Privacy & GDPR
This privacy policy applies to neighborpaws.com (neighbor care, map, bookings) and explains personal data processing under GDPR for users in the EU/EEA. For the online shop and physical QR products, also see /shop-legal.
1. Data controller
Controller: NeighborPaws – Hakan Erdem Temiz, Brudermuhlstr. 36A, 81371 Munchen, Germany. Contact: support@neighborpaws.com, +49 1522 2433075.
2. Data categories
Account data (name, email, password hash), profile data (bio, location, avatar), location data (coordinates/city when you enable them; on the map shown only as a neighborhood circle, not an exact address), companion/pet and plant data (photos, notes, status such as “missing”), communication (chat, support), booking and payment metadata, technical logs and security events. QR tags link to public companion profiles—you control visible fields in profile settings.
3. Purposes
Operating accounts, facilitating care, map features, bookings and payments, support, abuse prevention, legal compliance, and—when a QR tag is scanned—displaying companion information you chose to share (e.g. contact when marked missing).
4. Legal bases (GDPR Art. 6)
Contract performance (account, bookings, messaging), consent (where explicitly obtained, e.g. optional contact visibility on companion profiles), legitimate interests (security, fraud prevention, platform operation, timely notice of unread messages—disable in profile), legal obligations.
5. Recipients and processors
We use providers including: Amazon Web Services (hosting/storage, eu-central-1), Stripe (payments and Connect payouts), Google Maps Platform (map display), Cloudflare Turnstile (registration bot protection), email delivery via our SMTP provider, and Shopify Inc. for orders at https://shop.neighborpaws.com. We use Article 28 GDPR processor agreements where required.
6. Payments, Stripe and payouts
For online bookings we process payment and payout metadata. Card details are processed directly by Stripe; we do not store full card numbers. Booking payments are processed through Stripe as separate charges; the sitter share is transferred via Stripe Connect after service completion and the release period. Funds are not held on our operational bank account. Stripe may process payment, identity, tax, and bank data under its own terms and privacy notices, depending on the Stripe service used.
7. QR tags and public profiles
Physical products (e.g. keychains, collar tags) may include a QR code opening a URL on https://neighborpaws.com (typically a companion profile). Anyone with the code can see information you made public. Review visibility, “missing” status, and contact sharing regularly. Do not publish your home address, access codes, key instructions, children's data, or other sensitive personal information in public QR profiles.
8. Communications and moderation
Chat, feed, support, and report content is processed to provide the platform, resolve disputes, investigate abuse, maintain security, and document legal obligations. During reports, payment disputes, or security incidents, admins may manually review relevant content. When someone sends you a private message and you have not read it after 15 minutes, we may email your verified address (sender name and a link to the conversation; no message text). Message email notifications are on by default; you can turn them off anytime in Profile → Privacy & account. Emails are sent only to verified addresses, with daily and per-conversation frequency limits.
9. International transfers
Where data is transferred outside the EEA (e.g. US providers), we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and provider transfer tools.
10. Retention
We retain data only as long as needed for operation, contracts, disputes, record-keeping, and security. Payment, booking, and tax-relevant records may be retained longer where statutory retention duties apply. Inactive accounts may be deleted or anonymized. You can delete your account in profile settings (“Privacy & account”).
11. Your rights
Access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection, and withdrawal of consent—contact support@neighborpaws.com. In Profile → Privacy & account you can download a data copy, turn off message email notifications, or delete your account.
12. Complaints
You may lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (e.g. Bavarian Data Protection Authority, BayLDA, for Munich).
13. Security
Technical and organizational measures include access controls, encryption in transit, monitoring, rate limits, and role-based admin access.