Who we are
Pawnicle is built and run by Michael Huggett, an independent developer working alone, as a sole proprietor based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Contact: info@pawnicle.io.
Pawnicle is a pet care tracking application. We help pet owners and caretakers manage routines, feeding, health observations, and shared care for their animals.
Privacy contact
Email: info@pawnicle.io
If you have questions about this policy or want to exercise any of your rights described below, contact us at the email address above.
What this policy covers
This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we store and protect it, and what rights you have over it. It applies to:
- the Pawnicle web application at www.pawnicle.io (the "app"), and the emails it sends you;
- this website at www.pawnicle.com, including the updates/waitlist sign-up form.
We've written this in plain language. If anything is unclear, please ask us.
What information we collect
Information you provide directly
Account information
- Email address (required to create an account)
- Username and full name (optional)
- Password (stored only as a cryptographic hash — we never see or store your actual password)
- Profile photo (optional)
- Timezone and display preferences (theme, notification settings, undo timeout)
- A record that you agreed to this policy, and which version you agreed to
Pet and subject information
- Pet names, types, descriptions, and photos
- Activity definitions, categories, and tags you create
- Custom subject type fields (e.g., breed, age, medical notes)
Activity records
- Activity logs you create (what was done, when, for which pet, and any notes)
- Feeding logs, weight entries, health observations, medications, conditions, and appointments
- Food and inventory records (brands, quantities, serving sizes)
- Schedule preferences and routine configurations
Photos and media
- Images you upload to activity logs, pet profiles, memorial galleries, and supply/food item records
- Image metadata we read from your files (see "Location information" below)
- Captions you add to images
Space and sharing information
- Space names
- Email addresses of people you invite to share a space
- Role assignments within shared spaces (owner, family member, caregiver, sitter, vet)
- Vet access settings (which pets and categories a vet can see)
Website updates sign-up
- If you join the updates list on this website, we store your email address and your agreement to this policy.
Information collected automatically
Location information (only with your permission)
- When you upload a photo that contains GPS data in its EXIF metadata, we extract the latitude and longitude and store it alongside the image record. This helps you remember where an activity took place.
- If a photo has no GPS data and your activity has location tracking enabled, we may request your browser's location. Your browser will always ask for your permission first — we never access your location silently.
- You can disable location features at any time by declining the browser prompt or by not enabling location on activity definitions.
Image technical metadata
- When you upload an image, we read its dimensions (width and height), file size, file type, and original filename. This is used to display images correctly and enforce upload limits.
Push notifications (optional)
- If you turn on reminders or notifications, we store the push subscription your browser gives us so we can deliver them.
Session and device information
- Your browser sends standard HTTP headers (such as browser type and operating system) and your IP address with every request. We do not store this information in your user record, but it may appear in infrastructure access logs kept by our hosting providers.
Information we do not collect
- Payment or credit card information (we do not process payments at this time)
- Phone numbers or physical mailing addresses
- Government identification numbers
- Human health or medical records
- We do not use cookies for advertising or cross-site tracking
- We do not embed third-party analytics, advertising pixels, or social media trackers
How we use your information
We use the information we collect to:
- Provide the service: Create your account, display your pets and activities, track routines, manage feeding and inventory, and coordinate care with others you invite to your space.
- Maintain and improve the service: Fix bugs, monitor for errors, and improve how the application works.
- Communicate with you: Send emails about your account, such as sign-up confirmation, password resets, security notices, and account deletion notices. If you joined the updates list on this website, we will send you product updates. We have not sent any updates yet. Every update we send will include an unsubscribe link. We do not send other marketing emails without your explicit consent.
- Protect the service: Detect and prevent abuse, unauthorized access, or fraud.
We do not sell your personal information. We do not use your data for advertising. We do not use your pet data to train machine learning models.
Legal basis for processing (EU/EEA/UK)
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we process your personal information on the following legal bases:
- Contract performance: Most of the data we collect is necessary to provide you with the Pawnicle service you signed up for — your account, your pet records, your activity logs.
- Legitimate interest: We process limited technical data (such as infrastructure logs) to maintain the security and reliability of the service.
- Consent: Location data collection, push notifications, the website updates list, and optional profile information are based on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
How we store and protect your information
Infrastructure
Your data is stored with Supabase, in Canada.
Security measures
- All data is transmitted over HTTPS (TLS encryption in transit).
- Passwords are cryptographically hashed — we never store or have access to your actual password.
- Access controls ensure people can only see data in spaces they belong to.
- Credentials are kept out of application code.
- Administrative access is limited to what each task needs.
- When you delete an individual record in the app, it is marked as deleted rather than immediately erased, so it can be recovered and changes can be audited. Deleted records are permanently erased when your account is erased.
Spaces and sharing
Your pets and records live in a space. You own your own space, and you can invite other people to it.
- Invitations: An invitation is tied to the email address you enter. The person sees the invitation in Pawnicle when they sign in with that address. Invitations expire after 7 days.
- What members can see: Members of a space can see the pets, activity logs, weights, observations, and other records in that space, according to their role. Members can also see the email addresses of the other members of the space.
- Vets: You can limit which pets and categories a vet sees for some records, such as feeding history. Other records in the space, such as pet profiles and activity logs, are visible to every member, including vets. Only invite people you are comfortable sharing the space with.
- If you delete your account as a member: your membership is removed. The entries you added to someone else's space stay in that space and are shown as made by a "Deleted User".
- If you delete your account as an owner: every space you own is permanently erased, including the records other members added to it, and those members lose access to it. Those members are not currently notified in advance. [CONFIRM: update when PAW-585 ships]
Deleting your account
You can ask to delete your account from your account settings in the app, or by emailing info@pawnicle.io. Here is what happens:
- Your account is locked straight away. You can no longer sign in, and we email you to confirm the request. The email includes a reference number.
- There is a 7-day grace period. If you change your mind during those 7 days, you can cancel the deletion yourself, or by emailing info@pawnicle.io with your reference number.
- After 7 days, your account is permanently erased. This includes your profile, your pets and records, every space you own (see Spaces and sharing), your memberships in other people's spaces, and your website updates sign-up if you have one. Your uploaded photos and files are erased by a scheduled job that runs shortly afterwards.
- We email you to confirm the deletion is complete.
When a deletion is requested, and again when it completes, our team receives an internal notice so we can make sure it worked. That notice contains no personal information about you, such as your name or email address. It contains only an internal account ID, timestamps, and counts of what was erased.
Copies of erased data can remain in our database backups for about 7 days, until those backups expire. Our email provider keeps delivery logs of the emails we sent you for up to 30 days.
How long we keep your information
| Data type | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Account, profile, pet and activity records | Kept while your account is active. Permanently erased 7 days after you ask us to delete your account. |
| Records you deleted in the app | Kept in a deleted state for recovery and audit while your account is active. Permanently erased with your account. |
| Uploaded images and files | Kept while your account is active. Erased by a scheduled job shortly after your account is erased. |
| Database backups | Daily backups, kept for about 7 days and then deleted automatically. Uploaded files are not included in backups. |
| Website updates sign-up | Kept until you unsubscribe, ask us to remove it, or delete your Pawnicle account. We have not sent any updates yet. Every update we send will include an unsubscribe link. |
| Emails you send to info@pawnicle.io | Support emails are kept for up to 2 years, then deleted. |
| Infrastructure and email delivery logs | Supabase infrastructure logs are kept for 7 days. Resend email delivery logs are kept for up to 30 days. |
Your rights
For all users (PIPEDA — Canada)
Under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), you have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you
- Correct any inaccurate or incomplete information
- Withdraw consent for optional data collection (such as location tracking)
- Challenge our compliance by filing a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Additional rights for users in the EU/EEA/UK (GDPR)
If you are located in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, you also have the right to:
- Data portability — receive a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format
- Erasure ("right to be forgotten") — request deletion of your personal data
- Restriction of processing — ask us to temporarily stop processing your data in certain circumstances
- Object to processing — object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority
How to exercise your rights
To make any of these requests, email us at info@pawnicle.io. We will respond within 30 days (or sooner where required by law). We may ask you to verify your identity before processing your request.
Account deletion: You can delete your account yourself from the app's account settings. See Deleting your account for what happens and when.
Space export: If you own a space, you can download the data in it as a JSON file from the space's settings at any time, without contacting us.
Copy of your personal data: To get a copy of all the personal data we hold about you, including data in spaces you don't own, email us. We will prepare it and send it to you in a structured, machine-readable format.
Children's privacy
Pawnicle is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we make significant changes, we will notify you through the application or by email. The "last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was most recently revised.
Contact us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this privacy policy or your personal data, please contact us:
Email: info@pawnicle.io
For complaints that are not resolved to your satisfaction, you may contact:
- Canada: Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada — priv.gc.ca
- EU/EEA/UK: Your local data protection authority