This Privacy Policy explains how we collect and use personal data when you use Waggr: the Waggr mobile app, the website at waggr.app and its sub-domains, and our related services (together, the "Service"). It also explains the rights you have. It applies to Waggr users, to people on our waitlist, and to people who visit our website or a public Waggr page, for example by scanning a dog's QR code.
It should be read alongside our Terms and Conditions.
Summary#
This summary is here to help. The full policy below is what applies.
- We collect what we need to run Waggr. That includes your account details, your dogs' profiles and health records, what you post, and your walk routes and location when you use location features.
- We do not sell your data, and we do not use it for personalised advertising.
- Messages between people are end-to-end encrypted where both devices support it. Chats with Bloop, our AI assistant, are not end-to-end encrypted.
- AI features are optional. You can turn them off in the app settings. We do use AI to check the text of posts and comments for harmful content, and this cannot be switched off.
- You control your visibility. Your privacy settings control who sees your profile, whether you appear on the nearby map, and whether your area is shown.
- You have rights over your data. These include the right to access it, correct it and have it deleted. Email privacy@waggr.app.
Who we are#
[Company Name] (company number [Company Number], registered office [Registered Address]) is the controller of your personal data. This means we decide how and why it is used. Throughout this policy, "Waggr", "we", "us" and "our" mean [Company Name].
We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) under registration number [Ico Registration].
For anything to do with privacy, including exercising your rights, contact us at privacy@waggr.app.
The personal data we collect#
Information you give us#
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Account details | Name, email address, username (and previous usernames), password (stored only as a secure hash), passkeys (we store only the public key), profile photo, and the version of our Terms you accepted and when |
| Your dogs | Names, photos, descriptions, breed, date of birth, and healthy weight range |
| Dog health and care records | Vaccinations (including vet, clinic and batch number), treatments and medication (dose, notes and logs), allergies, conditions, surgeries, symptom severity, weight, appointments, microchip number and registry, pet insurer and policy number |
| Other people's details you add | Emergency contacts (name, relationship, phone, email and notes), and your vet's or practice's contact details. Please only add someone's details if you are entitled to share them, and tell them you have done so where appropriate |
| Home location (optional) | If you set a home location, we store it rounded to about 110 metres and never more precisely. We derive a general area name from it, which is shown only if you turn on area sharing |
| Content | Posts, stories, comments, reactions, bookmarks, poll votes, mentions, photos, videos, voice notes, stickers and sticker packs |
| Messages | Messages, media, reactions, pins and polls you send in conversations (see Messages and encryption) |
| Social connections | Friends, friend requests, packs you create or join, invitations, and people you block or mute |
| Bloop and AI features | What you say to Bloop, images and descriptions you ask us to generate, AI search queries, and facts Bloop remembers about you and your dogs |
| Reports and feedback | Reports you make about content or users, feedback and bug reports. These can include screenshots, notes, a transcript of the relevant conversation and, if you choose to attach them, logs from your device |
| Business and vet profiles | If you manage a business profile or a vet practice, its name, description and contact details |
| Waitlist | Your name and email address |
Information collected when you use the Service#
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Walks | When you track a walk, we collect your precise GPS route (location, altitude and time), distance, duration, notes, the places you visited, and any walk goals |
| Live location (optional) | If you turn on broadcasting, we collect your dog's current location and share it with your friends: about every 30 seconds during a walk, and about every 5 minutes otherwise. This stops after 30 minutes without movement. We also collect locations you choose to share in a chat, and pins you add to the map (such as hazards) |
| Approximate location for Bloop | If you use Bloop, the app sends your current location and its accuracy with your message, so that Bloop can suggest nearby routes and places |
| Device and session data | Device ID, Android ID, device name and model, operating system, app version, language, time zone, IP address, browser user agent, push notification token, and when you were last active |
| Usage and activity | When you last logged in and were last active, your online status (if you have not turned it off), QR codes you scan, and notifications we have sent you |
| Diagnostics | Crash reports, performance timings and, only when you or our support team turn it on, diagnostic logs from your device. We filter these logs to remove personal data where we can |
Information from other people#
- Other users may mention you, tag you, invite you to a pack, message you, or add your details as an emergency contact or a vet.
- Co-owners of a dog can add and edit that dog's records.
- People who report content may send us information about you.
Special category data#
We do not ask for special category data, such as health information about you, or your religion or ethnicity. Your dogs' health records are not special category data. However, please be aware that anything you choose to post or say to Bloop could reveal it, and you should think carefully before sharing it.
How we use your data and our legal bases#
Under UK data protection law, we must have a legal basis for each way we use your personal data. We rely on the following bases:
- Contract. The use is necessary to provide the Service you have signed up for under our Terms.
- Legitimate interests. The use is necessary for our legitimate interests, or those of others, and your interests and rights do not override them. You can ask us for more detail about how we balanced these interests.
- Legal obligation. The use is necessary to comply with the law.
- Consent. You have agreed to the use. You can withdraw your consent at any time, and this will not affect anything we did before you withdrew it.
| Purpose | Data used | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Creating and running your account, signing you in, and keeping it secure | Account, device and session data | Contract |
| Showing your profile, dogs, posts, packs and friends to others, in line with your settings | Account, dogs, content, connections | Contract |
| Delivering messages and notifications | Messages, connections, device and push tokens | Contract |
| Tracking walks, showing routes and goals, and the nearby map | Walks, location, dogs | Contract. Your device also asks for your permission before sharing location with the app |
| Sharing your dog's live location with friends | Live location | Consent. You turn this on and off in the app |
| Health tools, reminders and share links, such as sharing your dog's records with a vet | Dog health records | Contract |
| Bloop, dog and walk insights, AI images, AI search and conversation openers | See AI features | Contract, because you ask us to provide them. You can turn them off at any time |
| Checking posts, comments and reports for illegal or harmful content, and enforcing our Terms | Content, reports, account | Legitimate interests (keeping users safe) and legal obligation (the Online Safety Act 2023) |
| Preventing fraud, spam and abuse, rate limiting, and security monitoring | Device, session, IP address, usage | Legitimate interests (keeping the Service secure) |
| Diagnosing bugs and crashes, and improving the Service | Diagnostics, usage | Legitimate interests (a reliable Service) |
| Handling feedback and support requests | Feedback, attached diagnostics | Legitimate interests (support) and contract |
| Emailing you about your account, such as password resets and notices that content was removed | Email, account | Contract and legal obligation |
| Telling waitlist members when we launch | Waitlist name and email | Consent (you asked to join) |
| Showing sponsored posts | Not personalised using your data at present | Legitimate interests |
| Recording that you accepted our Terms | Terms version and date accepted | Contract and legitimate interests (being able to prove acceptance) |
| Complying with the law, responding to lawful requests, and establishing or defending legal claims | Any relevant data | Legal obligation and legitimate interests |
We do not send marketing emails. If we ever want to, we will ask for your consent first where the law requires it.
Who can see your information#
-
Other users see what your privacy settings allow:
- your profile visibility (public, friends or private);
- whether you appear in Nearby;
- whether your online status is shown;
- whether your general area is shown;
- which dogs appear on the map.
Posts can be public, visible to a pack, or visible to followers. Packs you join can see what you post in them.
-
Public pages. Some pages can be viewed without signing in. We ask search engines not to index them.
- Your dog's public card at waggr.app/dog/… is what a QR code or tag links to. It shows your dog's name, breed and photo and your display name. If you have turned on the QR sharing options, it can also show medical history, vaccinations and photos.
- Your public profile at waggr.app/u/… is shown if your profile visibility allows it.
- Share links at waggr.app/s/… are links you create to share selected records, for example with a vet. Each link expires after the time you choose, which can be up to one year.
-
Dog co-owners and pack members can see what is shared with them.
-
Our team can access personal data only where they need it, for example to investigate a report, provide support or keep the Service secure.
AI features#
Waggr uses AI models for:
- Bloop, the assistant;
- dog and walk insights;
- AI-generated images;
- AI search;
- conversation openers;
- remembering context in your Bloop chats.
Each feature sends the AI model only what it needs:
| Feature | What is sent to the AI model |
|---|---|
| Bloop | Your messages and photos to Bloop, your dogs' profiles, health, walks and goals, and your approximate location. Bloop may search the web and read public web pages to answer you |
| Memory | Facts you have told Bloop, and summaries of your earlier chats |
| Insights | Your dog's profile, health, walks, goals and routes |
| Conversation openers | The first names and dog profiles of you and the person you are messaging |
| AI images | Your description and chosen style |
| AI search | What you type |
You are in control. You can turn all AI features off, or turn individual features off, in the app's AI settings. You can also clear what Bloop remembers about you at any time. When a feature is off, none of your data is sent to an AI model for that feature.
Safety checks stay on. We use an AI model to check the text of every new post and comment, content that is reported to us, and feedback you send us, for illegal or harmful content. This cannot be switched off, because it protects other people.
The AI model can hide content automatically. A person reviews any strike or ban; these are never decided by the AI alone. If your content has been hidden, you can ask for a person to review the decision (see Your rights).
Who runs the AI models. AI requests are processed by DigitalOcean's AI inference service, using models made by OpenAI and Anthropic. If that service is unavailable, we may send the same request directly to Anthropic. These providers act as our processors, and their terms do not allow them to use your data to train their models. [SOLICITOR: confirm against the DigitalOcean and Anthropic data processing terms.] We do not sell your data or use it for advertising.
AI can be wrong. Nothing Bloop says replaces advice from a vet.
Messages and encryption#
- Messages between people are end-to-end encrypted using the Signal Protocol, where every device in the conversation supports it. This means we cannot read their contents. If any participant's device has not set up encryption, messages in that conversation are sent without end-to-end encryption, but are still encrypted in transit. Our servers only relay messages: we delete every message from our servers after 30 days at most, and encrypted messages waiting for delivery after 7 days. Your device keeps its own copy.
- Chats with Bloop are not end-to-end encrypted. Our servers need to read them so that Bloop can reply.
- Messages are stored on your device once they have been decrypted. Keep your device secure, for example with a screen lock.
- Because we cannot read end-to-end encrypted messages, we can only review one if someone shares its content with us, for example when reporting it.
Location#
- The app asks your permission before using your location. You can change this at any time in your device settings.
- If you allow background location, the app keeps tracking a walk you have started even when the app is closed. The app does not track your location in the background at any other time.
- Your walk routes are precise and are stored until you delete them or your account. Think carefully before sharing routes that start or end at your home.
- Your home location is stored rounded to about 110 metres. You can remove it at any time.
- To show maps and look up places, we and your device use third-party services, which receive your IP address and the area you are looking at:
- OpenStreetMap-based services, including Nominatim for addresses, OSRM for routing, and Overpass;
- postcodes.io;
- CARTO and Esri for map tiles.
Who we share your data with#
We never sell your personal data. We share it only with the following:
| Recipient | Why | Location |
|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | Hosting, databases, file storage and CDN (processor) | Servers in London, UK. AI inference: [SOLICITOR: confirm region] |
| OpenAI and Anthropic (via DigitalOcean, or Anthropic directly as a fallback) | AI features and content moderation (processors) | USA |
| Google Firebase | Push notifications (Cloud Messaging), crash reports (Crashlytics, linked to your user ID), and app configuration (Remote Config) (processor) | USA and other locations |
| Axiom | Server log storage (processor) | [SOLICITOR: confirm region] |
| Our email provider | Sending account emails (processor) | [SOLICITOR: confirm provider and region] |
| Infisical | Secure storage of our system credentials. It does not hold user data | EU |
| GitHub | Tracking bug reports. Feedback text and device logs can be included, only in a private repository (processor) | USA |
| GIPHY | GIF search. The app sends your search terms and IP address directly to GIPHY, and GIPHY's own privacy policy applies | USA |
| Map, geocoding and routing services | See Location | Various |
| Web search providers | When Bloop searches the web, it sends the search query, but not your identity | [SOLICITOR: confirm provider] |
| Apple and Google | App distribution, passkeys and device notification services, under their own terms | USA and other locations |
| Professional advisers | Our lawyers, accountants and insurers | UK |
| Police, regulators and courts | Where the law requires it, or to protect someone's safety | UK |
| A buyer or successor | If our business is reorganised or sold, subject to this policy | — |
International transfers#
Some of the recipients above process data outside the UK, mainly in the USA. When we transfer personal data outside the UK, we make sure it is protected, by using one of the following:
- a UK "adequacy" decision, which includes the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework for certified US companies;
- the ICO's International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum.
You can ask us for more details at privacy@waggr.app.
[SOLICITOR: confirm the transfer mechanism for each processor listed above.]
How long we keep your data#
We keep personal data only for as long as we need it:
| Data | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Account, dogs, posts, walks, health records, connections | Until you delete them or your account. See Deleting your account |
| Messages on our servers | Up to 30 days (encrypted messages awaiting delivery: up to 7 days) |
| Bloop chats you have cleared | 90 days |
| Text of AI requests in our logs | 72 hours. Other log details, such as timings and usage counts, are kept for 30 days |
| Bloop chat summaries | 180 days |
| What Bloop remembers about you | Until you clear it, or delete your account |
| Stories | Deleted after they expire |
| Device diagnostic logs | 14 days, or up to 180 days if attached to a report |
| Feedback conversation transcripts | 30 days after the feedback is resolved, and no more than 180 days |
| Inactive device sessions | Removed after 7 days of inactivity |
| Website session cookie | 2 hours |
| Moderation records (reports, strikes, bans) | For as long as needed to keep the Service safe and to deal with appeals. [SOLICITOR: set a period] |
| Waitlist | Until we launch and have told you, or until you ask to be removed |
| Backups | Daily backups are kept for 7 days |
Deleting your account#
You can ask us to delete your account at any time by emailing privacy@waggr.app from the email address on your account. We may ask you to confirm the request. When we delete your account:
- we sign you out everywhere, and remove your passkeys and encryption keys;
- your profile is anonymised and shown as "Deleted account", and your username is released;
- your posts, stories and comments are removed from view. Your dogs are removed too, unless someone else co-owns them;
- we erase your locations, walk hotspots, Bloop memories, AI images, diagnostic logs, feedback and notifications;
- messages you sent stay in the other person's conversation, shown as coming from a deleted account;
- we keep records of moderation action (strikes and bans) and reports, so that we can keep the Service safe;
- remaining copies are removed from backups within the backup period.
[SOLICITOR: confirm how long removed content and dog health records are kept after deletion; see the engineering notes.]
Your rights#
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- access your personal data and get a copy of it;
- correct inaccurate or incomplete data. You can edit most things directly in the app;
- erase your data (see above);
- restrict how we use your data;
- data portability, which means getting data you gave us in a machine-readable format;
- object to our use of your data where we rely on legitimate interests;
- withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on it. For example, you can turn off live location sharing or AI features;
- ask for a person to review any automated decision about you, and to challenge it.
To exercise a right, email privacy@waggr.app. We may need to verify your identity. We will respond within one month. We can extend this by up to two further months if a request is complex, and we will tell you if we do.
Complaints#
If you have a concern about how we use your data, please contact us first at privacy@waggr.app. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and respond without undue delay.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.
Cookies and similar technologies#
On our website, we use only cookies that are strictly necessary for the site to work:
| Cookie | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
waggr_session |
Keeps you signed in, and keeps forms like the waitlist and sign-up working | 2 hours |
XSRF-TOKEN |
Protects forms against cross-site request forgery | 2 hours |
We do not use analytics, advertising or tracking cookies. Our public web pages load fonts from Bunny Fonts, an EU-based font service. When they do, your browser sends Bunny Fonts your IP address.
In the app, we store information on your device that the app needs to work, including:
- sign-in tokens and encryption keys, stored in your device's secure storage;
- cached messages and content, for speed and offline use;
- walks that are in progress;
- your settings.
We also use Firebase Crashlytics to receive crash reports. These are linked to your Waggr user ID, so that we can fix problems that affect you.
[SOLICITOR: confirm the PECR position for Crashlytics.]
Children#
Waggr is for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has created an account, please contact privacy@waggr.app and we will delete it.
Security#
We protect your data using a range of measures, including:
- encryption in transit (HTTPS);
- end-to-end encrypted messaging;
- hashed passwords and passkeys;
- private storage for media;
- rounding of home locations;
- access controls, rate limiting and security monitoring.
No system is completely secure. If a personal data breach is likely to put you at high risk, we will tell you without undue delay, and we will report breaches to the ICO where the law requires it.
Changes to this policy#
We will update this policy when the Service or the law changes. The date at the top shows when it last changed. If a change is significant, we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect.