Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 14, 2026

1. Who we are

Habitat ("we", "us") is a pet care and pet community app for iOS, Android and the web (myownhabitat.com). This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices you have.

2. Information you give us

  • Account: email address, username, and a password (stored only as a secure hash by our sign-in provider) or your Apple or Google sign-in; optionally your full name, bio, and profile and banner photos.
  • Pets and care: pet profiles (name, species, breed, birth date, photos), care logs, health readings, vet records and documents you upload, medications, emergency contacts, reminders, and habitats (tanks, terrariums, aviaries) with their water and environment readings.
  • Community: posts, photos and videos, captions, comments, likes, saves, shares, stories and highlights, tags and @mentions, follows, direct messages, meetups and RSVPs, lost-pet alerts, and reports you submit.
  • AI features: the questions, photos and descriptions you send to the AI helper, symptom check and pet identification.
  • Support: problem reports you send from Settings.

3. Information collected automatically

  • Location - only when you use meetups or lost-pet alerts or add a location to a post, and only with your permission. It is rounded to about 1 km on your device before it is saved; we never store your exact position or track you in the background.
  • Device and app data: your push notification token, device type, operating system, app version, and time zone (so reminders arrive at the right local time).
  • Fraud and abuse prevention: a device fingerprint and IP address at sign-up, and a record of which email address and device have used the free trial.
  • Error reports when the app runs into a problem (the error, the screen it happened on, and your device type).
  • Activity counts such as post views and profile views, shown to the owner of that post or profile.
  • Subscriptions: your subscription status and purchase history. Payments are handled by Apple or Google; we never see your card details.

4. How we use information

  • To run Habitat's features: pet tracking, reminders, community, messaging, meetups and lost-pet alerts.
  • To send the notifications you choose - push and email, each type controlled in Settings.
  • To provide AI assistance, and to check posts, comments, stories and bios for harmful content.
  • To keep Habitat safe: enforcing our Terms, handling reports, and preventing spam and free-trial abuse.
  • To fix problems and keep the app working.
  • To manage your subscription.

We do not sell your personal information, show third-party ads, or track you across other companies' apps or websites.

5. Who we share information with

Other people on Habitat see what you post: your profile, posts and stories are visible to everyone, or only to approved followers if your account is private. Direct messages are visible to you and the person you message.

Service providers process data for us, only to provide their service:

  • Supabase - database, sign-in, file storage and server functions.
  • Anthropic - processes AI helper, symptom check, pet identification and content moderation requests.
  • RevenueCat, Apple and Google - subscriptions and payments.
  • Apple Push Notification service and Google Firebase Cloud Messaging - delivering push notifications.
  • Resend - delivering email notifications.
  • OpenStreetMap Nominatim - turning a rounded location into an area name.
  • Apple and Google - if you choose to sign in with them.

We may also disclose information when the law requires it or to protect someone's safety.

6. Your choices and rights

  • Edit your profile and pets at any time, make your account private, and choose who can message you.
  • Turn push and email notifications on or off, by type, in Settings. Location, camera and notification access can be turned off in your device settings.
  • Download a copy of your data from Settings > Export Your Data.
  • Delete your account from Settings > Delete Account. This permanently deletes your profile, pets, posts, messages, uploaded files and backups.
  • Block or report other users.

You can also contact us at contact@myownhabitat.com to access, correct or delete your data, or with any privacy question. Depending on where you live (for example the EU, UK or California) you may have additional rights, including the right to complain to your data protection authority.

7. How long we keep data

We keep your data while your account exists. Stories disappear after 24 hours. When you delete your account your data is deleted, except a minimal record of the email address and device used for a free trial (kept to prevent trial abuse) and anything the law requires us to keep. Error reports are kept to fix problems.

8. Children

Habitat is not for children under 13, and meetups are for adults (18+). We don't knowingly collect data from children under 13; if you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

9. Security

Data is encrypted in transit, access is limited by per-account security rules, and vet records are stored privately. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong password.

10. International transfers

Our service providers may process data in the United States and other countries, under contractual safeguards that protect it.

11. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy we'll update the date above and, for significant changes, tell you in the app.

12. Contact

Questions about privacy: contact@myownhabitat.com