Privacy Policy

Last Updated: February 28, 2026

AskDoss (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the website askdoss.com (the “Site”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our Site.

Information We Collect

Information You Provide

We may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when you:

  • Fill out a contact or inquiry form
  • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Leave a comment on an article
  • Request information about advertising opportunities
  • Claim or edit a directory listing using a secure edit link

This information may include your name, email address, phone number, company name, and any message content you submit.

Automatically Collected Information

When you visit our Site, we may automatically collect certain information, including:

  • Device Information: Browser type, operating system, device type, and screen resolution
  • Usage Data: Pages visited, time spent on pages, click patterns, and referring URLs
  • IP Address: Used for approximate geographic location, security purposes, and click rate limiting (see Directory Click Tracking below)

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience and analyze Site traffic. These include:

  • Essential Cookies: Required for basic site functionality
  • Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our Site (e.g., Google Analytics)
  • Advertising Cookies: Used by our advertising partners to deliver relevant ads

You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect Site functionality.

Directory Click Tracking

When you click an outbound link to a business listed in our directory (e.g., a website link on an agency or service company listing), we record the click for analytics purposes. Specifically, we store:

  • Post ID: Which listing was clicked
  • Click Type: The type of outbound link (e.g., website)
  • IP Hash: A one-way SHA-256 hash of your IP address combined with a daily rotating salt. We do not store your raw IP address. The hash is used solely for rate limiting (preventing click fraud) and cannot be reversed to recover your actual IP address.
  • Referring URL: The page you were on when you clicked the link
  • Timestamp: When the click occurred

This data helps business owners understand how many visitors their listing generates and helps us prevent click fraud. Click data is retained for up to 12 months and then automatically purged.

Directory Self-Service Editing

Business owners listed in our directory may receive a secure, one-time edit link via email that allows them to update their listing information. When using this feature:

  • The edit link contains a unique token that authenticates access to a specific listing
  • Only a cryptographic hash of the token is stored on our servers — the raw token is never saved
  • The token is automatically removed from the browser address bar after page load to prevent accidental disclosure via HTTP Referer headers
  • Edit tokens expire after 90 days for security purposes
  • Saves are rate-limited to 3 per hour to prevent abuse

If you are a business owner and wish to have your listing removed, please contact us through our contact page.

How We Use Your Information

We use collected information to:

  • Provide, maintain, and improve our Site and content
  • Respond to your inquiries and fulfill requests
  • Send newsletters and marketing communications (with your consent)
  • Analyze usage trends and optimize user experience
  • Provide click analytics to directory listing owners
  • Protect against fraudulent or unauthorized activity
  • Comply with legal obligations

Advertising and Affiliate Disclosure

AskDoss participates in affiliate marketing programs. Some links on our Site are affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase or complete an action. This comes at no additional cost to you.

Our advertising partners may use cookies to serve ads based on your browsing activity. We do not control these third-party cookies and recommend reviewing their respective privacy policies.

Third-Party Services

We may share information with third-party service providers that assist us in operating our Site, including:

  • Analytics providers (e.g., Google Analytics)
  • Email marketing and transactional email platforms
  • Advertising networks
  • Hosting providers

These service providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes we specify.

Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including:

  • One-way hashing of IP addresses (directory click tracking)
  • Cryptographic hashing of authentication tokens
  • CSRF protection on all form submissions
  • Rate limiting to prevent abuse

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your data.

Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you
  • Request correction of inaccurate information
  • Request deletion of your personal information
  • Opt out of marketing communications
  • Opt out of the sale of personal information (California residents)
  • Request removal of your business listing from our directory

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the information below.

California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the right to know what personal information we collect and the right to request its deletion. We do not sell personal information as defined under the CCPA.

Children’s Privacy

Our Site is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, please contact us immediately.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last Updated” date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us at: