What we collect, and what we do with it.

This Privacy Policy describes how Pick Me Pets ("Pick Me Pets," "we," "us," or "our"), collects, uses, shares, and protects personal information in connection with pickmepets.com, its subdomains and apps, and all related services (collectively, the "Services"). This Policy is incorporated into and forms part of our Terms & Conditions of Service. By using the Services, you agree to the collection and use of information as described here. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

Pick Me Pets operates alongside an affiliated breeder platform, which breeders use to manage their kennels and listings. Because listings, inquiries, messages, and transactions flow between the two platforms, information is shared between them as described in Section 5.

• Account information: name, email address, phone number, password, and profile details.
• Inquiry and application information: information you submit when inquiring about a puppy or completing a breeder's application process, such as household details, experience with pets, and preferences.
• Communications: messages, relayed texts, and relayed emails sent through the platform to breeders; e-signature records for contracts you sign; reviews you submit; and communications with our support team.
• Payment information: processed by our payment processor, Stripe. We do not store full payment card numbers; we receive limited information such as payment confirmations and transaction history.
• Deposit protection claims: information and documentation you submit with a claim, such as screenshots of communications and supporting records.

• Usage and device data: IP address, device and browser type, operating system, pages viewed, searches, listings viewed and saved, referring URLs, and timestamps.
• Communication metadata: call timestamps, duration, and connection status for relayed calls; video call session metadata; message delivery and read status.
• E-signature evidence: signed documents, signature timestamps, signer email addresses, IP addresses, and device information.
• Cookies and similar technologies: as described in Section 6.

• Breeders: responses to your inquiries, transaction status, contract documents, and messages from breeders.
• Payment processor: payment confirmation and fraud signals from Stripe.

We use personal information to:

• provide, operate, maintain, and improve the Services, including search, listings, messaging, masked contact relay, video calls, e-signatures, deposits, and payments;
• connect you with breeders, transmit your inquiries and applications, and facilitate transactions;
• process payments, deposits, the Buyer Protection Fee, applicable sales tax, and refunds, and administer deposit protection claims;
• monitor communications and platform activity — including through automated systems and AI tools — for fraud and scam prevention, policy enforcement, safety, quality, and dispute resolution;
• send service communications (message alerts, deposit and transaction confirmations, account and legal notices) and, with your consent or as permitted by law, marketing communications (see Section 4);
• personalize the Services (such as suggesting listings), perform analytics, and develop new features;
• enforce our Terms, protect the rights, property, and safety of Pick Me Pets, our users, animals, and the public; and
• comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.

We use technology tools, including artificial intelligence and machine-learning-based tools ("AI Tools"), to support our operations. Information you provide to or through the platform — including message content — may be processed by AI Tools for fraud and scam detection, phishing detection, content moderation, abuse detection, safety, search and matching, and support functions. AI Tools may be provided by third-party service providers under commercial agreements; in connection with such processing, your data may be processed and stored by those providers, and providers may retain and use de-identified, aggregated data derived from processing to improve their services. We do not permit AI service providers to use your identifiable personal information to train their models except as permitted under our agreements with them. Automated monitoring is not guaranteed to detect all prohibited or harmful content.

• Email: We send transactional and service emails as needed to operate your account; these cannot be opted out of while your account is active. Marketing emails (including new or matching listing alerts) include an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing does not affect service emails.
• SMS/Text: With your consent, we send service texts and promotional texts as described in our Terms. Reply STOP to opt out of promotional texts and HELP for help. Message frequency varies; message and data rates may apply. Consent to marketing texts is not a condition of using the Services or completing any purchase.
• Relayed communications: Calls and texts with breeders through our masked relay are routed through third-party telephony providers (currently Twilio). We do not record relayed voice call content; we retain call metadata and store relayed text messages as conversation history.
• Consent records: We keep records of communication consents and opt-outs, including date, time, and method, and retain opt-out preferences indefinitely to honor them.

We share personal information as follows:

• With breeders you contact: when you inquire, apply, message, or transact, we share your name, your inquiry and application details, your messages, and transaction status with the relevant breeder. Contact masking: your phone number and email address are masked and are not shared with the breeder until a qualifying event occurs (such as a completed deposit), after which direct contact information may be revealed to the breeder as described in the Terms. Information you voluntarily include in message content is visible to the breeder.
• With our affiliated breeder platform: your inquiries, messages, and transaction data are shared with the platform where breeders manage their leads and communications, to operate the combined marketplace.
• With service providers: vendors that host and operate the Services and process data on our behalf, including cloud hosting and infrastructure (e.g., Vercel, Google Cloud/Firebase), payment processing (Stripe), telephony and messaging relay (Twilio), transactional and marketing email (e.g., Resend), analytics providers, and AI service providers (Section 3).
• With advertising partners: we may use advertising pixels, cookies, and conversion tools (such as Meta Pixel and Conversions API or Google advertising tools) that share limited data (such as identifiers, device data, and site activity) with advertising platforms to measure and deliver ads. You can opt out of targeted advertising as described in Section 10.
• For legal reasons: to comply with law, legal process, or governmental requests; to enforce our Terms; to detect and prevent fraud or security issues; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Pick Me Pets, our users, animals, or the public, including reporting suspected criminal activity to law enforcement.
• Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
• With your direction or consent: when you ask us to share information or otherwise consent.

We do not sell your personal information for money. Some sharing with advertising partners may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" for targeted advertising under certain state laws; Section 10 describes your opt-out rights. Breeders who receive your information are independent businesses responsible for their own privacy practices; once your contact information is revealed to a breeder after a qualifying event, that breeder's use of it is governed by their own practices and applicable law.

We and our partners use cookies, pixels, local storage, and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember preferences and saved listings, measure usage, and support advertising and conversion measurement. You can control cookies through your browser settings; disabling certain cookies may affect functionality. We recognize opt-out preference signals such as Global Privacy Control (GPC) where required by law. Our Services do not currently respond to "Do Not Track" browser signals beyond legally required opt-out signals.

We retain personal information for as long as needed to provide the Services and for legitimate business or legal purposes, including: account data for the life of your account; signed e-signature documents while your account is active, as a convenience — download and keep your own copies, as we make no commitment to retain them for any particular period; signature-evidence records (timestamps, IP addresses, device information) as needed for legal compliance and dispute resolution; transaction and payment records as required by tax and financial regulations; communications, monitoring records, and claim files as needed for fraud prevention, dispute resolution, and enforcement; and marketing preferences and opt-outs indefinitely to honor your choices. Deleted data may persist in backups for a limited period. Upon a verified deletion request, we delete personal information within the timeframe required by applicable law, except where retention is required by law, needed for pending disputes or claims, or necessary to enforce our Terms.

We use commercially reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information, including encryption in transit, access controls, and PCI DSS-compliant payment processing through our processor. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping your credentials confidential and for exercising caution about the personal information you choose to share with breeders in messages. If we become aware of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you and regulators as required by applicable law.

The Services are intended for users 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18 (or under 13 for purposes of COPPA). If you believe a minor has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Depending on your state of residence (including under the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended, and similar laws in other states), you may have the right to:

• Know/Access the personal information we process about you and receive a portable copy;
• Correct inaccurate personal information;
• Delete personal information, subject to legal exceptions;
• Opt out of targeted advertising, "sale"/"sharing" of personal information, and certain profiling; and
• Non-discrimination for exercising your rights.

To exercise these rights, contact us at hello@pickmepets.com. We will verify your identity before acting on a request and respond within the time required by law. Authorized agents may submit requests where permitted. If we decline a request, you may appeal by replying to our decision or emailing hello@pickmepets.com with "Privacy Appeal" in the subject line; if your appeal is denied, you may contact your state attorney general (for Texas residents, the Texas Attorney General at texasattorneygeneral.gov).

To opt out of targeted advertising, enable Global Privacy Control in your browser, or contact us at hello@pickmepets.com. To opt out of marketing email or texts, use the unsubscribe link or reply STOP.

California notice: The categories of personal information we collect, purposes, and sharing are described in Sections 1, 2, and 5. We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes requiring a right to limit under the CCPA. We do not knowingly sell or share personal information of consumers under 16. California users may also report complaints to the Complaint Assistance Unit of the California Department of Consumer Affairs as described in our Terms.

The Services are operated from the United States and intended for U.S. users. If you access the Services from outside the U.S., you understand your information will be transferred to and processed in the U.S.

We may update this Policy from time to time. We will post the updated Policy with a revised "Last Updated" date and, for material changes, provide additional notice such as email or in-platform notification. Continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

Questions, requests, or complaints: hello@pickmepets.com

Pick Me Pets