1. Overview
Heartpaws ("we", "our", or "us") is dedicated to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application ("Heartpaws") and related services. Heartpaws complies with global privacy standards including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and Apple App Store Review Guidelines.
2. Information We Collect
We collect information to provide, maintain, and improve our services to assist with animal rescue and adoption:
- Account & Contact Info: Email address, hashed password, display name/nickname, and profile picture.
- Social Login Info: When you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive your authorized profile identifier and email.
- Location Data (Precise & Coarse): With your permission, we access your device's geolocation to show nearby animal shelters, adoptable pets, and pin animal sighting reports on the map. Precise location coordinates for private reports are automatically blurred for user privacy.
- Photos & Media: Photos taken via your camera or chosen from your photo library when you report an animal sighting, register your pet, or create shareable adoption posters.
- Purchase History: Information regarding in-app purchases (such as Bone Coins or Premium Subscriptions) processed securely via Apple StoreKit. We never store payment card numbers.
- Identifiers & Diagnostics: Anonymous device identifiers (IDFA/GAID), app performance data, and crash reports.
3. How We Use Your Information
- To provide core app functionality (interactive rescue map, PetDex collection, shelter directory).
- To authenticate your identity and safeguard your account against unauthorized access.
- To enable community sighting reports and SOS alerts for missing pets.
- To analyze app performance, prevent crashes, and enhance user experience.
- To display non-intrusive advertisements via third-party advertising partners for non-premium users.
4. Third-Party Services & Advertising
We work with trusted third-party service providers to power our platform:
- Google AdMob (Google LLC): Serves third-party banner and interstitial ads. May collect anonymous device identifiers and advertising data in accordance with your App Tracking Transparency (ATT) preferences.
- Firebase Analytics & Crashlytics (Google LLC): Gathers anonymized telemetry to troubleshoot crashes and evaluate user interactions.
- Supabase: Provides secure cloud database storage and authentication.
5. Data Retention & Account Deletion (Apple Guideline 5.1.1)
We retain your personal data only as long as necessary to provide our services. You have the right to delete your account and all associated personal data permanently at any time directly within the app by navigating to:
Profile Tab > Settings (Gear Icon) > Delete Account
Upon confirmation, your profile, authentication credentials, and personal records are permanently erased from our servers immediately.
6. Your Privacy Rights (GDPR & CCPA)
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Right to access, modify, or delete your personal data.
- Right to withdraw consent for location or camera access via your device settings at any time.
- Right to opt-out of personalized tracking via iOS App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompts.
7. Children's Privacy
Heartpaws does not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from children under the age of 13. If you believe that a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us immediately, and we will delete such information promptly.
8. Contact Information
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact our Data Protection Team at:
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