GentlePaws.pet Privacy PolicyGentlePaws.pet Privacy Policy

1. Overview

This Privacy Policy explains how GentlePaws.pet collects, uses, stores, and protects personal information from sitters and pet owners who use our website and directory.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following information from sitters:

• Name and/or business name
• Phone number
• City, state, ZIP code
• Services offered
• Photos you upload
• Account login credentials
• Subscription and billing information (processed by Stripe)

From pet owners, we may collect:

• Browsing activity
• Contact form submissions
• IP address and device information
• Listing reports you submit (the reason, your note, your IP address, and your email if you choose to give one)
• Pet-sitting requests you post to the request board (your ZIP code, the care and pets you need, a rough timeframe, a first name, a contact phone number or email, your note, the email address used to confirm the post, and your IP address)

3. Public Information

Sitter listings are publicly visible. This includes:

• Name or business name
• City, state, ZIP
• Services offered
• Photos

Do not upload sensitive or private information to your listing.

If you post a request to the request board, that request is also publicly visible. This includes:

• Your ZIP code (never your street address)
• A first name or initial (never your full name)
• The kind of care and the pets you need, and roughly when — a month and an approximate length, never exact dates
• Your note

Your phone number or email is shown on a request only after a visitor chooses to reveal it, and the email address you use to confirm a request is never shown. A public request can tell a reader that you may be away around the time given, so to protect your safety do not include your address, exact dates, or other private details in it.

4. Payment Information

Payments are processed through Stripe Checkout. GentlePaws.pet does not store credit card numbers or bank details. Stripe’s privacy practices apply to all payment transactions.

5. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information to:

• Create and display sitter listings
• Manage subscriptions
• Provide customer support
• Improve website functionality
• Enforce our Terms of Use

We do not sell or share personal data for advertising purposes.

6. Data Sharing

We may share data with:

• Stripe (payment processing)
• Service providers assisting with hosting or security
• Law enforcement when required by law

We do not sell personal information.

7. State Privacy Rights

Depending on your state, you may have rights to:

• Access your data
• Request deletion
• Correct inaccurate information
• Opt out of data sharing (we do not share data for advertising)
• Requests may be submitted to: gentlepaws.pet@gmail.com

8. Data Retention

We retain:

• Account data while your subscription is active
• Listing content until removed
• Support communications for recordkeeping
• Billing records as required by law
• Listing reports, with the reporter’s IP address removed once the report has been reviewed
• Request-board posts only while they are live; a post you remove, or that expires, is hidden at once and permanently deleted a short time afterwards, as is the email and IP address used to post it
• A report or moderation record about a listing even if that sitter later deletes their account, with any link to the account removed — it is how a pattern is recognised if the same person returns
• When you delete your account we remove your listing, photos, profile and login. To honour one free trial per person, we keep a one-way scrambled form of the email, phone number and payment-card fingerprint associated with a trial. It cannot be read or used to identify or contact you; it only lets us recognise a repeat trial. This means a small, unreadable trace remains after deletion, which is why we say your data is deleted rather than that every trace of it is gone

9. Security

We use industry-standard security measures to protect personal information. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute protection.

10. Children’s Privacy

GentlePaws.pet is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from minors.

11. Local Pet Sitting Clients

This section applies to pet owners who book Rose’s local pet sitting services in the Richmond area. It does not apply to the GentlePaws.pet directory.

What is collected. To care for your pets and your home, Rose collects what you provide at the meet-and-greet and when booking: your name, address, phone number and email; entry instructions and any alarm or security codes; your emergency contact; your veterinarian’s details; your pet’s medications, medical history, behavior and routine; and your booking and payment records.

How it is used. Only to provide the service you booked — reaching you or your emergency contact while you are away, and obtaining veterinary care for your pet if it is needed.

How it is shared. It is never sold, rented or used for advertising. It is shared only with your veterinarian or your emergency contact when your pet needs care, or where the law requires it.

Home access information. Entry instructions, alarm codes and key arrangements are held only while you are an active client, and are deleted when your bookings end or when you ask. You may ask at any time for a copy of what is held about you, or for it to be deleted, by emailing gentlepaws.pet@gmail.com.

Photos. Rose takes photos of your pet during visits and sends them to you. Photos are published on GentlePaws.pet, social media or marketing materials only with your permission.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Continued use of the website constitutes acceptance of updated terms.

13. Contact

• For privacy questions, email: gentlepaws.pet@gmail.com