Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how PawsPods LLC, doing business as Pawspods (“Pawspods,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), collects, uses, discloses, and protects information when a person uses the Pawspods mobile application, website, or related services that link to this policy (collectively, the “Services”).

This policy does not apply to third-party websites, applications, or services that operate under their own privacy policies.

Depending on how a person uses the Services, we may collect the following categories of information.

Account and contact information

• Email address used for account creation, sign-in, support, or family-access invitations.
• Authentication identifiers, session information, and account status.
• Communications sent to Pawspods.

Pet Passport and household information

• Pet name, breed, sex or gender, birthday or age, profile photo, public handle, family role, and related profile details.
• Household relationships, pet ownership, co-owner or caregiver access, and permissions.
• Profile visibility, Memory visibility, friend-request, discovery, and location-sharing preferences.

Memories and other user content

• Selected photos, Memory titles, captions, dates, visibility, and related metadata.
• Public profile content, reactions, friend requests, friendships, Playdate information, and other content a user chooses to create or share.
• Reports, support messages, and moderation-related information.

Care information

Pet care plans, reminders, grooming or veterinary visit records, medications or prevention records, weight records, owner-observed health or behavior changes, notes, dates, and documents or photos a user chooses to attach. Care information is about the pet and is not a substitute for professional veterinary care.

Location and local discovery information

• City, region, user-selected places, and an approximate location when a user expressly enables Nearby discovery or another location-based feature.
• Playdate locations and map selections supplied by event hosts.
• Pawspods does not request continuous background location. The iOS app reduces a device coordinate before storing approximate Nearby information, and exact owner location is not displayed in public pet discovery.

Device, usage, and technical information

• App version, device and operating-system information, IP address, request timestamps, error and security logs, and similar technical records generated by our infrastructure.
• Search terms and map interactions needed to provide local pet-service or place results.

Information we do not currently collect for advertising

Pawspods 1.0 does not use third-party advertising SDKs, use information for cross-context behavioral advertising, or sell personal information. The current public website does not intentionally set advertising or analytics cookies. Hosting providers may still process ordinary request logs for delivery, reliability, and security.

We collect information:

• Directly from users when they create an account or Pet Passport, select photos, enter content, change settings, create a Playdate, invite family, or contact support.
• Automatically from the app, browser, device, and infrastructure providers as needed to operate, secure, and troubleshoot the Services.
• From other Pawspods members when they invite or interact with a user or shared content.
• From third-party services at a user's direction, such as Apple Maps business and place information.

The iOS photo picker gives Pawspods access only to items the user selects; it does not give Pawspods unrestricted access to the entire photo library.

We use information to:

• Create and authenticate accounts.
• Create, store, synchronize, display, and share Pet Passports and Memories according to user settings.
• Provide household and family-access features.
• Provide Care records and device-local reminder scheduling.
• Operate friend, Nearby, Suggested, and Playdate features.
• Provide map, place, and local pet-service discovery.
• Respond to support, privacy, safety, and account requests.
• Protect users, pets, Pawspods, and the Services; prevent abuse; enforce our Terms; and comply with law.
• Maintain, debug, measure reliability, and improve the Services.
• Send operational communications such as authentication codes or important service notices.

We do not use pet Care records to provide veterinary diagnosis or treatment.

At the user's direction

Information is disclosed to other members when a user makes a Pet Passport or Memory public, accepts a friendship, joins or hosts a Playdate, grants family access, or otherwise chooses to share it.

Service providers

We use service providers to host and operate the Services. The current iOS service uses Supabase for authentication, database, and object storage infrastructure. Providers may process information to perform services for Pawspods or as otherwise permitted by law.

Independent third-party services

Apple may process information when a person uses the App Store, iOS system features, Photos, notifications, MapKit, or Apple Maps. Those services are controlled by Apple and governed by Apple's terms and privacy policy. Other services a user chooses to open control their own practices.

Legal, safety, and business purposes

We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to comply with law or valid process, protect rights or safety, investigate fraud or abuse, enforce agreements, or complete a financing, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of assets with appropriate protections.

Pawspods does not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Users control whether supported Pet Passport and Memory content is private, friends-only, or public. Nearby and friend-request participation can be turned off, and approximate location sharing is opt-in. Public or shared content may be copied or reshared by people who can access it, so users should not include sensitive information in public profiles, captions, Playdate descriptions, or photos.

Playdate hosts and eligible participants may receive event details needed to attend. Users should exercise care before meeting people or visiting a location.

We retain account information and user content while an account is active and as reasonably necessary to provide the Services. Retention depends on the information, user settings, operational needs, backup cycles, safety and fraud-prevention needs, and legal obligations.

Some data is device-local and remains there until the user removes it, resets local app data, deletes the app, or the operating system removes it. Deleting a pet may place that Pet Passport in a recoverable state.

To request deletion of an account and associated personal information, email will@pawspods.com from the account email. We may verify the request. After verification, we delete or de-identify information from active systems unless retention is reasonably necessary for compliance, security, fraud prevention, disputes, or enforcement. Protected backup copies may remain until overwritten through the normal backup cycle.

Users may:

• Edit Pet Passport and privacy settings in the app.
• Disable Nearby discovery or location sharing.
• Change Memory visibility or delete supported content.
• Revoke iOS photo, location, or notification permission in device Settings.
• Sign out or reset local app data.
• Request access, correction, export, or deletion by emailing will@pawspods.com.

Depending on location, applicable law may provide additional rights. Pawspods will not discriminate against a person for exercising a protected privacy right. We may verify identity, authority, or an authorized agent's permission before completing a request.

The categories collected and categories of third parties receiving information are described in Sections 2 and 5. Section 8 explains how to review or change information, and Section 13 explains policy changes.

Pawspods does not currently track users across third-party websites or apps for targeted advertising, so the website does not respond differently to legacy “Do Not Track” signals. Where required, we treat a recognized Global Privacy Control signal as an opt-out request; Pawspods does not currently sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not authorize advertising networks to collect personal information across unaffiliated websites through the Pawspods website.

The Services are intended for a general audience and are not directed to children under 13. Pawspods does not knowingly collect personal information from a child under 13. If we learn that we did so without appropriate authorization, we will take reasonable steps to delete it. A parent or guardian may contact will@pawspods.com.

We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect information, including authenticated access, restricted database and storage policies, protected object storage, and time-limited media links where implemented. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Pawspods is operated from the United States. Information may be processed and stored in the United States or other locations where Pawspods or its providers operate, which may have different data-protection laws than the user's location.

We may update this policy as the Services or legal requirements change. We will post the update here and revise the “Last updated” date. If a change materially affects how we use information, we will provide additional notice or request consent when required by law.

For privacy questions or requests, contact PawsPods LLC, doing business as Pawspods, at will@pawspods.com.