Information we collect

Depending on how you use PawQuest:

• Account and profile: email, sign-in method, username, display name, avatar, bio, interests, settings, age-path confirmation, and your legal acceptances (document, version, time).
• Location: approximate (coarse) public locations attached to sightings and missing-pet reports; an optional alert area you set, rounded to about 2 km before saving; and, if you allow it, your device's precise location used on your device or transiently to center the map or suggest an area. Precise device location is not shown publicly.
• Missing-pet and sighting content: descriptions, species, markings, photos, times, and approximate areas.
• Messages: direct and Pack chat messages, replies, and related metadata.
• Rescue and organization data: organization profiles, memberships and roles, claims, animals, photos, consents, and activity history.
• Notifications and push: notification preferences, mutes, and browser push subscription details.
• Social and game activity: friends, blocks, Packs, referrals, Paw Points, badges, quests, Buddy, and leaderboard opt-ins.
• Moderation and safety: reports you make or receive, moderation decisions, provider results and scores, restrictions, appeals, and child-safety records.
• AI and PetMatch: images and text submitted for matching or moderation, and resulting leads and scores.
• Device, log, and security data: technical logs, error reports, and request information our infrastructure records to run and secure the service.

How we use information

To provide and operate PawQuest; show and match sightings and missing pets; send alerts and notifications you choose; run chat, friends, Packs, referrals, and rewards; moderate content and enforce rules; protect children, users, and animals; prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents; troubleshoot and improve the service; comply with law and legal process; and communicate with you about your account and policy changes.

Public vs. private

Public or visible to others: your username, display name and avatar (unless hidden), sightings and missing-pet reports you publish with their approximate area, public reunion cards you opt into, Pack names, and leaderboard entries if you opt in. Private: your email, precise device location, alert area, messages (visible only to conversation members and, when needed, moderators), legal acceptances, age path, parental-consent records, deletion requests, and moderation history.

Service providers

We share information with providers that process it on our behalf to run PawQuest:

• Hosting, database, authentication, and storage infrastructure (Lovable Cloud and its underlying providers).
• OpenAI, which processes submitted text and images for content moderation, and AI providers used for PetMatch and photo checks, under their API terms.
• OpenStreetMap-based map tiles and place data providers, which receive map requests from your browser.
• Browser push services (operated by your browser vendor) to deliver notifications you enable.

Other sharing

We may share information with organizations you choose to interact with; when you make content public; to comply with law, legal process, or government requests; to protect the rights, safety, and property of users, animals, the public, or PawQuest; to report child sexual exploitation as required by law; and in connection with a merger, financing, or sale of assets, subject to this policy.

No sale of personal information

PawQuest does not currently sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. If that ever changes, we will update this policy and provide any notice or obtain any consent required by law first.

Retention

We keep information as long as needed for the purposes above. Some information may be kept after you delete content or request account deletion — for example moderation and safety records, child-safety cases, fraud and abuse prevention, legal claims, audits, transaction and reward history, rescue ownership records, security logs, and backups — where permitted or required. See Data, Account Deletion & Retention.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards, including access controls, row-level database security, moderation, private storage for sensitive photos, and coarse public locations. No system, account, transmission, or storage method is guaranteed secure. You are responsible for your device and credentials; report suspected compromise promptly. We may preserve or disclose data to investigate fraud, abuse, security incidents, child safety, or legal process as permitted or required.

Your choices and rights

You can update your profile, control notifications and push, choose leaderboard and social visibility, set or clear your alert area, block users, and request account deletion in the app. Where applicable law provides them, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or obtain a copy of your personal information, to opt out of certain processing, and to appeal our decision. We will not discriminate against you for exercising legal rights. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

Children

PawQuest is not directed to children under 13 without verified parental consent. Under-13 accounts remain pending and limited until a parent or guardian completes verifiable consent; we collect only what is needed for the consent process. Parents may review, have deleted, and refuse further collection of their child's information where COPPA applies. See Children, Parents & Consent.

International users

PawQuest is operated from the United States and our providers may process information in the United States and other countries whose laws may differ from yours.

Changes

We may update this policy. Material changes will be highlighted and may require acknowledgment. The effective date shows the latest version.

Contact and requests

Make privacy requests from Profile → Privacy & Data, or contact PawQuest through the in-app Help and Safety options or the contact method listed in the Legal & Safety Center.