Privacy Policy - Tails & Co

This Privacy Policy explains how Tails and Co ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, shares, and protects personal information when you use our website and mobile applications (together, the "Platform"). It should be read alongside our Terms and Conditions. By using the Platform, you agree to the practices described here.

Tails and Co is a South African business and processes personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 ("POPIA").

1. Information We Collect

Account information: name/username, email address, phone number, and a securely hashed password (or your Google account identifier if you sign in with Google).
Pet information: anything you add to a pet profile - name, type, breed, age/date of birth, weight, gender, color, allergies, medications, and vet notes.
Booking and payment information: the Partner, service, employee, and time slot you book, and payment/transaction records for that booking. We do not collect or store your full card number - card payments are handled directly by our payment processor, Yoco (see Section 4).
Reviews and ratings you choose to submit about a completed booking.
Device and push-notification information: a device push token (Firebase Cloud Messaging) used to deliver booking-related notifications, and your in-app notification preference toggles.
Usage and log information: basic technical data generated by using the app (e.g. request logs), used for security, debugging, and reliability - not for advertising.

We do not knowingly collect more information than is needed to operate the booking marketplace described in our Terms.

2. How We Use Your Information

To create and manage your account and authenticate you (including via Google Sign-In).
To let you browse Partners, create bookings, and process payments for those bookings.
To send transactional communications: booking confirmations, cancellation notices, payment receipts, appointment reminders, and responses to your reviews - by email and/or push notification, as described in our Terms.
To keep the Platform secure and reliable, and to investigate and prevent fraud or abuse.
To respond when you contact us for support.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your pet or booking data to serve third-party advertising.

3. Google Sign-In

If you choose to sign in with Google, Google shares your name, email address, and profile identifier with us so we can create or sign in to your Tails and Co account. We do not receive your Google password. Your use of Google Sign-In is also subject to [Google's own Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy).

4. Who We Share Information With

Partners you book with - only the booking details (your name, pet information relevant to the appointment, and appointment time) needed for that Partner to provide the service you booked.
Yoco, our PCI-compliant payment processor, to process a payment you initiate. Yoco handles your card details directly; we never see or store your full card number.
Firebase/Google Cloud, our infrastructure provider, which hosts our authentication, database, storage, and push-notification systems (Google acts as our data processor and does not use this data for its own purposes).
Law enforcement or regulators, only where we're legally required to.

We do not otherwise sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

5. Data Retention

We keep your account, pet, and booking information for as long as your account is active, and for a reasonable period afterward as needed for legal, accounting, or dispute-resolution purposes. Reviews you've submitted may remain visible on a Partner's listing after account closure unless you request their removal.

6. Your Rights Under POPIA

You have the right to:

Request access to the personal information we hold about you;
Request that we correct inaccurate information (you can also edit most of it yourself in-app, under Profile and Pet Management);
Request deletion of your personal information, or object to a specific use of it;
Withdraw consent for optional communications (e.g. push notifications) at any time via your in-app notification settings.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 10 and we will respond within the timeframes required by POPIA.

7. Children's Privacy

The Platform is not directed at children, and you must be at least 18 years old to create an account (a parent or legal guardian may create and manage an account on a minor's behalf, per our Terms). We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children.

8. Security

We use industry-standard safeguards - including encrypted storage of credentials, secure token-based authentication, and a PCI-compliant payment processor - to protect your information. No system is 100% secure, but we take reasonable technical and organizational measures appropriate to the sensitivity of the data involved.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as the Platform evolves. If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and, where appropriate, notify you in-app or by email. Continued use of Tails and Co after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise any of the rights in Section 6, please contact us at support@tailsandco.co.za.