Privacy Policy

📋 1. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly, information generated when you use our app, and certain technical data that helps us keep things running smoothly.

Information you provide:

• Name, email address, and password when you create an account
• Date of birth, used to verify that you meet our minimum age requirement of 18 years
• Profile details about yourself and your dog(s) — breed, age, temperament, and a profile photo
• Gender and connection preferences, if you choose to provide them for matching purposes
• Messages and communications with other LeashMates users
• Feedback, support requests, or survey responses you submit

A note on sensitive information: Because LeashMates facilitates social and romantic connections, you may choose to share information about yourself that is considered sensitive under applicable privacy laws — such as relationship preferences or personal characteristics. We treat this information with heightened care. We do not use sensitive personal information for advertising targeting, and we do not share it with third parties except as strictly necessary to operate the app or as required by law.

Information collected automatically:

• Device type, operating system, and app version
• App usage data (screens visited, features used, session length)
• Crash reports and performance diagnostics
• IP address and general region (country/city level)

⚙️ 2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and manage your LeashMates account
• Connect you with compatible walking companions and dog friends nearby
• Send app notifications, match suggestions, and service-related messages
• Improve, personalize, and develop new features in the app
• Respond to your support requests and feedback
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and safety incidents
• Comply with applicable laws and legal obligations

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

📍 3. Location Data

LeashMates uses your device's location to help you find nearby dog walkers, dog parks, and potential matches for your pup.

• Foreground location is used while the app is open to show nearby users and places
• Distance display: Other users see your distance in approximate range bands only — for example, "0–5 km away" or "5–10 km away." Your precise distance, street address, and exact coordinates are never shown to other users
• You can disable location access at any time in your device settings, though some app features will be limited

📸 4. Photos & Media

You can upload photos of yourself and your dog(s) to personalise your profile and share moments with the community.

• Photos you upload to your profile are visible to other LeashMates users
• We request camera or photo library access only when you choose to upload a photo — we do not access your camera or media library in the background
• You can delete any photo from your profile at any time; deleted photos are removed from our servers within 30 days
• Do not upload photos that include other people without their consent

📢 5. Advertising

LeashMates displays ads to help support the free version of our app. We work with third-party advertising partners to show you relevant ads based on general context (e.g. dog-related content) and limited non-sensitive profile data.

• What ad partners may receive: General location (city-level), device type, app usage context, and a resettable advertising identifier (IDFA/GAID)
• What ad partners never receive: Your name, email address, precise location, photos, or dog profile details
• Interest-based ads: You may see ads personalised to your general interests. You can opt out of interest-based advertising at any time through your device settings (iOS: Settings → Privacy → Tracking; Android: Settings → Google → Ads)
• No data selling: We do not sell your personal data to advertisers — ad partners receive only the minimum data needed to serve and measure ads

💳 6. Payments

LeashMates offers optional premium features that can be purchased through the app. All payments are processed exclusively via Apple Pay and Google Pay — we do not collect or store your payment card details directly.

• Apple Pay: Payments made via Apple Pay are processed by Apple. Your card number is never shared with LeashMates — Apple provides us only with a transaction token to confirm payment
• Google Pay: Payments made via Google Pay are processed by Google. Similarly, your card details remain with Google; we receive only a transaction confirmation token
• What we store: Transaction ID, purchase date, item purchased, and subscription status — solely to manage your account entitlements
• Refunds & disputes: Payment disputes and refund requests are handled through the respective platform (Apple App Store or Google Play Store) per their terms

For full details on how Apple and Google handle your payment data, please review their respective privacy policies at apple.com/legal/privacy and policies.google.com/privacy.

🤝 7. Sharing Your Information

We may share your information in the following limited circumstances:

• With other users: Profile information (name, dog details, approximate location, photos) that you choose to make public
• Service providers: Trusted third-party vendors who help us operate the app (e.g. cloud hosting, analytics, email delivery) — bound by confidentiality agreements
• Legal requirements: If required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of our users or the public
• Business transfers: In the event of a merger or acquisition, your data may be transferred — we will notify you in advance

We do not sell your personal data. Any data shared with advertising partners is limited and governed by our Advertising section above.

🗂️ 8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with our services. Specifically:

• Account data is kept while your account exists and for up to 90 days after deletion
• Location history is retained for no more than 30 days
• Messages may be retained for up to 12 months to support dispute resolution
• Aggregated, anonymised analytics data may be kept indefinitely

You can request deletion of your account and associated data at any time (see Your Rights).

🔒 9. Security

We take the security of your data seriously and implement industry-standard safeguards, including:

• Encryption of data in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-256)
• Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
• Access controls limiting staff access to personal data on a need-to-know basis

No system is 100% secure. If you suspect your account has been compromised, please contact us immediately at privacy@LeashMates.com.

👶 10. Age Requirement & Children's Privacy

LeashMates is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not permit anyone under 18 to create an account or use our services. We collect date of birth during registration to verify eligibility, and we reserve the right to suspend or terminate any account we have reason to believe belongs to a person under 18.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have collected data from a user under 18, we will delete that data and the associated account promptly. If you believe a minor has created an account or provided us with their information, please contact us immediately at privacy@LeashMates.com.

✅ 11. Your Rights & Choices

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

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction: Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
• Deletion: Request that we delete your account and personal data
• Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Opt-out: Unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time via the link in any email
• Location & camera: Revoke permissions at any time through your device settings

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@LeashMates.com. We will respond within 30 days.

🇺🇸 12. California Residents — CCPA, CPRA & CalOPPA

If you are a resident of California, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) grants you specific rights regarding your personal information. This section supplements the rest of this Privacy Policy.

Categories of personal information we collect:

• Identifiers: Name, email address, date of birth, IP address, device identifiers
• Personal records: Profile information, dog details, gender and connection preferences
• Sensitive personal information: Relationship preferences or personal characteristics you choose to share on your profile — used only to provide matching features, never for advertising
• Geolocation data: Approximate location, displayed to other users in 5 km range bands only; precise location never shared
• Visual information: Photos you upload to your profile
• Internet/app activity: Usage data, crash reports, session information
• Inferences: Preferences drawn from usage to personalise your experience

Your California privacy rights:

• Right to Know: Request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you in the past 12 months
• Right to Delete: Request deletion of personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions
• Right to Correct: Request correction of inaccurate personal information we maintain about you
• Right to Opt-Out of Sale/Sharing: We do not sell your personal information. We do share limited data with advertising partners as described in Section 5 — you may opt out via your device's ad tracking settings
• Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: We do not use sensitive personal information beyond what is necessary to provide our services
• Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA/CPRA rights

We have collected the categories of personal information listed above for the business purposes described in Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of this policy. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16 years of age.

Do Not Track (CalOPPA disclosure): Some browsers and devices allow you to broadcast a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal indicating you do not wish to be tracked. At this time, LeashMates does not respond to DNT signals, as there is no industry-wide standard for how apps should honour them. You can limit interest-based tracking through your device's ad settings as described in Section 5 above.

🇪🇺 13. EEA, UK & Swiss Residents — GDPR

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable local laws give you additional rights and require us to provide the following information.

Data controller: LeashMates is the data controller responsible for your personal information. Contact us at privacy@LeashMates.com.

Legal bases for processing:

• Contract performance (Art. 6(1)(b)): Processing necessary to provide you with LeashMates services — account creation, matching, messaging
• Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)): App security, fraud prevention, analytics, and service improvement — where these interests are not overridden by your rights
• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)): Precise location access, personalised advertising, and any optional features — you may withdraw consent at any time
• Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)): Compliance with applicable laws and responding to lawful requests

Special category data (Article 9 GDPR): Because LeashMates facilitates social and romantic connections, some information you voluntarily share on your profile — such as relationship preferences or personal characteristics — may constitute special category data under Article 9 of the GDPR. We process this data solely on the basis of your explicit consent, which you provide when you choose to add this information to your profile. You may remove this information from your profile at any time. We do not use special category data for advertising, profiling, or any purpose beyond enabling the core matching features of the app.

Your GDPR rights:

• Access (Art. 15): Obtain a copy of your personal data and information about how it is processed
• Rectification (Art. 16): Correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data
• Erasure (Art. 17): Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten") where no overriding legal basis exists
• Restriction (Art. 18): Request that we limit processing of your data in certain circumstances
• Portability (Art. 20): Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format and transfer it to another controller
• Objection (Art. 21): Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including profiling and direct marketing
• Withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing

International data transfers: LeashMates is based in Canada, which the European Commission has recognised as providing an adequate level of data protection. Where we transfer data to other countries (e.g. to service providers in the US), we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or other approved transfer mechanisms.

Retention: We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law. See Section 8 for specific retention periods.

🔔 14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you via the app or by email at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Continued use of LeashMates after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Previous versions of this policy are available upon request.

✉️ 15. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy, please reach out: