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Privacy Policy

At , we’re committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our platform.

1. Introduction

handipaws (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information when you use our website, mobile application, and services (collectively, the “ Service”).

We are based in the United Kingdom and our services are designed for users within the UK. This Privacy Policy has been developed in accordance with the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable UK data protection laws.

2. Data Controller

handipaws acts as the data controller for the personal information collected through the  Service. You can contact us regarding your privacy concerns at:


Email: help@handipaws.com

3. Information We Collect

We collect information that is necessary to provide you with the  Service and to improve your experience. We collect only what we need and nothing more.

3.1 Information You Provide to Us

  • Account Information: When you register, we collect your name, email address, and password.
  • Profile Information: Depending on whether you’re a Pet Owner or Handler, we collect information such as your location, photos, biography, and services offered or required.
  • Pet Information: For Pet Owners, we collect information about your pets, including their name, breed, age, health needs, and accessibility requirements.
  • Identity Information: For Handlers, we may collect information to verify your identity when setting up an account.
  • Contact Information: We collect your phone number to enable account security features and to facilitate communication between you and other users when necessary for arranging Pet Care Services.
  • Payment Information: When you make or receive payments, we collect payment information, though we do not store complete credit card details on our servers. Payment card information is processed through our secure payment processor.
  • Communications: We collect communications you send through our platform, including messages between users and communication with our support team.
  • Notification Preferences: We collect your preferences for how and when you’d like to receive notifications from handipaws.

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Usage Information: We collect information about how you use the  Service, including pages visited, time spent, and features used.
  • Location Information: With your permission, we collect your general location (such as postcode) to help match Pet Owners with nearby Handlers.
  • Device Information: We collect information about your device, including IP address, browser type, operating system, and device settings.
  • Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience and collect information about how you use the  Service.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your information only for specific, limited purposes directly related to providing and improving the  Service. We do not use your data for marketing purposes without your explicit consent, and we do not sell your personal information to third parties.

4.1 Providing and Improving the  Service

  • Creating and managing your account
  • Connecting Pet Owners with appropriate Handlers based on needs and location
  • Processing bookings and payments
  • Facilitating communication between users
  • Providing customer support
  • Improving and developing new features for the  Service
  • Ensuring the security and proper functioning of the  Service

4.2 Legal Bases for Processing

Under UK data protection law, we rely on the following legal bases to process your information:

  • Contractual Necessity: Processing necessary to perform our contract with you
  • Legitimate Interests: Processing necessary for our legitimate interests, such as preventing fraud, ensuring network security, and improving our services
  • Consent: Processing based on your specific consent
  • Legal Obligation: Processing necessary to comply with legal obligations

5. How We Share Your Information

We prioritise your privacy and share your information only in limited circumstances, as described below. We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

5.1 Sharing Between Users

We share information between Pet Owners and Handlers as necessary to facilitate bookings and Pet Care Services. This includes:

  • Profile information
  • Location information (limited to general area, such as postcode)
  • Pet information (for Pet Owners)
  • Service details and availability (for Handlers)
  • Communication between users

5.2 Service Providers

We share information with trusted service providers who help us operate the  Service, such as:

  • Payment processors (to process payments)
  • Cloud storage providers (to store your information securely)
  • Customer support services

All service providers are contractually obligated to use your information only for the purposes of providing services to us and in compliance with applicable data protection laws.

5.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request. We may also disclose information to protect the rights, property, or safety of handipaws, our users, or others.

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

  • Encrypting sensitive information in transit and at rest
  • Restricting access to personal information to employees who need it to perform their job functions
  • Regularly reviewing and updating our security practices
  • Maintaining secure servers and systems

While we take steps to protect your information, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. If you have reason to believe your interaction with us is no longer secure, please contact us immediately.

7. Managing Your Account and Data

7.1 Account Access and Management

You can access and update your account information at any time by logging into your handipaws account and navigating to the profile settings page. From there, you can:

  • Update your personal information (name, email, phone number)
  • Change your password
  • Add or update payment methods
  • Adjust notification preferences
  • Update your pet’s information (for Pet Owners)
  • Update your service offerings and availability (for Handlers)

7.2 Message Privacy

Messages between Pet Owners and Handlers are private and can only be accessed by the sender, the recipient, and authorized handipaws staff for the limited purposes of providing support, ensuring compliance with our Terms of Service, and protecting the safety and security of our users.

You can access your message history at any time through your account. If you delete your account, your messages with other users will still be visible to those users, but your name will be anonymized.

7.3 Payment Information

You can add, remove, or update your payment methods at any time through your account settings. handipaws does not store complete payment card details on our servers. All payment processing is handled by our secure payment processor, which maintains industry-standard security measures.

For your protection, when you add a new payment method or make changes to an existing one, we may require additional verification steps.

7.4 Notification Settings

You can customise your notification preferences at any time through your account settings. You can choose how and when you receive notifications about new messages, booking requests, upcoming bookings, and other account activities.

7.5 Data Retention

We retain your information only for as long as necessary to provide you with the  Service and for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use your information to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal information, except where we are required to retain it for legal purposes.

8. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • Right to Access: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Right to Rectification: You can request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete information about you.
  • Right to Erasure: You can request that we delete your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Right to Restrict Processing: You can request that we restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances.
  • Right to Data Portability: You can request that we provide you with your information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
  • Right to Object: You can object to our processing of your information in certain circumstances.
  • Rights Related to Automated Decision Making: You have rights related to automated decision making, including profiling.

To exercise these rights, please contact us at help@handipaws.com. We will respond to your request within one month. There may be circumstances where we cannot comply with your request, but we will explain the reasons to you.

9. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience on the  Service. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device when you visit a website. We use cookies to:

  • Remember your preferences and settings
  • Understand how you use the  Service
  • Improve the  Service
  • Provide you with relevant content

You can control cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling cookies may affect your ability to use certain features of the  Service.

10. Children’s Privacy

The  Service is not directed at children under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If you believe we have collected personal information from a child under 18, please contact us so we can promptly remove the information.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will post the revised Privacy Policy on the  Service with an updated effective date. We encourage you to review the Privacy Policy periodically.

If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by email or through a notice on the  Service before the changes take effect.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:


Email: help@handipaws.com

13. Complaints

If you are concerned about our handling of your personal information, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues. However, we encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve your concern.

Information Commissioner’s Office
Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

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