Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

This website is operated by Alexander (Alex) Strelkov ("I", "me", "the Doctor"), a self-employed veterinary specialist providing online consultations on exotic and companion animals at dralexstrelkov.com.

My services are directed at users worldwide, including residents of the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. My server infrastructure is located within the EU, and accordingly I am subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). I also comply with applicable UK GDPR and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) obligations to the extent they apply to users in those jurisdictions.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

2.1 Data collected through Fourthwall (payment & order processing)

When you purchase a consultation, you are redirected to Fourthwall, which acts as the Merchant of Record and independently processes your payment. Fourthwall collects your name, billing address, email address, and payment details. I never receive or store payment card data. Please refer to Fourthwall's Privacy Policy for full details.

2.2 Data collected through the consultation questionnaire

After purchase, you receive access to a consultation questionnaire. Through this form you may provide:

• Your name and email address
• Information about your animal: species, breed, age, sex, diet, and housing conditions
• Description of symptoms and medical history of your pet
• Photographs, videos, or documents (e.g. laboratory results) you choose to attach

This information is necessary to provide the consultation service and forms the sole basis for the clinical assessment. You are not required to provide more information than you consider necessary.

2.3 Data collected automatically by the website

When you visit the website, standard server logs may record your IP address, browser type, operating system, pages visited, time of visit, and referring website. This data is used solely for security and operational purposes and is not linked to your identity or your consultation.

2.4 Newsletter / subscription

If you subscribe to email updates via the website, I collect your email address for that purpose only. You may unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email or by contacting [email protected].

3. How We Use Your Data

4. Media & Content Usage

By submitting photographs, videos, or other media files through the consultation questionnaire, you grant Dr. Alex Strelkov a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual licence to use such materials in an anonymised form for the following purposes:

• Educational and scientific publications and presentations
• Blog articles and website content
• Social media posts and video content (e.g. YouTube)
• Email newsletters and marketing communications
• Conference and professional materials

Anonymisation commitment: When using submitted media for any of the above purposes, I will not publish, disclose, or in any way associate the material with: the owner's name, email address, or any other identifying information; the animal's name; the owner's location or other personal details. Media files are stored and used separately from the consultation record and are not linked to it in any publicly accessible form.

Personal attribution (e.g. credit to the owner, mention of name or location) will only occur on the basis of a separate explicit written agreement with the owner. In the absence of such agreement, all published content derived from submitted media will remain fully anonymised.

5. Data About Your Pet

Information you provide about your animal — including symptoms, diagnoses, medical history, and submitted media — relates to your animal, not to you personally. Under GDPR, this is not classified as "special category" personal data.

However, photographs or videos you submit may incidentally contain your image or voice. I treat all such media with the same level of care as personal data. It is processed solely in accordance with Section 4 above and is never disclosed in a form that identifies you.

6. Third-Party Processors

I use the following third-party services. Each acts as a data processor or independent controller under its own privacy policy:

All third-party processors are required to implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures and to process data only for specified purposes in accordance with applicable data protection law.

7. International Data Transfers

My website infrastructure is hosted within the European Union. Consultation data stored via Google Workspace may be processed in the United States. Google participates in the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and implements Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) to ensure adequate protection in accordance with GDPR Chapter V.

Fourthwall is a US-based company and processes payment data under its own privacy policy and applicable data transfer mechanisms. No other international transfers of your personal data take place.

8. Data Retention

After the applicable retention period, data is securely deleted or irreversibly anonymised. Consultation records are retained for 3 years to allow for follow-up questions, quality review, and to satisfy any potential legal obligations. Upon written request, I will delete your personal data before the end of the retention period where no legal obligation prevents this.

9. Data Security

I implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:

• Access to consultation records restricted to the Doctor only — no assistants or third parties have access
• Encrypted file storage protected by multi-factor authentication
• HTTPS encryption on all website connections
• No storage of payment card data — all card processing is handled by Fourthwall
• Regular review of access permissions and stored data

No method of internet transmission is entirely secure. In the event of a personal data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, I will notify you and the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware, as required by applicable law.

10. Your Rights — EU & UK Residents

Under the GDPR and UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

• Right of access — request a copy of the personal data I hold about you
• Right to rectification — ask me to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to erasure — ask me to delete your data where there is no overriding legal reason to retain it
• Right to restriction — ask me to limit how I process your data in certain circumstances
• Right to data portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing
• Right to withdraw consent — withdraw consent for newsletter or media use at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing

To exercise any of these rights, contact: [email protected]. I will respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied, you may lodge a complaint with your national supervisory authority. UK residents may contact the ICO at ico.org.uk; EU residents may contact the data protection authority in their member state.

11. California Residents — CCPA Rights

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, California residents have the right to:

• Know what personal information is collected, used, or shared
• Delete personal information I hold, subject to certain legal exceptions
• Opt out of sale — I do not sell personal data to any third party
• Non-discrimination — you will not receive different or inferior service for exercising your privacy rights

To submit a CCPA request, email [email protected] with the subject line "CCPA Request".

12. Cookies & Analytics

The website uses only the minimum cookies necessary for functionality, plus privacy-respecting analytics with no personal data collection:

• Session cookies — set by the website platform for logged-in members; expire when you close your browser or log out
• reCAPTCHA cookies — set by Google to protect forms from automated abuse; governed by Google's Privacy Policy
• Umami Analytics — self-hosted, cookie-free website analytics. Collects only anonymised, aggregated data (page views, session counts, referrers, device type). No personal data is collected, stored, or shared. No tracking across sites.
• Google Search Console — used to monitor search performance and page indexing. Processes aggregated data provided by Google about how the site appears in search results. No cookies are set on your device by this service.

I do not use advertising cookies, behavioural tracking pixels, or third-party analytics that collect personal data. You may disable cookies in your browser settings; this may affect the member login area but will not affect your ability to access content or purchase a consultation.

13. Children

My services are intended for adults (18+) only. I do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 18. If you believe a minor has submitted data through this website, please contact [email protected] and I will delete it promptly.

14. Veterinary & Medical Disclaimer

The consultation provided through this service constitutes a professional veterinary opinion based solely on the information you provide. It does not constitute an in-person physical examination and does not replace emergency veterinary care where urgently required.

Information shared in consultations is used exclusively to prepare your personal written report and, in anonymised form, as described in Section 4. It is never shared with insurance companies, veterinary databases, regulatory bodies, or any other external organisations, except where required by law.

15. Changes to This Policy & Contact

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will reflect any changes. If I make material changes, newsletter subscribers will be notified by email. Continued use of the website after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. The current version is always available at dralexstrelkov.com/privacy/.

For any privacy-related questions, requests, or complaints: