Our Commitment
WhiskerWatch is built with privacy at its core. We only collect the minimum data necessary to help reunite lost pets with their families.
What We Collect
1. Account Information
- Email address - For account creation and notifications
- Name - To personalize your experience
- Home address - Provided by you to help locate nearby missing pets
2. Pet Information
- Pet photos - For facial recognition matching
- Pet details - Name, species, breed, distinguishing features
- Case status - Whether your pet is missing, found, or reunited
3. Location Data
- Sighting locations - When you report finding a pet, we temporarily store the location data
- Data retention - Location data is kept only until the case is resolved (pet reunited or case closed)
- Your control - You can delete location data at any time from your case dashboard
What We Don't Collect
- We don't track your browsing history
- We don't sell your data to third parties
- We don't use invasive analytics or cookies for advertising
- We don't store payment information (handled securely by Stripe)
How We Use Your Data
Your data is used exclusively for:
- Matching lost pets - AI facial recognition compares pet photos to help reunite families
- Notifications - Alerting you when there's a potential match for your missing pet
- Community alerts - Notifying nearby volunteers when a pet goes missing in their area
- Service improvement - Anonymized analytics to improve matching accuracy
We may also use pet photos in anonymized form to train and improve our machine learning models so matching becomes more accurate over time. These images are processed and stored in a way that cannot be traced back to an individual person or account. We will not use your photos for marketing, advertising, or selling to third parties.
Data Security
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:
- End-to-end encryption for data in transit (HTTPS/TLS)
- Encrypted storage for sensitive data at rest
- OAuth 2.0 authentication via Keycloak
- Regular security audits and updates
- Access controls limiting who can view your data
Your Rights
You have complete control over your data:
- Access - View all data we have about you at any time
- Update - Modify your address, contact info, or pet details
- Delete - Request complete account deletion (within 30 days)
- Export - Download your data in a portable format
- Opt-out - Unsubscribe from notifications at any time
Data Retention
- Active cases - Data retained while your pet is missing
- Resolved cases - Location data deleted automatically after case closure
- Account data - Retained until you request deletion
- Facial recognition data - Pet biometric profiles deleted when you remove a pet or close your account
Third-Party Services
We use minimal third-party services, all privacy-focused:
- Stripe - Payment processing (we never see your card details)
- AWS SES - Email delivery (transactional emails only)
- Keycloak - Authentication (self-hosted, no data sharing)
These services have their own privacy policies and are bound by strict data processing agreements.
Children's Privacy
WhiskerWatch is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us immediately.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy occasionally. We'll notify you of significant changes via email or in-app notification. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.
Contact Us
Questions about privacy? We're here to help:
- Email: privacy@whiskerwatch.ai
- Data requests: Submit via your account settings