support conversations and attachment links require an authorized administrator account. We use reasonable safeguards, but no online service can guarantee absolute security.

Your choices

You may contact us to ask about correcting application information or withdrawing an application. Some records may need to be retained for legitimate operational, safety, or legal reasons. Optional email and text communications can be stopped using the unsubscribe instructions included with those messages.

Contact us

Questions about this policy may be sent to evan@cottonbranch.org.