DogiCircle Privacy Policy

Effective date: June 5, 2026

DogiCircle helps dog owners create dog profiles, discover nearby dogs, match with other owners, chat after matching, and post Lost & Found dog cards. This Privacy Policy explains what information DogiCircle collects, how we use it, how it may be shared, and the choices available to users.

This policy applies to the DogiCircle iOS app, DogiCircle public pages, and DogiCircle backend services.

Information We Collect

Account Information

We collect information used to create, verify, protect, and operate an account, including:

  • email address
  • display name and username-style profile information
  • password authentication data
  • email verification status
  • access and refresh session records
  • account status, suspension status, and account deletion records

Passwords are stored as secure password hashes. We do not store plain-text passwords.

Owner Profile And Dog Information

Users may provide owner profile details and dog profile details, including:

  • owner display name, bio, and profile photo
  • dog names, breeds, photos, bio text, size, sex, energy level, and friendly-with traits
  • profile status, dog status, and creation/update timestamps

Some owner, dog, and profile information is shown to other users as part of DogiCircle's discovery, profile, matching, and Lost & Found features.

Lost And Found Information

Users may create Lost & Found dog cards that include photos, descriptions, dog details, status, owner-provided notes, and approximate location information. These cards are intended to help dogs return home and may be visible to other users.

Location Information

DogiCircle uses manually entered approximate location coordinates for discovery, distance filtering, Lost & Found relevance, location cards, and location-aware ad or announcement placement.

DogiCircle does not require precise background GPS tracking for the core matching experience. If the app later requests device location permission, we will update this policy and the App Store privacy disclosures before using that feature.

Photos And Media

DogiCircle collects uploaded photos and related metadata, including:

  • owner profile photos
  • dog photos
  • Lost & Found photos
  • admin-managed announcement, location, or ad images where applicable
  • image URLs, storage keys, display-sized variants, thumbnail variants, file sizes, moderation status, and upload/order metadata

Uploaded images may be stored in object storage and served through a public media domain or CDN-backed media URL. We may generate display-sized and thumbnail versions so the app loads quickly.

Messages And Safety Signals

When matched users or Lost & Found participants message each other, DogiCircle stores message content and message metadata, including sender, conversation, timestamps, read status, recall status, and related safety-warning metadata.

We may detect safety-related patterns, such as money requests or attempts to share personal contact information, so we can show educational warnings, support reports, and help moderate abuse.

Reports, Blocks, Appeals, And Moderation Records

If users report content, report photos, block users, appeal moderation actions, or interact with safety tools, DogiCircle collects related information such as:

  • reporter and reported account identifiers
  • report reason and optional details
  • reported photo or content identifiers
  • block records
  • appeal details
  • moderation status, admin action history, and audit logs

These records help enforce community rules, investigate abuse, protect users, and document moderation decisions.

Notifications And Device Information

If notifications are enabled, DogiCircle may collect and store iOS push notification device tokens, platform, environment, registration status, and notification-related metadata so the backend can send reminders about messages, matches, Lost & Found activity, announcements, and account or safety events.

Users can disable push notifications in iOS settings.

Usage, Discovery, Ads, And Product Events

DogiCircle may collect app activity and first-party product events, including:

  • swipes, likes, passes, saves, matches, and discovery activity
  • filter usage and Plus filter access
  • notification reads
  • ad impressions, ad taps, and ad placement metadata
  • location card passes
  • feature activity needed to operate, secure, and improve the service

DogiCircle uses these events for app functionality, safety, abuse prevention, product reliability, and first-party measurement of DogiCircle ads or sponsored content.

Purchases And Subscription Data

If a user purchases DogiCircle Plus or another in-app purchase through Apple, DogiCircle may collect and store Apple subscription metadata needed to provide paid features and verify subscription status, including:

  • Apple product identifiers
  • transaction identifiers
  • original transaction identifiers
  • subscription status
  • start, expiration, revocation, and update timestamps
  • signed Apple transaction or server notification payloads used for verification

Payments are processed by Apple. DogiCircle does not receive or store users' full payment card numbers from Apple.

Diagnostics, Security, And Operational Logs

DogiCircle may collect server errors, API failure logs, request metadata, security events, admin audit logs, rate-limit events, and operational logs. These logs help keep the service reliable, secure, and abuse-resistant.

DogiCircle is designed not to log raw passwords, authorization headers, refresh tokens, or full private request bodies in operational error logs.

How We Use Information

We use collected information to:

  • create, verify, authenticate, and secure user accounts
  • support email verification, login, logout, password reset, and account deletion
  • show owner profiles, dog profiles, discovery cards, location cards, and Lost & Found cards
  • support owner-level matching and chat
  • upload, process, resize, moderate, and display photos
  • provide DogiCircle Plus subscription features and verify Apple subscription status
  • send notifications and announcements
  • detect safety risks and enforce community rules
  • support reports, blocks, appeals, moderation, and admin review
  • measure app reliability, first-party ad performance, and product usage
  • prevent spam, abuse, fraud, unauthorized access, and unsafe behavior
  • comply with legal obligations and protect the rights and safety of DogiCircle, users, dogs, and the community

How Information Is Shared

DogiCircle may show profile, dog, Lost & Found, location, message-related, and selected activity information to other users as part of the app experience.

We do not sell personal information. We do not share personal information with third-party advertising networks or data brokers for cross-app or cross-site tracking.

We may share information with service providers that help operate DogiCircle. Depending on production configuration, these providers may include:

  • backend hosting and infrastructure providers
  • managed database providers for PostgreSQL/PostGIS
  • S3-compatible object storage or media delivery providers, such as Cloudflare R2, AWS S3, or a CDN-backed media domain
  • transactional email providers, such as SMTP or Postmark-compatible email delivery
  • Apple services, including App Store, StoreKit, App Store Server Notifications, and Apple Push Notification service
  • admin access, security, monitoring, and operational tooling providers where configured

These providers process information to help us run DogiCircle and are not permitted by us to use the information for their own unrelated purposes.

We may disclose information when required by law, to protect users or dogs, to investigate abuse, to enforce our terms, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of DogiCircle and the community.

User Choices

Users can update owner profile and dog information in the app. Users can delete or change photos, close Lost & Found cards, report content, block users, recall eligible messages, and request account deletion where supported.

Users can turn off push notifications in iOS settings. Some service emails, such as verification, password reset, account deletion, or account security messages, may still be sent when necessary to operate the account.

Users can contact DogiCircle at the address below for privacy questions or data requests.

Account Deletion

Where supported in the app, users can request account deletion. Account deletion removes or de-identifies account data according to DogiCircle's deletion flow, while some records may be retained where necessary for security, legal compliance, abuse prevention, dispute resolution, moderation history, financial/subscription records, or audit obligations.

Data Retention

We keep information for as long as needed to operate DogiCircle, provide user accounts, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce rules, prevent abuse, and maintain security.

Some records, such as moderation records, safety reports, account deletion records, subscription verification records, admin audit logs, and security logs, may be retained after content is removed or an account is deleted.

Security

DogiCircle uses reasonable technical and organizational safeguards, including HTTPS, server-side authentication, password hashing, protected production secrets, database access controls, restricted object storage credentials, rate limits, admin authentication, and audit logs. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect user data from unauthorized access.

Children

DogiCircle is not intended for children under 13. Users who are not old enough to use online social services in their location should not create an account.

International Use

DogiCircle may process and store information in countries where our hosting, database, media, email, Apple, and service providers operate. By using DogiCircle, users understand that information may be transferred and processed outside their country or region.

Changes To This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as DogiCircle changes. If changes are material, we will provide notice in the app or by another reasonable method.

Contact

For privacy questions, contact:

support@dogicircle.com