Privacy notice
Last updated: 22 October 2026
Cownetics helps dairy farmers rank their herd and plan their breeding from their own ICBF reports. This notice explains what we keep, why, for how long, and your rights.
Who we are
Cownetics is run by Kevin Broe, Co. Cork, Ireland. Contact: info@cownetics.ie. Kevin is the data controller for the personal data described here.
What we collect
- Your account: your email address, your farm name, and your password (stored only in scrambled form; we can't read it).
- The files you upload: ICBF reports such as the sale catalogue, Fertility Profile, inbreeding reports, health survey, milk recording SCC and pregnancy diagnosis. These hold your herd number and your animals' records. The site ignores any names and addresses in them.
- What the site works out for you: your answers to the questions, your herd ranking and your breeding plans.
- Feedback you choose to send us.
- Technical logs: the server keeps short technical logs to keep the site running and secure. These may include an internet address.
We don't use advertising, tracking or analytics cookies. The site uses one cookie to keep you logged in.
Why we use it (and the legal basis)
- To provide the service you signed up for: building your ranking and plan, and keeping your account (contract).
- To keep the site secure and working: logs, backups, blocking repeated wrong passwords (our legitimate interest in running a safe service).
- To improve the scoring: only with your separate permission, and only with your farm's identity removed (consent). You can say no and still use Cownetics.
We never sell your data and never share it with other farmers, AI companies or anyone else, except the service provider below.
How long we keep it
- Uploaded files are deleted automatically 30 days after you upload them. Copies in our server backups are gone within a further 7 days.
- Your answers, rankings and plans are kept while your account is open, so you can look back at past seasons.
- When you delete your account (Account page → Delete all my data), everything is deleted straight away. Backup copies are gone within 14 days.
Where it's kept and who helps us
Your data is stored on a server in Germany (EU), rented from Hetzner Online GmbH, which acts as our processor under a data processing agreement. Backups stay in the EU.
Your rights
You can:
- download your data, and delete your account and all your data, yourself on the Account page;
- ask us for a copy of what we hold, to correct it, or to restrict or object to how we use it;
- withdraw your permission for improving the scoring at any time.
Email info@cownetics.ie and we'll reply within a month. You can also complain to the Data Protection Commission (dataprotection.ie).
Your ICBF data
The reports you upload are your own herd's data, which you download from ICBF HerdPlus. We only use them to build your plan. Cownetics is not part of ICBF.
Changes
If we change this notice, we'll update the date at the top and tell you on the site.