Privacy Policy

Effective date: 25 June 2026

Who we are

Paws & Pals (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a mobile and web application that helps dog owners find walking companions nearby. We are based in the European Union and act as the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. You can reach us at support@peeps.bio.

Eligibility

Paws & Pals is intended for users aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly create accounts for, or collect personal data from, anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, contact us and we will remove it.

Data we collect

We only collect the data you provide to use the app. Specifically:

• Account. Your email address. If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive your name and the email address shared by the provider. Apple’s “Hide My Email” relay is supported.
• Profile. Display name, profile photo, short bio, weekly availability, and your “why dogs” answer.
• Location. A city/area label and approximate coordinates (latitude/longitude) that you enter during onboarding. We do not access GPS in the background and we do not track your movements.
• Dog profiles. Name, breed, size, age, activity level, personality tags, photos, and bio for each dog you add.
• Walk requests & messages. Walk slots you create or book, and the in-app chat between you and the other participant.
• Uploaded photos. Stored in our managed cloud storage (bucket: pawpal-photos).
• Technical data. Standard server logs (IP address, request timestamps, user-agent) retained briefly for security and abuse prevention.

What we do not collect

• No third-party analytics SDKs.
• No advertising identifiers (IDFA/AAID) and no ad networks.
• No cross-app or cross-site tracking.
• No payment information (the app is free and has no in-app purchases).
• No background access to your contacts, microphone, calendar, or photo library. Photos are only read when you explicitly pick one to upload.
• No push-notification tokens at this time.

How we use your data

• To create and secure your account and authenticate you.
• To match you with nearby owners and dogs (your profile, dog details, and approximate location are shown to other signed-in users for this purpose).
• To enable walk requests and in-app messaging between participants.
• To prevent fraud, abuse, and breaches of our terms.
• To respond to your support requests.

Legal bases under the GDPR: performance of a contract (to operate the matching and messaging features you signed up for), legitimate interests (security and abuse prevention), and consent (for optional data such as your bio or photos).

Who can see your data

• Other signed-in users. Your display name, profile photo, bio, dog profiles, availability, and approximate location are visible to other authenticated Paws & Pals users so they can decide whether to walk with you. Do not put anything in your profile that you would not want another user to see.
• Service providers (sub-processors).
  • Lovable Cloud (Supabase). Backend hosting, database, authentication, and file storage. Hosted in the EU.
  • Apple Sign In and Google Sign In — only if you choose to sign in with them.
  • OpenStreetMap (via Leaflet) — serves the map tiles. Your IP address is visible to OpenStreetMap when tiles load.
• Legal requests. We may disclose data if required by law or to protect the safety of users.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data for advertising or marketing purposes.

International transfers

Our primary infrastructure is hosted in the EU. Some sub-processors (Apple, Google) are based in the United States; transfers rely on Standard Contractual Clauses and the providers’ own safeguards.

Retention

We keep your data for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account, your profile, dog profiles, walk requests, messages, and uploaded photos are removed from our live database. Residual copies may remain in encrypted backups for up to 30 days before being overwritten.

Your rights

If you are in the EU/EEA or the UK, you have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you;
• correct inaccurate data;
• delete your data (“right to erasure”);
• receive your data in a portable format;
• restrict or object to certain processing;
• withdraw consent at any time;
• lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, email support@peeps.bio. We respond within 30 days.

Account deletion

You can delete your account at any time by emailing support@peeps.bio from the address linked to your account. Deletion cascades to your profile, dogs, walks, and messages.

Security

All traffic is encrypted in transit over HTTPS. Data at rest is encrypted by our cloud provider. Access to the database is enforced with row-level security so that each user can only read and write the records they are permitted to. No system is perfectly secure; report any suspected vulnerability to support@peeps.bio.

Children

Paws & Pals is for users 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 18.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the “Effective date” above and, for material changes, notify you in the app. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

Questions, requests, or complaints: support@peeps.bio.