Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Pethood collects, uses, and protects your personal data, and the rights you have under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Croatian data protection law. It applies to the Pethood apps, website, and related services (the "Service").
Data controller
The data controller responsible for your personal data is Vedran Balagović, an individual developer based in Zagreb, Croatia, who provides Pethood (the app and this website). The app is published on the Apple App Store under that name and on Google Play under the developer account "Knitted Logic". You can reach us about privacy at vedran@knittedlogic.com. Further details are in our Imprint.
Data we collect
Account data
Your name, email address, and either a password (stored only as a hash) or, if you choose Sign in with Apple or Google, the sign-in identifier that provider gives us. Authentication is handled through Firebase Authentication (Google). We also store the date and time you accepted our Terms of Service.
Profile & pet data
Your avatar, bio, and handle, and details about your pets: name, species, breed, birthday, and photos. You can optionally keep pet health records (vaccinations, vet visits, weight, medications, allergies, and microchip number). Pet health records are private to you as the owner and are not shown to other members. You choose what to add.
Location data
With your permission, the app uses your device's precise location while the app is in use to show the map, record walk routes, and check in at places. Walk recording pauses when your phone is locked; we do not collect location in the background. Where your location is shown to other members, it is snapped or approximated according to the precision you choose (exact, neighbourhood, or city). For lost-pet alerts, your home area is stored only as an approximate grid cell of roughly 500 m. You can deny location permission and still use the app; location-based features will simply be limited.
Content & activity
Posts, photos, comments, questions and answers, reviews, playdates, favour requests, credits, messages with other members, and the reports and blocks you submit. Photos you upload are re-encoded to WebP and their metadata (such as EXIF and GPS data) is stripped before they are stored.
Device & technical data
Your IP address and server request logs (used for security and rate limiting), the app version, and your language preference.
What we do not do
- No advertising and no third-party ads.
- No tracking across other companies' apps or websites.
- No analytics SDK in the app.
- We never sell your personal data.
Purposes & legal bases
We process your data for the following purposes and legal bases under Art. 6 GDPR:
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Provide your account and the core community features | Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Show the map, record walks, check in, and show nearby activity using your location | Consent, given through your device's location permission (Art. 6(1)(a)) |
| Keep the Service safe: moderation, reports, blocks, rate limiting, anti-abuse | Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Send service messages about your account | Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms | Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)); legitimate interests |
Service providers (processors)
| Provider | What it does |
|---|---|
| Hetzner Online GmbH | Hosts our API servers and database in Germany. |
| Google Cloud / Firebase (Google) | Firebase Authentication for sign-in; Google Cloud Storage (EU) for uploaded photos and encrypted database backups. |
| Mailgun | Delivers moderation notification emails to our team when content is reported. |
| OpenFreeMap | Provides map tiles. Your device requests tiles directly, which exposes your IP address to the tile server. |
| OpenStreetMap Nominatim | Processes address search queries you type. |
| Apple / Google | Sign in with Apple or Google, only if you choose that sign-in method. |
| Google Analytics (Google Ireland Ltd.) | Website only (pethood.io), and only if you click Accept in the cookie banner: aggregated statistics on page views and clicks, with IP anonymisation. Not used in the app. See the Cookie Policy. |
Retention
We keep your account data until you delete your account. You can delete it at any time in the app (Settings → Delete account) or by emailing us. When you do, your account, pets, posts, and uploaded photos are deleted right away. Copies in our encrypted database backups roll off automatically after 30 days. Server logs are kept only for a short period for security purposes.
Your rights
Subject to the GDPR, you have the right to:
- access the personal data we hold about you;
- rectify inaccurate or incomplete data;
- erase your data ("right to be forgotten");
- restrict or object to certain processing;
- data portability: receive your data in a portable format;
- withdraw consent at any time (for example, by turning off location permission), without affecting prior processing.
To exercise any of these, email vedran@knittedlogic.com. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency (AZOP — Agencija za zaštitu osobnih podataka, azop.hr) or with your local supervisory authority.
International transfers
Our servers and database are in Germany and photos and backups are stored in the EU. Some providers (such as Google, Apple, or Mailgun) may process data outside the European Economic Area; where they do, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as an EU adequacy decision or the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.
Children
Pethood is intended for users aged 18 and over. Where local law permits use by minors, it must be with the consent and supervision of a parent or guardian. We do not knowingly collect data from children without such consent; if you believe a minor has provided us data, contact us and we will remove it.
Security
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures, including encryption in transit, hashed passwords, encrypted backups, and access controls, to protect your data. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and to notify you and the authorities of a personal-data breach where the law requires.
Changes
We may update this Policy from time to time. We will update the "Last updated" date and, for material changes, take reasonable steps to notify you.
Contact
For any privacy question or to exercise your rights, contact vedran@knittedlogic.com. Provider details are in our Imprint.