Privacy policy

PetsMatch brings together people looking for the same animal. That needs some information — but deliberately as little as possible. This page explains what we collect, why, and for how long.

What we do not collect

We never ask for a home address or a phone number; there is no field for either. A location is a point on the map, shown publicly rounded to about 500 metres. We strip EXIF data from uploaded photos, which would otherwise carry the GPS coordinates of the shot. A microchip number is stored only as an irreversible hash together with its last three digits; the full number never leaves your screen.

Controller

What we process

Account

Email address, a hash of your password (Argon2id), chosen language, time of confirmation. Legal basis: performance of a contract, Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

Reports

Details about the animal, place and time, up to four photos, optionally a different contact address. Legal basis: performance of a contract.

Matches and conversations

Scores between two reports, your agreement or refusal, messages in the in-app conversation. Legal basis: performance of a contract.

Sign-in

A session cookie (pm_sitzung), technically necessary. It holds a random identifier, no personal data. Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

Notifications

If you turn them on: the address of your push service and its keys. Legal basis: consent, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR — revocable at any time.

Logs

The server records requests (time, path, errors) to fend off abuse. Legal basis: legitimate interest, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

When your email address becomes visible

Never publicly. It is shown to the other side only once both parties have explicitly agreed to the same match. Until then, everything runs through the in-app conversation.

Who else is involved

Hosting

The application runs on a server at Hostinger International Ltd., EU-Rechenzentrum under a data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR.

Email delivery

Confirmation and notification emails are sent through the mailbox provider of the domain.

Map tiles

The map loads tiles from a map service. Your IP address is transmitted to that service.

Place names

When you set a location, we ask a geocoding service for a name suggestion. Only the coordinates are sent, not your identity.

How long we keep things

Reports expire 90 days after the last change and are then archived: photos deleted, record anonymised. You can delete any report yourself at any time — its photos, matches and conversations go with it. Deleting your account deletes all your reports and renders your email address unreadable. Log data is deleted after 14 days at the latest.

Your rights

You have the right of access (Art. 15), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20) and objection (Art. 21 GDPR). Account and reports can be deleted in the app itself. For anything else, write to info@petsmatch.net. You may also lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

Note for users in Brazil

PetsMatch is available in Brazil as well. We apply the GDPR as the strictest common standard; rights under the LGPD (Law 13.709/2018) can be exercised at the same address.

Last updated

2026-09-11