We know you care about how your personal information is used and shared take your privacy seriously. So that you may better understand how we use your data, we’ve provided our privacy guidelines and procedures in the policy below (the “Privacy Policy”). Please read the following to learn more about our Privacy Policy. By using or accessing the Services in any manner, you acknowledge that you accept the practices and policies outlined in this Privacy Policy, and you hereby consent that we will collect, use, and share your information in the following ways.
Remember that your use of the Services is at all times subject to our Terms of Service (the “Terms”), which incorporates this Privacy Policy by reference. Any capitalized terms used in this Privacy Policy without definitions have the definitions given to them in the Terms.
What does this Privacy Policy cover?
Except as provided herein, this Privacy Policy covers only our data practices for information that we gather from your access or your use of the Services. With the exception of the specific practices noted in the Supplemental Privacy Notice to California Residents (found at the end of this Privacy Policy), it does not apply to the practices of other companies or people that we don’t own or control.
What Information We Collect?
We obtain information from you through the means discussed below when we provide the Services to you and when you use the Services. Please note that we need certain types of information to provide the Services to you. If you do not provide us with the required information, or if you ask us to delete that information, you may no longer be able to access or use certain Services.
Information You Provide to Us:
We may collect information that you provide directly to us through the following methods:
- When you use our Services, e.g., when you register for an account, request a service from a Pet Care Provider, or communicate with a Pet Owner looking for services from a Pet Care Provider;
- When you participate in surveys or fill out forms;
- When you register for promotions;
- When you request customer support and/or technical assistance; and
- When you otherwise communicate with us or other users, including Pet Care Providers or Pet Owners, through the Services.
The information you provide directly to us may concern you or others and may include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Identifiers and Contact Information. We may collect identifiers and other contact information from you, such as your name, email address, phone number, and address. With your consent, you may also grant us access to your mobile device’s address book, through which we would collect and store on our servers all of your contacts and their contact information. We use your contact information to help you find friends and other contacts.
- Information Regarding Pets. For example, we may collect information regarding your pet, such as vaccinations and health history, age, and videos and photographs of your pet.
- Financial Information. In your use of the Services, you may provide us or our service providers with financial information such as financial account or credit card account information.
- Location Information. We may collect general location information (e.g., inferred from your IP address) or specific location information (i.e., geolocation with your consent). For example, we may request geolocation information of Pet Care Providers when they are providing services for Pet Owners. If you use a Tag, we may also collect location information related to your pet.
- Communications. We may collect communications you make through the Services, such as when you communicate with us or other users. For example, Pet Owners may communicate with Pet Care Providers through tools offered on the Services or you may communicate with our customer success team or other members of our team through email, text message or telephone. If you send text messages to a Pet Owner or Pet Care Provider using the telephone number for that user available on the Services, we may use a third-party service provider to track these text messages. We track these text messages for fraud prevention, to enforce our Terms, and for quality and training purposes. As part of this process, and its service provider will receive in real-time and store data about your text message, including the date and time of the text message, your phone number, and the content of the text message.
Information From Affiliates, Business Partners, and Other Non-Affiliated Third Parties
We may collect information about you or others through our affiliates, business partners, or through other non-affiliated third parties. For example, to the extent permitted by law, we may, in our sole discretion, ask for and collect supplemental information about you from third parties. Examples of this include information to verify your identity for fraud prevention, for safety protection purposes, or information that enhances our ability to market products or services that may be of interest to you. We may also work with business partners to integrate our services into their services (and/or vice versa). Where you choose to use such integrated services, we may receive information about you as part of that integration. We may combine information that we collect from you through the Services with information that we obtain from such third parties and information derived from other products or services we provide.
You may be able to access the Services through a social networking account, such as Facebook. If you access the Services through your Facebook account, you may allow us to access certain information within your Facebook account including, but not limited to, your name, profile picture, gender, networks, user IDs, list of friends, location, date of birth, email address, photos, videos, people you follow and/or who follow you, and/or your posts or “likes.”
Social networking sites, such as Facebook, have their own policies for handling your information. For a description of how these sites may use and disclose your information, including any information you allow the public to access on their platforms, please consult each site’s privacy policies. We have no control over how any third-party site uses or discloses the personal information it collects about you.
Information Collected Automatically
Device and Usage Information. Whenever you interact with our Services, we and our third-party service providers, which include ad networks and analytics companies such as Google Analytics, may use cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies to collect information about the computers or devices (including mobile devices) you use to access the Services. The information collected includes, without limitation, your IP address, device identifier, “cookie” information, the type of browser and/or device you use to access our Services, and the page or feature you requested.
Cookies and Other Electronic Technologies. We and our third-party service providers may use cookies, clear GIFs, pixel tags, and other technologies that help us better understand user behavior, personalize preferences, perform research and analytics, and improve the Services. These technologies, for example, may allow us to tailor the Services to your needs, save your password in password-protected areas, track the pages you visit, help us manage content, and compile statistics about usage of our Services. We or our third-party service providers also may use certain of these technologies in emails to our customers to help us track email response rates, identify when our emails are viewed, and track whether our emails are forwarded.
We may also use local shared objects (also known as “Flash cookies”) to assist in delivering special content, such as video clips or animation. Flash cookies are stored on your device, but they are not managed through your web browser. To learn more about how to manage Flash cookies, you can visit the Adobe website and make changes at the Global Privacy Settings Panel.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but your browser may allow you to modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. If you disable cookies, you may be prevented from taking full advantage of the Services, because it may not function properly. Flash cookies operate differently than browser cookies, and cookie management tools available in a web browser may not affect flash cookies. As we continue to update our current products and develop new technologies, we may also gather additional information through other methods.
How do we use your information?
We use your information for business and commercial purposes, such as:
- To provide you with the Services, including registering you for an account and process transactions such as boarding or walking services;
- To respond to your questions or inquiries, including to provide customer support and troubleshooting assistance;
- To communicate with you, including sending you emails about products and services that may interest you;
- To facilitate matching you with other users (Pet Owners or Pet Care Providers) based on your requests for specific services;
- To manage and remember your preferences and personalize the Services; To analyze and improve the Services or any other products and services we provide;
- To suggest products and services that may interest you;
- To administer surveys, sweepstakes, promotions, or contests;
- To verify your identity;
- To comply with our legal obligations or as permitted by law;
- To protect the safety and/or integrity of our users, employees, third parties, members of the public, pets, and/or our Services;
- To prevent fraud and enforce our legal terms; and
- To administer and troubleshoot the Services.
We may combine information that we collect from you through the Services with information that we obtain from affiliated and nonaffiliated third parties, and information derived from any other products or services we provide.
We may aggregate and/or de-identify information collected through the Services. We may use de-identified or aggregated data for any purpose, including without limitation for research and marketing purposes, and may also share such data with any third parties, including without limitation, advertisers, promotional partners, sponsors, event promoters, and use and disclose such information with third parties at our discretion, including without limitation to auditors, investors, creditors, and/or others.
Share Any of the Information it Receives?
Affiliates and Business Partners. We may share your information with affiliates and business partners. For example, businesses or third-party websites we’ve partnered or otherwise affiliated with may sell or provide products or services to you through or in connection with the Services (either alone or jointly with us). For example, business partners or affiliated businesses may integrate our Services into their products, including mobile apps. When you use our Services through one of these integrations, we may share your information with that affiliate or business partner. We have no control over the policies and practices of these third-party affiliates or business partners, so if you choose to participate in any transaction or service relating to an affiliated or third-party website or business, please review all such business’s or website’s policies.
Consent/At Your Direction. We may disclose your information to nonaffiliated third parties to: (a) facilitate matching you with a Pet Owner or Pet Care Provider; (b) when we have your permission; or (c) as described in this Privacy Policy, the Terms of Service, or any other legal terms governing your use of the Services.
Pet Owners. If you are a Pet Care Provider, we may share general information with Pet Owners about the extent to which their Pet Care Providers providing pet care services (such as boarding) may have remained with pets during a pet care session. We may also share with Pet Owners the precise geolocation of their Pet Care Providers during or near the time of a walking session.
User Profiles and Submissions. Certain user profile information, including your name, location, and any video or image content that you upload to the Services may be displayed publicly or to other users. Please remember that any content you upload to your public user profile, along with any information or content that you voluntarily disclose online in a manner other users can view (on discussion boards, in messages and chat areas, etc.), becomes publicly available, and can be collected and used by anyone. Your username and communications may also be displayed to other users if and when you send messages or comments or upload images or videos through the Services and other users can contact you through messages and comments. Again, we do not control the policies and practices of any other third-party site or service with regard to your data.
Address Books. We may request authorization from you and other users to access and store contacts from mobile device address books. We use this information to help users identify which of their contacts they would like to invite to use our Services. We also use this information to alert users if any of the contacts in their address books currently are or become registered users.
Service Providers. We work with other companies and individuals that may perform tasks on our behalf that requires us to share your information with them in order for them to provide us with services, such as to process payments.
Protection. We may share or disclose certain information if we believe in good faith that doing so is necessary or appropriate to: (i) protect or defend the rights, safety, or property! or third parties, including to defend or enforce our Privacy Policy, our Terms of Service, or any other contractual arrangement; (ii) respond to your requests for customer service; and/or (iii) protect the rights, property or personal safety! its agents and affiliates, its employees, users and/or the public.
Legal Requirements. We may share or disclose certain information if we believe in good faith that doing so is necessary or appropriate in order to comply with any law enforcement, legal, or regulatory process. Examples of this may include responding to a warrant, subpoena or any other applicable laws and regulations.
Business Transfers. We may share or disclose certain information, in connection with or during negotiations of any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
Online Analytics and Tailored Advertising
Analytics
We may use third-party web analytics services on the Services, such as those of Google Analytics. These service providers use the sort of technology described in the “Information Collected Automatically” section above to help us analyze how users use the Services, including by noting the third-party website from which you arrive. The information collected by the technology will be disclosed to or collected directly by these service providers, who will then use that to evaluate your use of the Services. We also use Google Analytics for certain purposes related to advertising, as described in the following section. To prevent Google Analytics from using your information for analytics, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on.
Tailored Advertising
Third parties whose products or services are accessible or marketed via the Services may also place cookies or other tracking technologies on your computer, mobile phone, or other device to collect information about your use of the Services in order to (a) inform, optimize, and serve marketing content based on past visits to our websites and other sites and (b) report how our marketing content impressions, other uses of marketing services, and interactions with these marketing impressions and marketing services are related to visits to our websites. We may also allow other third parties (e.g., ad networks and ad servers such as Google Analytics) to serve tailored marketing to you and to access their own cookies or other tracking technologies on your computer, mobile phone, or other device you use to access the Services. We neither have access to, nor does this Privacy Policy govern, the use of cookies or other tracking technologies that may be placed on your computer, mobile phone, or other device you use to access the Services by non-affiliated, third-party ad technology, ad servers, ad networks or any other non-affiliated third parties. Those parties that use these technologies may offer you a way to opt out of targeted advertising as described below. You may receive tailored advertising on your computer through a web browser. Cookies may be associated with de-identified data linked to or derived from data you voluntarily have submitted to us (e.g., your email address) that we may share with a service provider in hashed, non-human-readable form.
If you are interested in more information about tailored browser advertising and how you can generally control cookies from being put on your computer to deliver tailored advertising, you may visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s Consumer Opt-Out Link and/or the Digital Advertising Alliance’s Consumer Opt-Out Link to opt-out of receiving tailored advertising from companies that participate in those programs. To opt out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising or customize Google Display Network ads, you can visit the Google Ads Settings page. Please note that, to the extent advertising technology is integrated into the Services, you may still receive advertising content even if you opt out of tailored advertising. In that case, the advertising content will be present; it will not be tailored to your interests. Also, we do not control any of the above opt-out links and are not responsible for any choices you make using these mechanisms or the continued availability or accuracy of these mechanisms. If your browsers are configured to reject cookies when you visit this opt-out page, or you subsequently erase your cookies, use a different computer or change web browsers, your NAI or DAA opt-out may no longer be effective. Additional information is available on NAI’s and DAA’s websites, accessible by the above links.
When using a mobile application you may also receive tailored in-application advertising content. Each operating system−iOS for Apple devices, Android for Android devices, and Windows for Microsoft devices−provides its own instructions on how to prevent the delivery of tailored in-application marketing content. You may review the support materials and/or the privacy settings for the respective operating systems in order to opt out of tailored in-application advertising. For any other devices and/or operating systems, please visit the privacy settings for the applicable device or contact the applicable platform operator.
Our Policy on Children’s Information
Our Services are not designed for minors under 18. Only persons 18 years of age or older may use the Services. If we discover that an individual under 18 has provided us with personal information, we will close the account and delete the personal information to the extent required by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. We may, where permitted by law, retain certain information internally for purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
How Do We! Protect Your Information?
Your account is protected by a password for your privacy and security. If you access your account via a third-party site or service, you may be offered additional or different sign-on protections from that third-party site or service. You must prevent unauthorized access to your account and information by selecting and protecting your password and/or another sign-on mechanism appropriately and limiting other’s access to your computer or device and browser by signing off after you have finished accessing your account. We are not responsible for any unauthorized password activity within your account.
We implement technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to protect the information we collect from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. We cannot, however, guarantee complete security. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors, may compromise the security of user information at any time.
Links to Third-Party Sites and Services
The Services may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the content or practices of those websites or services. The collection, use, and disclosure of your information will be subject to the privacy policies of the third-party websites or services, and not this Privacy Policy. We urge you to read the privacy and security policies of these third parties.
Please note, however, that certain information may be exempt from such requests in some circumstances, which may include needing to continue processing your information for our legitimate interests or to comply with a legal obligation. We may request you provide us with the information necessary to confirm your identity before responding to your request.
California Do-Not-Track Disclosure
We are committed to providing you with meaningful choices about the information collected on our Services. However, we do not currently recognize or respond to browser-initiated Do-Not-Track signals, as the Internet industry is currently still working on Do-Not-Track standards, implementations, and solutions.
Consent to Transfer
Our computer systems are currently based in the United States, so your personal information will be processed by us in the United States, where data protection and privacy regulations may not offer the same level of protection as in other parts of the world. By using the Services, you agree to this Privacy Policy and you consent to the transfer and processing of all of your information to the United States, which may not offer a level of protection equivalent to that required in the European Union or certain other countries.