Paw Card - Privacy Policy

Last Updated: October 7, 2025

1. Introduction

Paw Card ("we," "us," "our," or "Company") is committed to protecting your privacy and the privacy of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, process, and protect information obtained through our mobile application and related services (collectively, the "Service").

By accessing or using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as described herein. If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, you must not use the Service.

IMPORTANT: This Privacy Policy is part of and incorporated into our Terms and Conditions. Any capitalized terms not defined herein have the meanings set forth in the Terms and Conditions.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

When you create an account, use our Service, or communicate with us, you may provide us with the following types of information:

  • Account Information: Name, email address, phone number, username, password, and date of birth
  • Profile Information: Photos, biographical information, preferences, and interests
  • Pet Information: Pet name, breed, age, gender, size, health status, vaccination records, temperament, photos, and other characteristics
  • Location Information: Geographic location data (GPS coordinates, city, region, country) to facilitate matches with nearby users
  • Communication Data: Messages, chats, and other communications with other users through the Service
  • Payment Information: Credit card information, billing address, and transaction history (processed through third-party payment processors)
  • User Content: Photos, videos, reviews, comments, and other content you upload or post on the Service
  • Verification Documents: Government-issued ID, proof of pet ownership, veterinary records, or other documents submitted for verification purposes

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you access or use the Service, we automatically collect certain information about your device and usage, including:

  • Device Information: Device type, operating system, unique device identifiers, mobile network information, device settings
  • Usage Data: Pages or features accessed, time and date of access, time spent on pages, links clicked, search queries
  • Location Data: Precise geolocation data (with your permission) or approximate location based on IP address
  • Log Data: IP address, browser type, internet service provider, referring/exit pages, clickstream data
  • Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, pixels, and similar tracking technologies to collect information about your use of the Service

2.3 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third parties, including:

  • Social Media Platforms: If you link your social media accounts, we may receive profile information, photos, and other data
  • Service Providers: Analytics providers, advertising partners, payment processors, and other service providers
  • Public Databases: Publicly available information such as public records or social media profiles
  • Other Users: Information that other users provide about you, such as reports, reviews, or referrals
  • Background Check Providers: If applicable, information from background check services or verification services

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

  • Provide and Improve the Service: To operate, maintain, improve, personalize, and optimize the Service and user experience
  • Facilitate Matches: To connect you with other pet owners and their pets based on location, preferences, and other criteria
  • Communication: To send you notifications, updates, newsletters, marketing communications, and respond to your inquiries
  • Safety and Security: To verify identities, detect and prevent fraud, abuse, security breaches, and other harmful activities
  • Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations, enforce our Terms and Conditions, and protect our rights and property
  • Analytics and Research: To analyze usage patterns, conduct research, and generate aggregated statistics
  • Advertising and Marketing: To display targeted advertisements, promotional offers, and sponsored content
  • Payment Processing: To process payments, prevent fraud, and manage billing
  • Customer Support: To provide customer service and technical support
  • Business Operations: To manage our business operations, including accounting, auditing, and administrative purposes

4. Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR Compliance)

For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, and Switzerland, we process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:

  • Consent: You have given explicit consent to process your data for specific purposes
  • Contract Performance: Processing is necessary to fulfill our contractual obligations to you
  • Legal Obligation: Processing is required to comply with applicable laws and regulations
  • Legitimate Interests: Processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as fraud prevention, network security, and direct marketing (where not overridden by your rights)
  • Vital Interests: Processing is necessary to protect someone's life or physical safety

5. How We Share Your Information

5.1 With Other Users

Your profile information, pet information, photos, and other content you choose to share will be visible to other users of the Service to facilitate matches and interactions.

5.2 With Service Providers

We share information with third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf, including:

  • Cloud hosting and storage providers
  • Payment processors and financial institutions
  • Analytics and data analysis providers
  • Marketing and advertising partners
  • Customer support and communication platforms
  • Background check and verification services
  • Email and SMS delivery services

5.3 For Legal Reasons

We may disclose your information to comply with legal obligations, including:

  • In response to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process
  • To comply with law enforcement requests or government investigations
  • To protect our rights, property, safety, or that of our users or the public
  • To enforce our Terms and Conditions or other agreements
  • To detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues

5.4 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, reorganization, sale of assets, or other business transaction, your information may be transferred to the successor entity or third party.

5.5 With Your Consent

We may share your information for any other purpose with your explicit consent or at your direction.

5.6 Aggregated and De-identified Data

We may share aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you with third parties for research, analytics, marketing, or other purposes.

6. International Data Transfers

Paw Card operates globally, and your information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in countries other than your country of residence, including the United States, European Union member countries, and other jurisdictions where our service providers operate.

These countries may have different data protection laws than your country of residence. When we transfer personal data internationally, we implement appropriate safeguards, including:

  • Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission
  • Adequacy decisions by the European Commission
  • Privacy Shield certification (where applicable)
  • Other legally approved transfer mechanisms

By using the Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to countries outside your country of residence, including countries that may not provide the same level of data protection as your home country.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to:

  • Provide you with the Service
  • Comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements
  • Maintain business records and prevent fraud
  • Fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy

Account information and user-generated content are typically retained for the duration of your account, plus an additional period as required by law or business needs. Even after you delete your account, some information may remain in our backup systems, logs, and archives as required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

8. Your Rights and Choices

8.1 Access and Correction

You have the right to access, review, and update your personal information through your account settings. You may also contact us to request access to or correction of your personal data.

8.2 Data Portability

You have the right to receive a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit that data to another service provider.

8.3 Deletion

You may request deletion of your account and personal information at any time. Please note that we may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes, and deletion may not be immediate.

8.4 Opt-Out of Communications

You can opt out of receiving promotional emails by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in our emails or by adjusting your notification preferences in your account settings. You cannot opt out of transactional or service-related communications.

8.5 Location Data

You can disable location tracking through your device settings, though this may limit certain features of the Service.

8.6 Cookies and Tracking

You can control cookies through your browser settings and opt out of certain tracking through your device settings or industry opt-out tools.

8.7 Rights for EEA, UK, and Swiss Residents

If you are located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have additional rights under the GDPR, including:

  • Right to object to processing based on legitimate interests
  • Right to restrict processing in certain circumstances
  • Right to withdraw consent at any time (without affecting lawfulness of processing before withdrawal)
  • Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

8.8 Rights for California Residents

If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), including:

  • Right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared, or sold
  • Right to delete personal information
  • Right to opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information
  • Right to correct inaccurate personal information
  • Right to limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information
  • Right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the information provided in Section 14.

9. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for children under the age of 18 (or the age of majority in their jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal information, we will take steps to delete such information. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us immediately.

10. Security Measures

We implement reasonable technical, administrative, and physical security measures designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:

  • Encryption of data in transit and at rest
  • Secure socket layer (SSL) technology
  • Firewalls and intrusion detection systems
  • Access controls and authentication protocols
  • Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
  • Employee training on data protection and security

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for any activities that occur under your account.

11. Third-Party Links and Services

The Service may contain links to third-party websites, applications, or services that are not owned or controlled by Paw Card. This Privacy Policy does not apply to third-party services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you access through our Service.

12. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

12.1 Types of Cookies We Use

We use the following types of cookies and similar tracking technologies:

  • Essential Cookies: Required for the Service to function properly and cannot be disabled
  • Functional Cookies: Enable enhanced functionality and personalization
  • Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how users interact with the Service
  • Advertising Cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertisements and measure campaign effectiveness
  • Social Media Cookies: Enable sharing of content on social media platforms

12.2 Third-Party Tracking

We may use third-party analytics and advertising services, including:

  • Google Analytics
  • Facebook Pixel
  • Mixpanel
  • Other analytics and advertising platforms

These third parties may use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your online activities across different websites and services.

12.3 Do Not Track

Some browsers have "Do Not Track" features. Currently, there is no industry standard for responding to Do Not Track signals, and we do not respond to such signals at this time.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. Material changes will be notified through the Service, via email, or by other means. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy indicates when it was last revised. Your continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we collect, use, and protect your information.

14. Contact Information and Data Protection Officer

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

Paw Card Data Protection
Email: privacy@Paw Card.com
Legal Email: legal@Paw Card.com
Address: [Company Address to be specified]
Data Protection Officer: [DPO Contact to be specified]

For EEA, UK, or Swiss residents: You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you believe we have violated your privacy rights.

15. Additional Disclosures for Specific Jurisdictions

15.1 European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland

Our legal basis for processing your data is outlined in Section 4. You have specific rights under GDPR as outlined in Section 8.7. Our EU representative (if applicable): [EU Representative Contact Information].

15.2 California

In the past 12 months, we have collected and shared the categories of personal information described in Section 2. We do not sell personal information in the traditional sense, but we may share information with advertising partners, which may be considered a "sale" under CCPA.

Category of Personal Information Collected Disclosed for Business Purpose Sold or Shared
Identifiers Yes Yes Yes
Commercial Information Yes Yes No
Internet/Network Activity Yes Yes Yes
Geolocation Data Yes Yes Yes
Sensory Information Yes Yes No
Inferences Yes Yes Yes

To opt-out of the sale or sharing of your personal information, please contact us or adjust your privacy settings in the app.

15.3 Canada

For Canadian residents, we comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy laws.

15.4 Brazil

For Brazilian residents, we comply with the Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (LGPD). You have rights similar to those under GDPR, including rights to access, correction, deletion, and data portability.

15.5 Australia

For Australian residents, we comply with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

16. Biometric Data

If our Service includes features that process biometric data (such as facial recognition for pet identification), we will:

  • Obtain your explicit consent before collecting biometric data
  • Clearly inform you about the purpose and duration of collection
  • Not sell, lease, or trade biometric data
  • Store biometric data securely and delete it within a reasonable timeframe or as required by law
  • Comply with all applicable biometric privacy laws, including Illinois BIPA, Texas CUBI, and similar state laws

17. Automated Decision-Making and Profiling

We may use automated decision-making, including profiling, to:

  • Suggest matches and connections
  • Personalize content and recommendations
  • Detect fraud and prevent abuse
  • Optimize advertising and marketing

If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have the right to object to automated decision-making that produces legal effects or similarly significantly affects you. You may request human review of automated decisions by contacting us.

18. Data Breach Notification

In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you and relevant authorities as required by applicable law. Notification will be provided without undue delay and will include information about the nature of the breach, potential consequences, and measures taken to address it.

19. Disclaimer of Warranties

WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE SECURITY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. While we implement security measures, we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, hacking, data loss, or other breaches will never occur. You acknowledge and accept the risks associated with transmitting information over the internet.

WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRIVACY PRACTICES OF OTHER USERS OR THIRD PARTIES. Other users may misuse information you share through the Service, and we disclaim all liability for such misuse.