Website Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Dogtown Media, LLC (“Dogtown Media,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect information when you visit www.dogtownmedia.com (the “Website”), contact us, subscribe to our communications, download our resources, or otherwise interact with us in connection with the Website.

This Privacy Policy applies only to the Website and our related marketing and business-development activities. It does not apply to mobile applications, software, or other products that Dogtown Media designs, builds, or hosts on behalf of our clients. Those applications are governed by the privacy policies of the respective clients who own and operate them.

By using the Website, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Website.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information in three ways: information you provide to us directly, information collected automatically when you visit the Website, and information we receive from third parties.

2.1 Information You Provide to Us

We collect information you submit when you:

• Complete our contact form or “Free Consultation” request
• Subscribe to our newsletter or marketing communications
• Download a white paper, eBook, guide, or other gated resource
• Apply for a job through our Careers page
• Send us an email or call us
• Engage with our sales or business development team

The information collected may include your name, email address, phone number, company name, job title, project description, estimated budget range, resume or work history (for job applicants), and any other information you choose to provide.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the Website, we and our service providers automatically collect certain information about your device and your interactions, including:

• IP address and approximate geographic location
• Browser type and version, operating system, and device identifiers
• Pages viewed, links clicked, time spent on pages, and referring or exit URLs
• Date and time of access
• Cookies, web beacons, pixels, and similar tracking technologies (see Section 6)
• Diagnostic and crash data

2.3 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third-party sources, including:

• Social media platforms (such as LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram) when you interact with our pages, content, or advertisements
• Business and contact-data providers used for sales and marketing prospecting
• Analytics and advertising partners that help us understand Website performance and audience demographics
• Publicly available business directories and professional listings

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• Respond to inquiries. To reply to your messages, schedule consultations, prepare proposals, and follow up on project discussions.
• Provide services and information. To deliver requested content (such as white papers, eBooks, or guides), send invoices, and fulfill business obligations.
• Marketing and business development. To send newsletters, share Dogtown Media updates, promote relevant services, and conduct targeted outreach. You can unsubscribe at any time.
• Website operations and analytics. To operate, maintain, secure, optimize, and improve the Website; to analyze usage; to detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, or technical issues.
• Recruiting. To evaluate job applications, schedule interviews, and communicate about employment opportunities.
• Legal compliance and protection. To comply with applicable laws, respond to legal requests, enforce our agreements, and protect the rights, safety, and property of Dogtown Media, our clients, our personnel, and the public.
• Business transactions. To facilitate corporate transactions such as financings, mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, or asset sales.

We do not sell your personal information for money. See Section 9 for how we treat “sales” and “sharing” under applicable privacy laws.

4. Legal Bases for Processing (EU, UK, and Swiss Residents)

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we rely on the following legal bases under the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and equivalent laws to process your personal data:

• Consent. For marketing communications, certain cookies, and other activities where required.
• Contract. To take steps at your request before entering into a contract and to perform our obligations under contracts with you.
• Legitimate interests. To operate and improve our business, conduct sales and marketing, secure the Website, prevent fraud, and pursue similar interests, except where overridden by your rights.
• Legal obligation. To comply with applicable law, tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements.

You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the legal basis. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. How We Share Information

We share information with the following categories of recipients:

5.1 Service Providers

We use third-party service providers to operate the Website and our business, including:

• Website hosting, content delivery, and security providers
• Email marketing, customer relationship management (CRM), and marketing automation platforms
• Analytics, advertising, and attribution providers (including Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and similar services)
• Form, survey, and lead-management tools
• Productivity, communication, and document storage tools
• Payment processors (where applicable)
• Recruiting and applicant-tracking platforms

These providers are authorized to use personal information only as needed to provide services to Dogtown Media and are required to protect the information consistent with this Privacy Policy and applicable law.

5.2 Clients and Partners

If you contact us about a specific project, we may share your information with our personnel, contractors, and partners involved in evaluating, scoping, or executing the project.

5.3 Legal, Compliance, and Safety

We may disclose information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to:

• Comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal process, or governmental requests
• Enforce our terms, agreements, or policies
• Detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, technical, or legal issues
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of Dogtown Media, our personnel, our clients, or others

5.4 Business Transfers

If Dogtown Media is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, sale of assets, or bankruptcy, your information may be transferred to the successor or acquiring party as part of that transaction. We will require the recipient to honor this Privacy Policy or provide notice of any material change.

5.5 With Your Consent

We may share your information for other purposes with your consent or at your direction.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

The Website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies (web beacons, pixels, local storage, software development kits, and similar tools) to operate, secure, and improve the Website, to remember your preferences, to deliver advertising, and to understand how visitors use the Website.

We use the following general categories of cookies:

• Strictly necessary. Required for the Website to function, such as enabling form submissions and security.
• Functional. Remember choices you make (such as language or region) and enhance functionality.
• Analytics and performance. Help us understand how visitors use the Website so we can improve it.
• Marketing and advertising. Used by us or our advertising partners to deliver relevant ads on the Website and on third-party platforms, and to measure ad effectiveness.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies, delete existing cookies, or alert you when cookies are being set. If you disable certain cookies, some Website features may not function properly. Browser-based privacy tools such as tracking protection, ad blockers, and incognito modes can also limit the cookies and tracking technologies used on the Website.

We currently do not respond to “Do Not Track” browser signals because no universal standard has been established. Where applicable law requires, we honor recognized opt-out preference signals such as the Global Privacy Control (GPC).

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as needed to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, to comply with our legal and contractual obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and the purpose for which it was collected.

When personal information is no longer needed, we will delete, anonymize, or de-identify it in accordance with our data retention practices and applicable law.

8. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. No method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is fully secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

If you have reason to believe your interaction with us is no longer secure, please contact us immediately using the information in Section 14.

9. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information.

9.1 California Residents (CCPA and CPRA)

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), California residents have the following rights:

• Right to know. Request information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources of the information, the purposes for collecting it, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.
• Right to delete. Request that we delete personal information we collected from you, subject to certain exceptions.
• Right to correct. Request that we correct inaccurate personal information.
• Right to opt out of sale or sharing. Direct us not to “sell” or “share” your personal information (as those terms are defined under the CPRA). We do not sell personal information for money. We may “share” personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. You may opt out of such sharing using the contact methods in Section 14 or by activating the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal in your browser.
• Right to limit use of sensitive personal information. We do not use sensitive personal information beyond purposes permitted under the CPRA without offering you the right to limit such use.
• Right to non-discrimination. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA or CPRA rights.

To exercise these rights, contact us using the methods in Section 14. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request. You may also designate an authorized agent to act on your behalf.

9.2 Other US State Privacy Rights

Residents of certain other US states (including but not limited to Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, Utah, Oregon, Montana, Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, Delaware, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Maryland, Minnesota, and Nebraska) may have rights to access, correct, delete, obtain a portable copy of, and opt out of certain processing of their personal information under their respective state laws. To exercise these rights, contact us using the methods in Section 14.

9.3 EU, UK, and Swiss Residents (GDPR and UK GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have the following rights under the GDPR and equivalent laws:

• Right of access. Request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and a copy of the data we hold.
• Right to rectification. Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Right to erasure. Request deletion of personal data in certain circumstances.
• Right to restriction. Request that we limit the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability. Receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format and transmit it to another controller.
• Right to object. Object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to object to direct marketing at any time.
• Right to withdraw consent. Where processing is based on consent, withdraw consent at any time.
• Right to lodge a complaint. File a complaint with a supervisory authority in the country where you live or work.

To exercise these rights, contact us using the methods in Section 14. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority in your country.

9.4 Marketing Opt-Out

You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link in any marketing email or by contacting us using the methods in Section 14. Even after you opt out of marketing communications, we may continue to send you transactional or service-related communications.

10. Children’s Privacy

The Website is intended for business audiences and is not directed to children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe we have collected personal information from a child under 16, please contact us using the methods in Section 14, and we will take steps to delete the information.

11. International Data Transfers

Dogtown Media is headquartered in the United States and has personnel and operations in multiple countries. When you provide information to us or use the Website, your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States and other countries that may not provide the same level of data protection as your country of residence.

For transfers of personal data from the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland to countries that have not been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection, we rely on appropriate safeguards, including Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

By using the Website or providing personal information to us, you acknowledge that your information may be transferred and processed as described in this Privacy Policy.

12. Third-Party Websites and Services

The Website may contain links to third-party websites, applications, services, or content that are not owned or controlled by Dogtown Media. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party sites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of any third party. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party site you visit.

13. Artificial Intelligence and Automated Decision-Making

Dogtown Media uses artificial intelligence and machine learning tools in the operation of our business, including for analyzing Website usage, improving marketing effectiveness, and supporting customer communications. We do not use personal information collected through the Website to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you without meaningful human review.

We do not train third-party general-purpose AI models on the personal information of Website visitors, prospects, or applicants without an appropriate lawful basis and, where required, your consent.

14. How to Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please reach out through our contact page at https://www.dogtownmedia.com/contact/, or by mail or phone:

Dogtown Media, LLC Attn: Privacy 550 West B Street, 4th Floor San Diego, CA 92101

For EEA, UK, or Swiss residents, you may submit GDPR-related requests through the contact page above. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other reasons. When we make changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy. If we make material changes, we will provide notice on the Website or by other means as required by law. Your continued use of the Website after the effective date of the updated Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we collect, use, share, and protect your information.