Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

PawDoc ("we", "us", or "our") operates the website and application at askpawdoc.com (the "Service"). PawDoc provides AI-powered pet health advisory tools. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Service.

If you have questions about this policy, please contact us at privacy@askpawdoc.com.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account information: email address, display name.
• Pet profiles: pet name, species, breed, age, weight, medical history, allergies, and personality traits.
• Consultation data: text descriptions of symptoms, uploaded photos/images of your pet or lab reports, and AI-generated responses.
• Payment information: when you make a purchase, payment is processed by our Merchant of Record, Paddle.com. We do not store your credit card numbers or bank account details. We only receive transaction confirmation, amount, and status from Paddle.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Device and browser information: browser type, operating system, device type.
• Usage data: pages visited, features used, timestamps, referring URLs.
• IP address: used for security, rate limiting, and general geographic analytics.
• Cookies and local storage: used for authentication (session token) and language preference. See Section 7 for details.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the Service, including generating AI-powered health assessments.
• Personalize your experience based on your pet profiles.
• Process transactions and send related information (receipts, confirmations).
• Send verification codes for account authentication.
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents.
• Improve and optimize the Service through aggregated, anonymized analytics.
• Comply with legal obligations.

We do NOT use your personal data to train AI models. Your consultation data is used solely to provide real-time responses within your session.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information with:

• AI Service Providers: We send your consultation text and images to third-party AI model providers (e.g., Google Gemini) to generate health assessments. These providers process data according to their own privacy policies and data processing agreements.
• Payment Processor: Paddle.com Market Limited acts as our Merchant of Record. When you make a purchase, Paddle processes your payment data directly. Please review Paddle's Privacy Policy at https://www.paddle.com/legal/privacy.
• Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand aggregate usage patterns. Google Analytics collects anonymized data. You can opt out at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request.

5. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. Consultation sessions and messages are retained for up to 12 months from creation, after which they may be automatically deleted. You can delete your consultation history at any time from the app. If you delete your account, all associated data (profile, pets, consultations, purchases) will be permanently removed within 30 days.

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data, including:

• All data transmitted over HTTPS/TLS encryption.
• Passwords are hashed using bcrypt; we never store plaintext passwords.
• Authentication tokens (JWT) are stored in HTTP-only cookies.
• Rate limiting on sensitive endpoints to prevent brute-force attacks.
• Automated filtering to prevent AI responses from leaking sensitive system information.

While we strive to protect your information, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Cookies & Local Storage

We use the following:

We do not use any advertising or tracking cookies beyond Google Analytics. You can control cookies through your browser settings.

8. Your Rights (GDPR & Global Privacy)

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data. You can update your profile and pet information directly in the app.
• Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data. You can delete individual consultations or your entire account.
• Data Portability: Request your data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Restriction: Request that we limit the processing of your data under certain circumstances.
• Objection: Object to processing of your data for certain purposes.
• Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please email us at privacy@askpawdoc.com. We will respond within 30 days. If you are in the EU/EEA, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

9. International Data Transfers

Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. We ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses, to protect your data during any cross-border transfer.

10. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not directed to individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If we learn that we have collected data from a child under 16, we will take steps to delete it promptly. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us at privacy@askpawdoc.com.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by posting a notice on our website and updating the "Last updated" date above. Your continued use of the Service after any changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact Us

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

• Email: privacy@askpawdoc.com
• Website: https://askpawdoc.com