Privacy Policy

Last updated 2026-07-30

Paw Watch ("we," "our," or "the app") is published by Cerminara Consulting LLC, a Virginia-based independent consulting practice. This policy explains what information Paw Watch collects, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. We designed Paw Watch to collect the minimum data needed to make dog-walking safer — and nothing else.

What we collect

Account information

When you sign in, we receive your name and email from your sign-in provider — either Apple (Sign in with Apple) or Google (Sign in with Google). We use your display name to attribute reports to you and to greet you in the app. We do not receive your Apple ID password or your Google password.

Location data

With your permission, Paw Watch uses your device's location to:

Verify your neighborhood. On first launch, we use your location once to confirm you live in the area you say you do. We do not store this location on your profile.
Tag the reports you submit. When you tap "Report a hazard," we attach your current latitude and longitude to the report so other walkers can see where it happened.
Show nearby hazards on the map. We use your location to fetch hazards within walking distance.
Track walks. If you start a walk, we record GPS points at regular intervals so you can review the route and distance afterward. You can end a walk at any time; the data stays on your device and only the start/end timestamps are saved to your account if you sign in.
Send you alerts. If you've set a home radius, we compare new reports to your saved location and notify you when a hazard appears within your radius.

You can disable location at any time in iOS Settings. Paw Watch will continue to work for any features that don't require it.

Push notification tokens

If you grant notification permission, we receive a token from Apple/Google that lets us send you push notifications. We store this token on your profile and delete it when you sign out.

Photos (v1.0 ships without photo upload)

The current version of Paw Watch does not let you upload photos of hazards. The information we collect is limited to text descriptions, categories, and severity levels. A future version may add photo upload — if so, we'll update this policy before shipping.

Crash and performance data

We do not currently use a third-party crash reporter. If we add one (e.g., Sentry, Crashlytics), we'll update this policy and ask for your consent again.

What we don't collect

Your contacts list
Your photos or camera (beyond what you explicitly upload)
Your advertising identifier (IDFA)
Your purchase history
Your browsing history outside the app
Your microphone or audio

How we use your data

We use the data above to:

Show you hazards reported by other walkers in your area
Attribute reports and ratings to their authors
Send you push notifications when you have alerts enabled
Track your walks if you choose to use the walk feature
Improve the app's reliability and fix bugs

We do not use your data for advertising. We do not sell your data to third parties. We do not use your location history to build a profile of you.

Third-party services

Paw Watch relies on the following third-party services to operate. Each has its own privacy policy:

Supabase (backend): Stores your account, profile, reports, walk history, and notification tokens. Supabase's privacy policy: supabase.com/privacy.
Google Maps: Shows the map view and converts addresses to coordinates. Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.
Apple (Sign in with Apple, Push): Handles authentication and push delivery on iOS. Apple's privacy policy: apple.com/legal/privacy.
Google (Sign in with Google): Handles authentication when you choose to sign in with Google. Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.
Expo (push notifications): Routes push notifications from our backend to Apple/Google. Expo's privacy policy: expo.dev/privacy.

Children's privacy

Paw Watch is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact us and we will delete it.

Your rights

Access, correction, and deletion

You can:

Update your profile (name, home location, alert radius) at any time in the Profile tab.
Delete your reports by tapping a report you submitted and selecting "Delete."
Delete your account by contacting us at privacy@paw-watch.app. We will delete your profile, reports, walks, and notification tokens within 30 days.
Export your data by contacting us at privacy@paw-watch.app. We'll send you a JSON archive of your account within 30 days.

California residents (CCPA / CPRA)

California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, to delete it, and to opt out of any "sale" or "sharing." We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. To exercise your rights, contact privacy@paw-watch.app.

European Union and United Kingdom (GDPR)

If you are in the EU or UK, our legal basis for processing your data is your consent (location, notifications) and the performance of our service (account, reports). You have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or port your data, and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. To exercise your rights, contact privacy@paw-watch.app.

Data retention

Active reports: 24 hours (low severity), 72 hours (medium), or 7 days (high), then auto-expired.
Walk history: retained on your account until you delete it or delete your account.
Account profile: retained until you delete your account.
Push notification tokens: deleted when you sign out or delete your account.

Security

We use TLS for all data in transit. Data at rest is stored in Supabase's encrypted Postgres database. We follow industry practices for secrets management and access control. That said, no system is perfectly secure — if you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy in a material way, we'll notify you through the app and update the "last updated" date above. If the changes are significant (e.g., a new category of data collection), we'll ask for your consent again.

Contact

Paw Watch is published by Cerminara Consulting LLC.

Email: privacy@paw-watch.app
Mailing address: Cerminara Consulting LLC
Attn: Paw Watch Privacy
Richmond, VA 23220
United States