PawConnect Privacy Policy

Last Updated: October 2026

1. Introduction

Welcome to PawConnect ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and what happens to it when you delete your account.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

Account Information: Email address, username, and a password, or your Apple or Google sign-in identifier, when you create an account
Profile Information: Display name, profile photo, and pet profiles you create
Content: Photos, videos, captions, stories, and comments you post
Pet Data: Pet name, species, breed, age, weight, the microchip number you enter, and the health records, medical documents, reminders, activity logs (including walks, see Section 2.2), and notes you enter. The microchip number is shown in the app only to you and the people you give access to that pet, and on the public recovery page only if you choose to show it. It is currently stored with the pet's profile record; we are moving it to a private area that only you and the pet's co-owners can read, and older versions of the app still keep a copy in the profile record while they are in use
Emergency Contacts: The names, phone numbers, and types of the vets, sitters, and family members you save for a pet. Please only enter details of people who are happy for you to do so
Messages: Direct and group messages you send, including photos, voice notes, and shared posts (see Section 6)
Support Conversations: Messages and photos you send to PawConnect Support (see Section 6)
Reports and Blocks: Reports you file about content or people, and the people you block (see Section 7)

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

Location Data: Approximate or precise location when you use map-based features (such as Find a Vet) or track a walk, only when you grant permission. If you allow location access, we also use your approximate location to work out which country you are in (on your device). We store the country, not the location, to show the right PawShop region and to see where people want PawShop to open
Device and Notification Information: Device type, iOS version, app version, the push notification token for your device, and a device attestation token (from Apple App Attest and Firebase App Check) that shows requests come from the genuine app
Usage and Diagnostics: We use Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics to understand which features are used and to find and fix crashes. These collect app events (for example sign-ups, adding a pet, creating a post, using reminders, viewing profiles, sharing, and viewing or tapping items in PawShop, including the words you type into the PawShop search box), crash reports, device details, an app-instance identifier, and three settings about you: the number of pets you have, your main pet species, and your region. They are on by default
Walk Tracking: When you track a walk, PawConnect uses your precise location while the walk is running (and in the background if you allowed "Always"). When you finish the walk, its route, distance, duration, and the estimated calories burned are saved to your pet's activity log on our servers. Everyone who has access to that pet (the owner, co-owners, caregivers, and viewers you invite) can see the walk and its route. You can delete a walk from the activity log at any time. Photos you add to a walk are stored like your other photos

2.3 Information NOT Collected

We do NOT access your contacts without explicit permission
We do NOT sell your personal data to third parties
We do NOT use your content or pet data for advertising

3. How We Use Your Information

Provide and operate the PawConnect service
Display your posts and pet profiles to other users, according to the features you use
Deliver messages and notifications you have enabled
Enable location-based services (vet finder, dog parks, groomers, walks)
Answer your questions to PawConnect Support and send you service announcements
Keep the community safe: review reports, apply our Terms, and prevent abuse (see Section 7)
Provide the PawAI assistant (see Section 5)
Provide pet recovery tags and lost-pet alerts (see Section 6A)
Improve the app, measure performance, and fix problems

4. Storage and Security

Cloud Storage: Your content, messages, and account records are stored in Firebase (Google Cloud) in Singapore and protected in transit with TLS/SSL encryption. Sign-in, analytics, and push notification services are operated by Google and may process data outside Singapore
Photos and Videos: Stored on Cloudflare R2 and served only to people who are allowed to see them
Authentication: Passwords are never stored in plain text; Firebase Authentication handles sign-in
Messages: Messages are stored on our servers so they can be delivered and kept in your chat history. They are not end-to-end encrypted
Walk Data: A draft of a walk is kept on your device until it is saved. A finished walk, including its route, is stored on our servers with your pet's activity log (see Section 2.2)

5. PawAI Assistant

PawAI is powered by OpenAI, a third-party AI service. When you ask PawAI a question, we send OpenAI your question and earlier messages in the chat, the details of the pets you pick (such as name, species, breed, age, and weight), the care records PawAI needs to answer (such as health records, activity, and reminders), photos or vet documents you ask about, and the notes PawAI has saved for you if "Remember useful details" is on. If PawAI searches the web to answer, the search words are sent too. We do not send your name, email address, phone number, location, or microchip number. We ask OpenAI not to store the request, and we identify you to OpenAI only with an anonymous identifier. OpenAI processes this information to produce the answer; see OpenAI's privacy policy (Section 13).

For new accounts, "Remember useful details" is off until you turn it on. Your PawAI conversation history and saved notes are stored in your account and are deleted when you delete your account or clear them.

PawAI is not a veterinarian. Its answers are general information and not a substitute for professional veterinary advice.

6. Messages, Support, and Announcements

Messages: Messages are visible to the people in the conversation. Anyone in a chat can keep a copy (for example by taking a screenshot or starring a message), which we cannot control
PawConnect Support: When you use Settings → Chat With Support, your messages and photos are stored in a support conversation that our team can read and reply to. Our team may add private notes about the conversation, which you cannot see. Support may send an automatic acknowledgement, and conversations you leave unanswered may be marked resolved automatically after a period. We limit how fast messages can be sent to Support to prevent abuse
Announcements: We may send service announcements and updates to the read-only PawConnect Updates chat in the app, with a push notification if you have message notifications turned on
Push Notifications: Delivered through Apple Push Notification service and Firebase Cloud Messaging. Your device token is removed when you sign out or delete your account. You can turn notifications off in iOS Settings or in the app

6A. Pet Recovery Page (QR Tag) and Lost Mode

If you create a recovery tag for a pet, anyone who scans the QR code or opens its link can see a public page, without signing in. You choose what it shows: the pet's name and species and, if you turn them on, its breed, photo, and microchip number; your name and phone number; an optional second contact; a message to the finder; a medical alert; and, if you turn on Lost Mode, where the pet was last seen. We record that the tag was scanned (the time only) and notify you and the pet's co-owners. A finder can send you a message, and may choose to include their phone number and location; this is stored with the pet and visible to you and the pet's co-owners. You can change what is shown, switch the page off, or issue a new QR code at any time (the old link then stops working). Deleting the pet or your account deletes the tag and the reports sent to it.

7. Safety: Reports, Blocking, and Moderation

Reports: If you report a post, comment, story, or person, we store the report (what was reported, the reason, any details you add, and who filed it). Our team can see who filed a report; the person you reported is not told
Blocking: When you block someone, you and they can no longer message, follow, or comment on each other's posts, and each other's posts, stories, and profile are hidden in the app. Any pet access you had shared with each other ends. You may both still appear in group chats you were already in together
Moderation actions: Our team may remove content, restrict an account's ability to post, comment, or share stories, or close an account that breaks our Terms. We keep a log of these actions (what was done, to what, by whom, and why, including the username shown at the time) for 12 months. The text of removed content is deleted from the log if its author deletes their account
Restricted accounts: A restricted account can still browse, message, and contact PawConnect Support, for example to ask us to review a decision
Reporting abuse of our team: To limit abuse, an account that files an unusually large number of reports in a short time may be temporarily unable to file more

8. Data Sharing

Public Posts: Content you post publicly is visible to all PawConnect users
Recovery Page: If you create a pet recovery tag, the information you choose to show is visible to anyone who opens the page (see Section 6A)
Service Providers: We use Google (Firebase, Google Sign-In, Google Maps and Places), Apple (Sign-In, Push Notifications, Maps, App Attest), Cloudflare (media storage and delivery), and OpenAI (the PawAI assistant) to run the service. They process data only to provide those services to us. We also use Klipy (GIF search in chats: the search words you type are sent to Klipy) and Open Pet Food Facts (the barcode you scan is sent to this public database to look up a pet-food product)
PawShop and Affiliate Links: When you tap "Buy Now", we record the click against your account and open the retailer with a random click id (it does not contain your name or account id). The retailer tells us, through its affiliate programme, when an order was placed with that id, so we can match it to your click and earn a commission; we do not see what else you bought. In the app we may ask whether you got the product and store your answer and an optional rating, and we store the products you save so we can tell you about price drops. We do not share your name, email, or account id with the retailer. PawShop is a shop window only: you cannot buy inside PawConnect. "Buy Now" opens the retailer's own website, where you place and pay for the order; that website has its own privacy policy, which applies there, and we receive no payment details, delivery address, or price from it
Legal and Safety: If required by law, or to protect the safety of people, animals, or the service

We do NOT sell your personal information to third parties.

9. Your Rights and Choices

Access and Correction: View and edit most of your data within the app. To ask for a copy of your personal data or a correction we cannot make in the app, contact us (Section 14)
Delete: Delete your account at any time (Settings → Account → Delete Account). See Section 10 for exactly what is deleted and what is kept
Location: Revoke location permission at any time in iOS Settings
Notifications: Turn off notification types in app Settings or iOS Settings
Withdraw Consent and Complaints: You can withdraw consent for optional uses (such as location or notifications) at any time. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, contact us first; you may also contact the data protection authority where you live, such as Singapore's Personal Data Protection Commission

10. Deleting Your Account: What Is Deleted and What Is Kept

When you delete your account, deletion starts straight away and removes your account from our records, together with the data associated with it that we are not required or entitled to keep.

10.1 Deleted

Your profile, username, sign-in account, and private settings
Your pets and their health records, medical documents, reminders, activity, and shared access
Your posts, stories, highlights, and comments, and the photos and videos attached to them
Your likes, reactions, story views, follows, followers, bookmarks, notifications, and blocks
Your PawAI conversations and memories, your push notification tokens, and your achievements
The content of the messages you sent in chats, including photos and voice notes
Other people's saved or shared copies of your messages and of your shared posts and stories, where we hold them
Your PawConnect Updates chat, and any private notes our team wrote about your support conversations
Reports filed about you

10.2 Kept, and why

The other people's side of conversations. Your messages in chats with other people stay in their chat history only as "This message was deleted", under the name "Deleted User", and your photo is removed. Messages other people sent you stay with them, because they are their own messages. A chat is removed entirely once no one in it still has an account
Our replies in support conversations. Your own messages are removed; our replies remain on a closed conversation marked as a deleted account
Reports you filed about other people. They stay so we can act on them, without your name
A limited safety record. If at the time you delete your account you were banned, had been blocked by other people, or had reports filed against you, we keep a small record to stop banned people and abusers from simply creating a new account. It holds only whether you were banned, the IDs of the people who had blocked you, and the number and types of reports, stored under a one-way hash of your sign-in identity (email, Apple, or Google). It contains no name or email address and is used for nothing else. If you sign up again with the same identity while it exists, a ban, blocks, and a review flag can be applied to the new account. We keep it for 12 months, or 24 months if you were banned, and then delete it automatically. Our legitimate interest is keeping the community safe
Moderation log entries, as described in Section 7, for 12 months (the excerpt of removed content is deleted straight away)
Backups and logs. Residual copies in encrypted backups and system logs are overwritten or expire after a limited period and are not used for any other purpose
Legal obligations. Anything we are required by law to keep, or need to keep to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims
Things we cannot reach. Mentions of your @username in other people's posts or comments remain as plain text, and anything others copied (such as screenshots) is outside our control. Analytics and crash data held by Google follows Google's own retention settings

11. How Long We Keep Information

Account and content data: until you delete it or your account
Support conversations: until you or we delete the account (see Section 10)
Moderation log: 12 months
Safety record after account deletion: 12 months, or 24 months if you were banned
Rate-limit and abuse-prevention counters: only as long as needed to apply the limit

12. Children's Privacy

PawConnect is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

13. Third-Party Services

Firebase (Google): Authentication, database, analytics, crash reporting, and push messaging — Privacy Policy
Google Sign-In, Google Maps and Places: Sign-in and place search — Privacy Policy
Apple Sign-In, Push Notifications, and Maps: Authentication, notifications, and location services — Privacy Policy
Cloudflare R2: Media storage and delivery — Privacy Policy
OpenAI: Generating PawAI answers — Privacy Policy
Klipy: GIF search in chats
Open Pet Food Facts: Looking up a pet-food product from a barcode you scan

14. Changes and Contact

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date, and in the app where appropriate.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise any of your rights, contact us at:

Email: privacy@pawconnectsocial.com