Privacy Policy

Last Updated 11.21.2022

 

Welcome! Your use of the Cat In A Flat ®, Inc. (the “Company”) website located at https://catinaflat.com (the “Website”) or its application “Cat In A Flat”) (the “App”) in or from the United States of America and the services made available through same (together, the “Sites”) is subject to this Privacy Policy. If you do not understand or have questions about the Privacy Policy, immediately stop all use of the Sites. If you do not accept this Privacy Policy, you may not use the Sites. If at any time you do not agree to this Privacy Policy, you must cease your use of the Sites.

 

This Privacy Policy does NOT apply to other websites to which we may otherwise link, any other applications whether we link to them or not, or to other companies, third-party vendors who provide services to us, or entities who might be listed as third-party contacts on the Sites, each of which may be governed by their own privacy policies. This Privacy Policy also does not apply to information we may obtain from other sources about you. Additionally, this Privacy Policy does not apply to any other site or location concerning the payment for our services through the Sites, nor for any platform from which you may download the App (i.e., GooglePlay, the Apple App Store or otherwise).

By using the Sites (including any services offered in or through the Sites) and/or by contacting us and providing any personal information, you consent to the collection, transfer, storage, disclosure and use of information by us in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on this page.

 

 

1. Our Approach to Privacy

 

The Company ("we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy is intended to notify you of our online privacy practices, the type of information that may be collected and stored, how the information is used, with whom the information may be shared, what choices are available to you regarding the collection, use and distribution of the information, what kind of security procedures are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of information under our control, and who to contact with questions or concerns.

The Company operates a platform which connects cat owners with cat lovers who wish to offer cat sitting related services (the “Services”) using our Sites.

This Privacy Policy applies to our Services and the Sites. Terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meaning as in our Terms of Service, unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy.

 

 

2. Why We Collect Information

 

We collect personal information because it helps us provide and improve our Services, and to allow us to better serve our customers. In addition, your personal information helps us communicate to you our latest services and information and events about which you might like to hear. We also may correlate your personal information with information from other sources. For example, we may cross-check the personal information you provide to us against information that might be otherwise available through other entities in order to prevent or detect fraud.

 

 

3. How We Collect Information

 

We collect information in three primary ways:

a. You Give Us Information: We collect information from you when you submit it to us through our Sites, including but not limited to when you seek to Join to book our Services, when you search for a Cat Sitter, when you Login, when you seek to become a Cat Sitter, when you use our Contact Us forms or through chat/text box (i.e.. “Help”) on the Sites or otherwise, via e-mail, when you fill out any forms, when you enter a promotion or respond to a survey, when you provide it to us on a phone call or when you otherwise provide it to us in person or in writing.  We also collect information from you when you contact our customer service.  We also collect information when you enter into any agreement with us through our Sites or App, whether or not same is directly through the Sites.  We also collect information from you when you visit us on social media, including but not limited to, on Facebook®, Twitter®, Instagram®, Apple’s® Game Center, Google+®, or Pintrest®.  We also collect information that you provide to us through any Company online portal made available to you.

b. We Collect Information Automatically: We automatically collect certain types of information when you visit our Sites. For example, we automatically collect various types of technical information, including, for example, when you use our Sites or Services, and as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy.

c. We Collect Information from Other Sources: We may obtain information about you from outside sources. For example, we may obtain commercially available information about you from third parties or purchase e-mail lists from third parties for advertising and marketing purposes. We may also receive information from third-parties who provide services for us through web-beacons and other technologies as otherwise discussed in this Privacy Policy.

Please do not supply the following to us:

 

  • Any other person's personal data, unless the Company explicitly asks you to do so;
  • Any categories of your personal data that have not been explicitly requested by the Company;
  • Any confidential, proprietary, secret or legally protected information which you are not explicitly requested by the Company to provide; and
  • Any confidential, proprietary, secret or legally protected information which are under any legal obligation to not provide to or share with the Company.

4. What Information We Collect

 

We may collect, store and use the following kinds of personal data:

  • Information required by the Company when you seek to use our Services, including name, e-mail address, physical address, city, zip code, age (confirming that you are 18 or older), or to respond to your inquiries, and address concerns you may have. We may also seek verification information for some of this information, which verification may include driver’s license or other form of official government-issued identification, and/or bank/utility or other similar statement confirming identity and/or address.
  • Background checks to the extent same is voluntarily provided by you, though it is not required under all circumstances to use our Services.
  • Pet and cat information, experience with pets and cats, description and number of cats and other pets as applicable.
  • Information you voluntarily provide to us, or to another user of our Services (such as a Cat Sitter) through chat functions or e-mail, or by completing forms.
  • Transaction information concerning Services sought or used, amounts billed and/or paid and last 4 digits of credit card number if applicable (though we do not retain financial account information as financial transactions are handled by a third-party vendor as explained below).
  • Demographic and other personal data that you voluntarily provide to us when choosing to participate in various activities related to the Sites or our services, such as chat, posting messages in a comment section or in our forums, liking social media posts, sending feedback or responding to surveys.  If you choose to share such personal data about yourself via your profile, online chat or other interactive areas of the App, please be advised that all such personal data may be public to other users of the Sites and we have no control over the use of such personal data by any other users of the Sites.  
  • Derivative data from your use of the Sites, such as your native actions that are integral to the App, including liking, re-blogging, or replying to a post, as well as other interactions with the Sites and other users via server log files.
  • Though we collect financial information such as charges to you and payment amounts made by you directly or indirectly, we do not collect or maintain your financial information.  When you make a payment to us on or through the Sites, you will do so through one of our third-party vendors such as Stripe (https://stripe.com), Venmo (https://venmo.com) or comparable services.  If and when you make any payments to us on or through the Sites, you should review the privacy policy of the third-party vendor processing your payment as such privacy policy will govern the collection of your personal/financial information in connection with such payment.  While these third-party vendors will provide your payment to us, they will not provide us with your financial information (i.e., credit card or account number, card brand, expiration date, etc.).
  • Information from your mobile device on which the App is located.
  • Information that you provide seeking employment through the Sites.
  • Information about your visits to and use of the Sites, and information you provide to us via the Sites.

Even if you do not submit personal information through the Sites (but visit same or use the App), we may gather navigational information about where visitors go on the Sites and information about the technical efficiencies of our Sites and Services (i.e., time to connect to the Sites, time to download pages, etc.). Collecting this information allows us to see which areas of our Sites are most visited and helps us better understand the user experience. Additionally, collecting this information helps us improve the quality of the Sites by recognizing and delivering more of the features, areas, and Services our visitors prefer. In this process of gathering information, we may collect personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable information (for example, domain type, browser type and version, service provider and IP address, mobile device information, referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and click-stream data).

We may also create and use electronic records to compile statistics about how our visitors collectively interact with our Sites.

 

Use of Cookies

Cookies are bits of electronic information that a website may transfer to a visitor’s computer to identify specific information about the visitor’s visits to the Sites.  The Sites may use a browser feature known as a cookie, which assigns a unique identification to your computer. Cookies are typically stored on your computer’s hard drive and are used to help track clicks as you go through the pages within our Sites.  We may also use cookies to tell us whether you have previously visited the Sites. We also use cookies which may be set by third-parties with whom we have entered into agreements which may enable us to obtain analytics information about the use of our Sites.  You can set your browser not to accept cookies or to notify you when you are sent a cookie, giving you the opportunity to decide whether or not to accept it.  You may also use commonly available tools in your browser to remove cookies which may have been placed onto your computer.  To learn more about cookies and how to manage them, please visit https://www.allaboutcookies.org; https://www.allaboutcookies.org/mobile/.

Cookies Used

●          Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our Sites, use a shopping cart or make use of e-billing services.

●          Analytical/performance cookies. They allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our Sites when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.

●          Functionality cookies. These are used to recognize you when you return to our Sites. This enables us to personalize our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).

●          Targeting cookies. These cookies record your visit to our Sites, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our Sites and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests. We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.

 

Third-Party Cookies

Please be aware that advertisers and other third parties may use their own cookies tags when you click on an advertisement or link on our website. These third parties are responsible for setting out their own cookie and privacy policies.

Our third-party vendors may also include Google Analytics (https://analytics.google.com), among other potential vendors, to allow tracking technologies and remarketing services on the App through the use of first party cookies and third-party cookies, to, among other things, analyze and track users’ use of the Sites, determine the popularity of certain content, and better understand online activity. By accessing the Sites, you consent to the collection and use of your information by these third-party vendors. Though we do not transfer personal information to these third-party vendors, if you do not want any information to be collected and used by tracking technologies, you can install and/or update your settings for one or more of the following: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout; https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/eula.html.

You should review the privacy and cookie policies of the above websites to learn more about the cookies that are used in connection with the above, as well as the information obtained.  You should also consider visiting https://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1 to learn more about opting out of certain interest-based advertising which may include our vendors. If you only want to limit third party advertising cookies, you can turn such cookies off by visiting the following links (please bear in mind that there are many more companies listed on these sites than those that drop cookies via our Sites):

Managing Cookies

 

Use of Web Beacons, Clear-GIFs, Pixel Tags and JavaScript

 

We also may use “pixel tags” (also called “action pixels,” “web beacons” or “clear gifs”) and/or JavaScript plug-ins, placed on our Sites and in our emails to you. These web beacons and plug-ins are small graphic images (typically that you cannot see) or code on a website or in an email message which are used for such things as recording webpages and advertisements clicked-on by a user, or for tracking the performance of email marketing campaigns.  These devices help us analyze our users’ online behavior and measure the effectiveness of our website and our marketing.  We may also work with third-party service providers that help us track, collect, and analyze this information.  Third-party entities with whom we have agreements may place these devices on the website and/or in emails to use information obtained from them such as pages viewed, items purchased, emails opened and items upon which you may click in emails.  These third-party providers may also place cookies onto your computer. Those third-party cookies may enable us to obtain aggregate demographic information and user statistics about you and your preferences from these third-party sources as well as our information we have about you.

Device Identifiers

 

A “device identifier” is a mechanism whereby we may automatically collect an IP address, mobile advertising identifier or other unique user identifier information for the computer, mobile or other device being used to access the Sites or third-party websites to which we may link for advertising purposes.  A device identifier attaches a number that is automatically assigned to your computer or device that identifies it, similar to a cookie.  We may use the device identifier to administer the Sites, help diagnose problems, analyze trends, track a user on the Sites, identify a user shipping cart or purchase preferences, deliver advertising or obtain general demographic data.  Most computers and mobile devices will allow you to turn off, block or delete device identifiers.

Server Logs

 

A web “server log” is a record of activity created by a computer that delivers certain webpages to your browser.  Certain activities that you perform on our Sites may record information in server logs.  For example, if you enter a search term into a search box located on the Sites, the server log may record the search term, the link you clicked on to bring you to our Sites and/or information about your browser, such as your IP address and the cookies set on your browser.

Search Queries on Our Sites

 

We may provide you with options to search for information on the Sites.  If you enter information in a search query box, we may store that information and we may aggregate that information with other information we may have about the browser and/or IP address from which the search query originated.

Social Media Platforms

 

We may link to certain Company social media platforms on Facebook®, Twitter®, Instagram®,  Google+®, Pintrest®, BeReal or other platforms.  When you engage with our content at or through these social media platforms, you may be asked to share certain information about these interactions with us.  Please review the privacy policies/notices and privacy settings with each such social media platform you use so you understand how this data and information may be used, and to choose your options for the sharing of such data and information.

Your Mobile Device and Geo-Location Data

 

We may access certain information from the mobile device on which you downloaded and use the App, including your mobile device’s contacts, microphone, camera, calendar, reminders, sensors, SMS messages, social media accounts and storage limits and other features you make accessible.  This information may also include specific information about your mobile device itself, such as the mobile device ID number, model, manufacturer, version of operating system, phone number, country, location and any other data you choose to provide.  If you wish to change our access or permissions with respect to your mobile device, you may do so in your mobile device’s settings.

We may also request permission to access and track certain location-based information from your mobile decide, either continuously or just while you are using the App to provide location-based services.  If you wish to change our access or permissions with respect to such geo-location data on your mobile device, you may do so in your mobile device’s settings.

Push Notifications

 

We may request to send you push notifications (important messages sent to you even if the App is not open) regarding your account or the App.  If you wish to opt-out from receiving these types of communications, you may turn them off on your device’s settings.

Communications between You and Other Users or Cat Sitters

 

The Sites may allow, directly or by providing contact information, messaging and communication between users, as well as between users and Cat Sitters.  Users will not have access to emails, phone numbers, names or other personal information of other users except as provided by one user to another (i.e., a Cat Sitter providing information to a Cat Owner and vice versa) or otherwise in connection with a booking. Each user is responsible for all personal information shared with another user or Cat Sitter, and such information, if provided by or through the Sites, will also be provided to the Company and subject to this Privacy Policy.

 

 

5. How We Use the Information We Collect 

 

We use the information we collect in a variety of ways.  We use this information for everyday business purposes, including managing your business and our relationship and prospective relationship with you.

Generally, using all of the above mentioned, and similar type tools, we may collect, aggregate, and use de-identified information from or about you such as data about the type of browser and operating system used, your geographical location, which webpages, applications and social media pages you view, the time and duration of your visits to our Sites, your general usage levels of the App, the search queries you may use on the Sites and any other submissions you may make, whether you clicked on any items or links on the Sites, whether you have clicked on any links in any emails sent from us, or third-parties on our behalf, whether you have chosen to opt-out of certain services or information sharing, and whether you have viewed or ordered certain products or services.  We may also use this information to respond to inquiries you have made, to provide information you have requested, or to address any issues you have raised.

We may also use the information we collect internally in our business for many business purposes, such as to: (i) provide the Services you may seek; (ii) analyze trends and conduct research; (iii) provide support and respond to questions from our users, Sites visitors and customers; (iv) improve our Sites or services; (v) learn about users’ and customers’ needs; (vi) contact users for research, informational, and marketing purposes, including customizing our Sites and social media pages for you based upon your information and browsing habits; (vii) track traffic patterns and Sites usage; (viii) provide customer service and technical support; (ix) correlate information with other commercially available information to identify demographics and preferences to assist us and our customers in our research and marketing efforts; (x) provide specific relevant marketing, promotional, or other information to you; (xi) address information security and/or privacy practices, network functioning, engineering, and troubleshooting issues; (xii) investigate claims and/or legal actions, violations of law or agreements, and compliance with relevant applicable laws and legal process; (xiii) comply with law, or based on our good faith belief that it is necessary to conform or comply with the law, or otherwise to disclose information to prevent fraud to reduce credit risks, to cooperate with police and other governmental authorities, or to protect the rights, property or safety of visitors to the Sites or customers, or the public; and (xiv) process or engage in a sale of all or part of our business, or if we go through a reorganization or merger.

We may also share personally identifiable information and non-personally identifiable information externally with our affiliates and business partners, as well as with other third-party service providers who help us provide operational services for the site and our business, which might include, but is not necessarily limited to: business entities that provide e-mail address management and communication contact services, retargeting services, network equipment and application management providers and hosting entities, credit and debit card payment gateways and processors and the issuing and acquiring banks involved in the funds settlement procedures necessary to charge your cards or other financial accounts or otherwise engage in financial transactions with you (which may be performed directly by Company or through a third-party provider), entities which obtain information such as demographic information which might be aggregated with information we have about you, entities that allow us to personally identify visitors to the Sites, judicial, administrative and/or legal or financial accounting providers in the event that information must be reviewed or released in response to civil and/or criminal investigations, claims, lawsuits, or if we are subject to judicial or administrative process (such as a subpoena) to release your information or to prosecute or defend legal actions, and other service providers which may be involved in the other types of services and activities otherwise discussed in this Privacy Policy.

 

 

6. Business transfers 

 

If the Company or substantially all of its assets were acquired, or in the unlikely event that the Company goes out of business or enters bankruptcy, user information would be one of the assets that is transferred or acquired by a third party. You acknowledge that such transfers may occur, and that any acquirer of the Company may continue to use your personal information as set forth in this Privacy Policy.

 

 

7. Your Choices About The Information We Collect 

 

If you do not consent to the way in which we may use your personal information, please do not submit any personal information to us. Please note that if you do not provide us with certain personal information the Company may be unable to provide you with its services, or those services may not be as good as they otherwise could be.

You may opt out of our various marketing communications as follows:

E-mail Communications:  click the unsubscribe link located in our emails.

Third-Party Sharing: e-mail us at privacy@catinaflat.com with the words “THIRD-PARTY E-MAIL REMOVAL” in the subject line.

Please note that even once we comply with any of your requests as set forth above, de-identified and aggregate data including your personal information may still be shared, but it will not be identified or identifiable to you.

 

 

8. Privacy Of Children Who Visit The Site 

 

We recognize the importance of children's safety and privacy. The Sites are not designed to attract children and is not intended for use by any children under the age of 18. We do not request, or knowingly collect, any personally identifiable information from children under the age of 18.

 

 

9. Your California Privacy Rights – CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS ONLY
 

Requests for Information

The Company does not currently conduct business in the State of California.  Nonetheless, under Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code, residents of California have the right to request from a business, with whom the California resident has an established business relationship (which currently would not be the case with the Company and you), certain information with respect to the types of personal information the business shares with third parties for those third parties' direct marketing purposes, and the identities of the third parties with whom the business has shared such information during the immediately preceding calendar year. The Company does not share your personal information with third parties for those third parties’ direct marketing purposes.

Do Not Track Disclosure

As required by Section 22575 of the California Business and Professions Code, the following disclosure is made to California residents and to residents of other states:

Our Sites do not alter its behavior or change its services when it receives a “do-not-track” flag or signal from your operating system or browser. As described herein, we use cookies and other tools to collect information about you when you visit our Sites to, among other things, better tailor the features, performance and support of our products, services and Sites. After you leave or close-out from the Sites, we do not track your online activity on other apps or websites, but third parties (and their affiliates) may track your online activity to offer you advertisements. This tracking is anonymous and is not linked to your personal information.

Marketing

We collect various types of personal data about users during the course of their relationship with us. Under California law, if you are a resident of California, you may make a written request to us to disclose the categories or personal data of yours which we have shared with third parties, for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes during the prior year. In response to your written request, we are allowed to provide you with a notice describing the cost-free means to opt-out of our sharing your information with third parties with whom we do not share the same brand name, if the third party will use such information for its direct marketing purposes.

As explained above, the Company does not currently conduct business in the State of California.  In addition, the Company does not share your personal information with third parties for those third parties’ direct marketing purposes.

 

 

10. Visitors to the Sites From Outside of the United States

 

Your connection may be through and to servers located in the United States. Please note that the data protection laws in the United States and other countries might not be the same as those in your country.  The Company does not target or seek visitors from outside the United States through these Sites.  By using the Sites and/or submitting information to us, you specifically consent to the transfer of your information to the United States to the facilities and servers we use, and to those with whom we may share your information.

 

 

11. Updating Personal Information

 

We prefer to keep your personal information accurate and up-to-date. If you would like to change your contact information, please update your account information by logging in to your account or send us an email at privacy@catinaflat.com

 

 

12.  Links

 

Our Services and Sites may, from time to time, contain links to and from third-party websites, including, but not limited to, those of other users, our partner networks, advertisers, partner merchants, news publications, retailers and affiliates. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites may be collecting information from you when you are browsing and have their own privacy policies; we do not accept any responsibility or liability for their collection activities or policies. Please check the individual policies before you submit any information to those websites. None of the links should be deemed to imply that we endorse or have any affiliation with the links.

 

 

13.   Security

 

We believe in providing a safe and secure experience for all of our online visitors. To that end, we have implemented security measures to protect the information collected from you. We maintain reasonable physical and electronic safeguards designed to limit unauthorized access to your personally identifiable information, and to protect you against the criminal misuse of that information.

While we use the foregoing security measures to protect your information, please note that no data transmitted over the Internet or stored and utilized for business purposes can be guaranteed to be completely secure.  No security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot guarantee that only authorized persons will view your information. We cannot ensure that information you share on the Sites will not become publicly available. You can reduce these risks by using common sense security practices such as choosing a strong password, using different passwords for different services, and using up to date antivirus software.

 

 

14.   Questions / Changes in Notice

 

If you have questions or concerns with respect to our Privacy Policy, you may contact us at privacy@catinflat.com. We may elect to change or amend our Privacy Policy; in such event, we will post the notice changes in our Privacy Policy on the Sites.

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