Privacy and Cookies Policy

Last updated: 30 September 2026

Smartdogs, the dog training practice run by Inês Almeida, values the privacy of visitors to its website and of the people who get in touch to request information or book its services.

This Privacy and Cookies Policy explains, in simple terms, what personal data may be processed, for what purposes, for how long, and what rights the people the data relates to have.

1. Who is responsible for processing the data?

The controller of the personal data processed by Smartdogs is:

Smartdogs — Inês Almeida
Email: info@smartdogs.pt
Phone: +351 912 953 108
Website: https://smartdogs.pt/

For questions about data protection or to exercise your rights, you can contact us at info@smartdogs.pt.

Smartdogs is a small professional activity and does not have a Data Protection Officer (DPO), as it is not, in principle, in a situation that legally requires one to be appointed.

2. What personal data may we process?

Smartdogs aims to collect and use only the data needed for each purpose.

Depending on how you contact us, we may process, for example:

• name;
• phone number;
• email address;
• your location or the area where you live, when needed to assess whether the service can be provided;
• information you choose to share with us about yourself, your dog and your training needs;
• information related to the service booked;
• data contained in communications by email, WhatsApp or through the contact form.

We do not ask for personal data that is not needed to provide the service or reply to your request.

3. How is the data collected?

The data may be provided directly by you, in particular when you:

• contact us by email;
• contact us through WhatsApp;
• contact us by phone;
• fill in the contact form on the website;
• request information about our services;
• book a service;
• communicate with us in the course of a service already booked.

4. What do we use your data for?

Personal data may be processed for the following purposes:

a) Replying to requests for information

When you contact us to ask questions, find out prices, see whether we can help or get information about the services.

Legal basis: steps taken at the data subject's request prior to entering into a contract and, where applicable, legitimate interest.

b) Preparing and providing the services booked

The necessary data may be used to organise sessions, travel, contacts and follow-up of the training.

Legal basis: performance of a contract or pre-contractual steps.

c) Complying with legal obligations

Certain data may have to be kept or processed to comply with legal obligations, in particular tax or accounting obligations.

Legal basis: compliance with a legal obligation.

d) Security and operation of the website

Certain technical data needed for the operation, security and protection of the website may be processed, such as technical information sent by the browser or device.

Legal basis: legitimate interest in ensuring the operation and security of the website.

e) Online advertising

Smartdogs may use Google Ads to promote its services.

Smartdogs does not intend to sell, share or upload client lists or client databases to advertising platforms for advertising purposes.

The website uses Google Ads conversion measurement, to find out whether a contact came through an advert. It is only activated after the visitor accepts it in the website's consent notice.

Legal basis: consent.

Smartdogs does not intend to use its clients' personal data to create remarketing lists or for personalised advertising campaigns without the legally required consent.

5. Does Smartdogs sell or pass your data to third parties?

No.

Smartdogs does not sell your personal data or use it to create or market client databases.

However, certain technology service providers may process data on their own behalf or on behalf of Smartdogs, to the extent needed to provide their services.

Depending on the services actually used on the website and in the activity, these may include:

• the website's hosting and technical infrastructure provider (Cloudflare);
• the email provider;
• the service that sends the contact form messages (Resend);
• the service that protects the form against automated submissions (Cloudflare Turnstile);
• WhatsApp, when contact is started through that platform;
• Google, when Google services are used on the website or for advertising;
• Cloudflare Zaraz, which manages the consent notice and only activates Google Ads measurement after the visitor accepts;
• other technology providers strictly necessary for the operation of the activity.

Each entity processes data according to its own policies and, where applicable, the contractual and legal obligations on the processing of personal data.

6. WhatsApp

The website provides a link to get in touch through WhatsApp.

If you choose to contact Smartdogs through WhatsApp, the communication takes place over WhatsApp's infrastructure and is also subject to its Privacy Policy and terms.

Smartdogs will only process the information shared in that communication to reply to your request, provide the service or fulfil the purposes described in this policy.

7. Email

When you contact us at info@smartdogs.pt, we process the data in the message in order to reply to your request and, where applicable, provide or prepare to provide the services.

Messages may be kept for as long as needed to follow up the request or the professional relationship and, afterwards, for as long as needed to comply with legal obligations or defend legal claims.

8. Contact form

When you use the contact form on the website, we process your name, email address, subject and the message you write. This data is sent by email to info@smartdogs.pt and is used only to reply to your request and, where applicable, to prepare the provision of the services.

The website does not keep a copy of the messages sent through the form.

To protect the form against automated submissions, we use Cloudflare Turnstile, a security service that analyses technical browser signals and does not use advertising cookies.

Legal basis: steps taken at the data subject's request prior to entering into a contract, and legitimate interest in the security of the website.

9. Data about your dog

To provide a suitable training service, you may need to give us information about your dog, such as age, behaviour, routine, history or specific difficulties.

This information may be linked to the owner's data and may therefore be personal data when it allows a person to be identified.

Smartdogs uses this information only in the context of assessing, preparing and providing the training service.

We do not use this information for advertising campaigns or to build commercial profiles of our clients.

10. Photos and videos

In certain situations, Smartdogs may take photos or videos during training sessions.

Photos or videos that allow a person to be identified will not be published for promotional purposes without an appropriate legal basis and, where needed, specific permission.

Any use of images of dogs or clients for promotional purposes will be handled separately whenever consent is required.

11. Social media and external links

The website contains links to external services, in particular Instagram, WhatsApp and Google.

By clicking these links, you may leave the Smartdogs website and use a service subject to that provider's privacy rules.

Smartdogs does not control the data processing practices of those platforms.

12. Google Ads

Smartdogs may use Google Ads to show adverts to people searching for services related to dog training.

Using Google Ads does not mean that Smartdogs gives Google a list of its clients.

The website uses Google Ads conversion tracking, which relies on cookies. Remarketing features are not used.

Where consent is legally required, these technologies will only be activated according to the choice made by the visitor through the website's consent mechanism.

Smartdogs does not intend to use client data obtained through email, WhatsApp or other private contacts to create advertising audiences in Google Ads.

13. Cookies

Cookies are small files or identifiers that may be stored on the device used to visit a website.

The website does not use analytics cookies. It uses Google Ads advertising cookies only if you give your consent.

Necessary cookies

Some technical mechanisms may be necessary to ensure the operation, security and availability of the website, including those used by Cloudflare and by Turnstile to protect the contact form, and the cookie that stores your choice in the consent notice.

These mechanisms are not used to build advertising profiles of visitors and, being strictly necessary, do not depend on consent.

Analytics or statistics cookies

Not currently used. If analytics services are used in the future, they may collect information about how the website is used, such as pages visited, visit duration or technical information.

These cookies will only be used where there is an appropriate legal basis and, where required, after the visitor's consent has been obtained.

Advertising cookies

Used only with your consent, to measure whether a contact, by WhatsApp, phone or form, came through a Google Ads advert. They are not used for remarketing or personalised advertising.

Smartdogs will not use advertising cookies to create campaigns based on client lists without the necessary legal basis and consent.

14. Managing cookie consent

On your first visit, the website shows a consent notice that allows you to:

• accept non-essential cookies;
• refuse them;
• choose which categories of cookies to allow;
• change or withdraw your consent later.

You can change or withdraw your consent at any time using the Cookie preferences link in the footer of every page.

Refusing non-essential cookies should not prevent access to the website's essential information.

Consent will be requested freely, specifically, in an informed and unambiguous way, where applicable.

15. Data retention

Smartdogs keeps personal data only for as long as needed to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected.

The retention period depends on the type of information and the purpose.

In particular:

• requests for information will be kept for as long as needed to reply to and follow up the request;
• data related to services booked will be kept for as long as needed to carry out and follow up the professional relationship;
• certain documents may have to be kept for the periods required by law;
• data needed to defend legal claims may be kept for the applicable legal periods.

When the data is no longer needed and there is no legal obligation to keep it, it will be deleted or anonymised, where technically possible.

16. Security

Smartdogs takes technical and organisational measures that are appropriate and proportionate to the size of the activity and the nature of the data processed, seeking to prevent unauthorised access, loss, alteration or improper disclosure of personal data.

Access to the data is limited to situations where it is needed for the purposes described in this policy.

17. International transfers

Some of the technology providers used by Smartdogs may process personal data outside the European Economic Area.

When this happens, the safeguards provided for in the applicable data protection legislation will apply, in accordance with the conditions and mechanisms permitted by law.

18. What are your rights?

Under the applicable legislation, you may exercise, where applicable, the following rights:

• the right of access to your personal data;
• the right to rectification;
• the right to erasure;
• the right to restriction of processing;
• the right to object;
• the right to data portability, where applicable;
• the right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before it was withdrawn.

To exercise your rights, simply send a request to: info@smartdogs.pt

We may ask for additional information to confirm the identity of the person making the request, where this is necessary to protect personal data.

We will reply to the request within the time limits set by the applicable legislation.

19. Right to lodge a complaint

If you believe that the processing of your personal data breaches the applicable legislation, you may lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.

In Portugal, the supervisory authority is the Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (CNPD) — https://www.cnpd.pt/

20. Changes to this policy

This Privacy and Cookies Policy may be updated whenever necessary, in particular when the services used on the website, the cookie mechanisms or the applicable legal obligations change.

The latest version will always be available on this page, with its update date.

Smartdogs — Inês Almeida
Email: info@smartdogs.pt
Phone: +351 912 953 108

Last updated: 30 September 2026