Privacy Policy

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This Privacy Policy was last updated on 27 June 2024.

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1. About this Privacy Policy - Your privacy is important to us.

 

1.2 This Privacy Policy explains how SocialDog Limited collects, stores, uses and discloses personal information that we obtain through your use of our services, our application (which is a mobile-based application that you download and install on your device) (“App”) and website (collectively, our “Services”). It also sets out your rights to access and correct personal information held by us about you.

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1.3 When we say “personal information” we mean identifiable information about you, such as your name, email, address, telephone number and so on.

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1.4 This Privacy Policy forms part of, and should be read along with, our Terms of Service. 

 

2. Consent

 

2.1 Our Services rely on the collection of personal information (whether provided by you or obtained from a third-party service who, with your authority, has linked through to our Services) and other usage information to enable you to use them.

 

2.2 Please read this Privacy Policy before using our Services or submitting any personal information to us.  By clicking on “I accept” upon being presented with the Terms of Service (including the Privacy Policy), you are indicating your consent to our collection, storage, use and disclosure of that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

 

2.3 Failure to provide necessary personal information when requested may result in certain Services (including our App) not being available to you.

 

3. Changes to our Privacy Policy

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3.1 We may amend the terms of this Privacy Policy from time to time and will notify you of any changes by posting an updated version on our website at www.socialdog.co.nz  or by sending you a push notification in our App. It is your responsibility to check this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

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3.2 Your continued access and use of our Services following notification of any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes acceptance of those changes. If you do not agree with any aspect of the updated Privacy Policy, you must immediately cease all use of our Services (including our App).

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4. Information we collect

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4.1 We may collect, store and use the following types of information about you: 

a. your personal and account information, including your name, address, email address, telephone number, age, gender, address, username, password and any other such personal information that you provide to us through your dealings with us; information about your dog, including name, breed, age, gender, temperament or personality traits and any other relevant information to enable other users to assess the compatibility of their dog with your dog;

b. aggregate technical information about you when you use our Services, including (but not limited to) your device identifier, operating system, server address, IP address, device type, the domain you are visiting our Services from, your browser type and settings, the date and time you are using our Services, how you interacted with our website(s) or App, the platform you used to access our website(s) or App, and any other such technical information relating to your use of our Services. Information collected may depend on the type of device you use and its settings. Some of the information may be collected using cookies or similar tracking technologies;  

c. information about how you use our website(s) and App, such as the types of content that is viewed, the features you use, the actions you take, and the time, frequency and duration of your activities, so that we can understand your user activity, how our services are being used, and improve your user experience on our website(s) and App; and

d. the city you reside in and your live geolocation data while you are using our App (if you have enabled location services for our App on your mobile device), so that you can see which other dogs are available or residing in your area. 

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5. Information we will make available to other users of our App

 

5.1 We will make certain information you have provided to us available to other uses of our App so that you and other users can find suitable companions for your dogs, including:

a. your first name, age, profile picture, and the blurb that you have written about yourself; and

b. information about your dog(s), including name, breed, gender, age, training levels, temperament, personality traits, pictures you have provided, and the blub that you have written about your dog(s). 

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6. How we collect information

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6.1 Our usual practice is to collect personal information directly from you.

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6.2 We may collect information (including personal information) about you in a number of ways, including, when you:

a. complete any form, including registering with us either online or in our App;

b. use our Services;

c. participate in any marketing activities, promotions, questionnaires or surveys about us;

d. submit a question, provide feedback, or provide any other information in connection with your use of our Services;

e. communicate with us (including through your interaction with our team by telephone, email, or messages via our website or App); and

through cookies and other automated technologies.

 

7. Third party services, websites, app and social media

 

7.1 Our Services may contain links to third party services (including websites and/or app) that are not under our control and whose privacy practices may differ from ours. We do not endorse or make any representations about these third-party services (including, but not limited to their accuracy or thoroughness) and will not be responsible for their privacy practices, content or terms of service. They are provided solely for your information and convenience only. Your disclosure of personal information to third parties is at your own risk, and we recommend that you check any relevant privacy policies before providing your personal information to any third party.

 

7.2 We may, at any time during your use of our Services, share your personal information (such as your name, email and phone number) with certain third parties (including for example, pet insurance providers, pet food and toy suppliers, veterinary services, and providers of related goods and services) for the purpose of these parties contacting you to offer certain products and/or services that may be relevant to you and/or your dog. We will only share your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020. 

 

8. Why we collect your information and how we use it

 

We collect and use your information (including personal information):

a. to deliver our Services (and any related services) to you, including, matching your dog with other dogs for social meetings, providing dog care information, and training tips;

b. to respond to your enquiries about us or our Services, and to investigate any complaints;

c. to manage our relationship with you, including sending administrative information to you relating to our Service and changes to our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and other policies;

d. to measure, manage, monitor, develop and improve our Services and our customer relationships and experiences;

e. for our internal business purposes, including to develop and inform our marketing strategy;

f. to ensure you are complying with our Terms of Service and using our Services for their intended purposes;

g. from time to time, to understand how our Services are being used at an aggregate level, and to estimate metrics such as the time, frequency and duration of aggregate user activities, to enable us to understand user activity (such as the number of people that visit our website(s) and/or App) and understand how our Services are being used;

h. to allow third parties (as set out at clause 7.2) to contact you to offer certain products and/or services that may be relevant to you (with your express consent);

i.  send you promotions or special offers from us that we think you may be interested in (including sending electronic messages such as text messages, push notifications and emails);

j. to comply with applicable laws and regulations in relation to our Services and to do anything else required or permitted by laws, rules, regulations in New Zealand, including the Privacy Act 2020; and

k. for any other use that you authorise.

 

9. Disclosure of information

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9.1 We work with third-party services who provide us with hosting, development, maintenance, backup, storage, infrastructure, analysis, marketing and other services that may be needed to provide our Services to you. As providers of these services to us, they may require access to information about you. If our service providers need access to information about you to perform services on our behalf, they do so under instruction from us and only use your personal information as required to perform their function (and not for other purposes) and in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020. Some of these service providers may be located in countries other than New Zealand.

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9.2 Except as otherwise stated in this Privacy Policy, we may disclose information about you:

a. when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety or the safety of others;

b. to comply with any applicable law (including the Privacy Act 2020), regulation, legal process or governmental request (including, for example, to comply with any court orders, subpoenas or other legal process or investigation including by tax authorities);

c. to enforce our agreements, policies and Terms of Service; and

d. to protect the security or integrity of our Services and our related services, including to ensure the security of our IT systems, architecture and networks.

 

10. International transfers

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10.1 In order to provide you with our Services, your personal information may be shared, transferred, disclosed and/or stored in countries other than New Zealand.

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10.2 There may be differences between New Zealand’s privacy laws and those of the overseas locations in which your personal information (and other data we collect) is located. However, your personal information will only be provided by us to recipients outside New Zealand if we have reasonable grounds to believe that:

a. the recipient is subject to New Zealand privacy laws;

b. the recipient is subject to privacy laws in their country that offer similar protections to those under New Zealand privacy laws;

c. the recipient agrees contractually to protect the information in a way that provides similar protections to those under New Zealand privacy laws;

d. or we have your permission.

 

11. Storage and security

We are committed to protecting the security of your personal information and we take all reasonable precautions to protect it from unauthorised access, use, modification or disclosure.  If you believe there may have been a privacy breach, please contact us as soon as possible using the contact details below.

           

12. Access and correction of your personal information

 

12.1 It is your responsibility to ensure that the personal information you provide is accurate, complete and up to date.

12.2 You may request access to the information we hold about you, or request that we update or correct any personal information we hold about you, or ask us to restrict or cease processing your personal information, by setting out your request in writing and sending it to us at the contact details set out below.

12.3 If you have consented to us sharing your personal information with any third parties in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy or at any other time, and requested that we update or correct any personal information we hold about you, we will inform the relevant third parties about the updates or corrections to personal information we have shared with them.

12.4 We will review your request as soon as reasonably practicable to comply with our legal obligations.

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13. Retention of information

We only keep your personal information for as long as we require it for the purposes of providing you with our Services.

 

14.Contact Information & Privacy Commissioner

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14.1 We take your concerns seriously. If you need assistance accessing or updating your personal information we have collected or if you have any concerns about privacy, or the way we use or collect your personal information, please email us at info@socialdog.co.nz

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14.2 If you are not satisfied with our response to any privacy related concern you may have, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner online at www.privacy.org.nz.

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Terms of Service

 

These Terms of Service were last updated on 27 June 2024.

 

1. About these Terms of Service and our Services

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1.2 SocialDog Limited and its affiliates (“SocialDog”, “we”, “us”, “our”) owns and operates this product, service, application (whether web-based or an application that you download and install on your device) (“Apps”) and website (collectively, our “Services”).

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1.3 These Terms of Service set out our and your rights and obligations in relation to our Services. The Services are intended to provide you with a platform to enable you to connect with other dog-owners seeking social connections for their dogs, upload, create and share content relating to your dog, and to receive care information, training tips, and other dog-related information and advice. We make our Services available to you for personal use only.

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1.4 Please read these Terms of Services (which include our Privacy Policy[DC1] ) carefully before accessing and using our Services. By accessing and using our Services, you agree to follow and be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to all of our Terms of Service, you must not use the Services.

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1.5 SocialDog may offer general training and animal care tips, but does not offer veterinary services or dog-specific advice.  SocialDog is not a substitute for veterinary care or professional support for training or behavioural issues.  If you have any concerns regarding the health or behaviour of your dog, we strongly recommend that you seek professional advice from your vet or behaviourist.

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1.6 SocialDog does not currently charge users for accessing the Services.  Instead, SocialDog charges other businesses to show you advertisements for goods and services that we think you might be interested in via the Services.  SocialDog may charge you for the Services, or any related services, in the future, and will give you reasonable notice before implementing any user charges.

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2. Changes to our Terms of Service

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2.1 We may amend these Terms of Service from time to time and will notify you of any changes by posting an updated version on our website at www.socialdog.co.nz/terms or by sending you a push notification in our App. It is your responsibility to regularly review these Terms of Service for any changes.

2.2 Your continued access and use of our Services following notification of any changes to these Terms of Service constitutes acceptance of those changes. If you do not agree with any aspect of the updated Terms of Service, you must immediately cease all use of our Services (including our Apps).

 

3. Registration and your personal information

 

3.1 Our Services (and in particular, our App) require you to register with us and provide us with your personal information.  You must be aged 18 or over in order to register an account with us.

3.2 Your privacy is important to us and we are committed to respecting your privacy at all times. We will always deal with your personal information in accordance with applicable privacy law and our Privacy Policy.

3.3 Your account is personal to you and only you can access our Services under your username and password. You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account and must keep any logins and passwords confidential. In the event of any unauthorised access or use, you agree to immediately change your password. You acknowledge and agree that we may disable your account or access to our Services if we discover that your account details have been provided to any third party.

3.4 You will ensure that all information you provide to us (whether in registering for an account with us and otherwise providing information to us) is true and correct and kept up to date for so long as you continue to use our Services.

3.5 You will not create or hold more than one account at any one time.  Where your account is suspended or disabled by us for any reason, you must not create another account without our written approval.

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4. Your Use of SocialDog

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4.1 You acknowledge and agree that you will:

a. provide complete and accurate information about yourself and your dog when registering for and using our Services;

b. take full responsibility for the safety and conduct of yourself and your dog when attending social meetings arranged through our Services, including complying with all dog restrictions and leash requirements at parks, beaches and other public spaces;

c. follow all best practice information and guidelines for dog meetings recommended by SocialDog from time to time (including, if you have any concerns at all about the behaviour or reactions of your dog, using a muzzle and meeting in a neutral space); and

4. exercise caution and take appropriate safety measures when meeting new people and animals.

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4.2 You acknowledge and agree that you will not:

a. share any content that is illegal, inaccurate, abusive, threatening, discriminatory, harassing, sexually explicit or offensive;

b. use our Services to buy or sell animals, or to connect dogs for mating;

c. use our Services to seek sexual or romantic connections;

d. use our Services for any commercial purposes without our prior written consent; or

e. share any content or otherwise use the Services in a way that violates the privacy, safety, or intellectual property rights of any other person.

 

4.3 While SocialDog cannot control and is not responsible for the behaviour of any persons or animals you connect with through the Services, we recommend that you notify us of any conduct by another SocialDog user that you consider may breach these Terms of Service.

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4.4 SocialDog may, but is not obliged to, review and monitor any content uploaded to or transmitted via the Services.  SocialDog reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to remove any content that violates these Terms of Service, and to suspend or remove any user pending investigation into any content that SocialDog considers may constitute a breach of these Terms of Service.

 

5. Your General Obligations

 

You acknowledge and agree that you will:

 

5.1 comply with all applicable laws (including applicable privacy laws) with respect to your use of our Services;

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5.2 indemnify us, our directors, officers and employees against all costs, expenses and damages incurred in connection with any claim arising from any reasonable reliance by us on any use of your password, including us disclosing information relating to you or your use of our Services that you have authorised us to disclose or we are required to disclose;

 

5.3 not access our Services in order to build a product or service which is the same as or similar to our Services or which otherwise competes with our Services;

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5.4 not harvest or collect any content either manually or via an automated software tool;

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5.5 not commit or encourage a criminal offence, or post or transmit any content (to the extent content may be posted or transmitted) that is prohibited by or violates any applicable law or regulation;

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5.6 not remove, disable, circumvent or attempt to undermine the integrity of any security or technical measures, including any digital rights management system or other content protection or features used by us, that control access to:

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a. our Services; or

b. our, or any third party’s systems, networks or resources used in the provision of the Services; and

c. not manipulate, access, or otherwise interfere with any part of our Services, or post, store, distribute or transmit any viruses through our Services.

 

6. Use of Cookies

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6.1 We may use cookies or similar technologies on our Services to help us identify you when you use our Services or to help us improve your experience when using our Services. If you do not accept these, some pages may not operate as intended and you may not be able to access certain information.

 

7. Changes to our Services

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7.1 You acknowledge that we may provide updates, upgrades, patches and other modifications to our Services (together “Updates”) that must be installed for you to continue to use our Services properly, or at all. You may be required to install Updates or to update or upgrade the device you use to access our Services or the operating system running on that device in order to continue to use our Services. 

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7. 2 We may at any time modify, discontinue or restrict access to our Services (or any part of them), temporarily or permanently with or without notice to you. To the extent permitted by law, you agree that we will not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, discontinuance or restriction of our Services.

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8. Third party services, websites, apps and social media

 

8.1 We may display banners, promote content, and/or provide links to third party goods and services (including websites and/or apps) that are not under our control.We are not responsible for, make no representations or warranties in relation to, and do not endorse, the content of those third-party goods and services and provide them solely for your information and convenience.

 

9. Disclaimer of warranties

 

9.1 You acknowledge that, except for those warranties or representations that cannot be excluded by law (including under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and Fair Trading Act 1986), the Services are provided on an “as is” basis and all representations, conditions or warranties in respect of the Services (whether express or implied, statutory or otherwise, and including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose) are expressly excluded.

 

9.2 Without limiting the foregoing and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not warrant:

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a. the behaviour or temperament of any other dog or person, or that your dog will form a positive social bond with any other dog introduced to you through our Services;

b. the accuracy, correctness, reliability and completeness of any information provided in connection with our Services. You acknowledge that the information we provide is for the purposes of assisting you to arrange social meetings for your dog, and providing general information about dog care and dog training. You agree that you will not rely solely on the Services for dog care, health and training information and will consult your vet for advice and information specific to your dog;

c. that your use of, or access to, the Services will be uninterrupted or free from any errors, omissions or misstatements;

d. that the Services will meet your requirements;

e. that the Services will operate on all types of devices; or

f. that the Services will be secure or free from viruses.

 

10. Limitation of Liability

 

10.1 To the maximum extent permitted by law, we will not be liable in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise to you for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss or damage, regardless of cause or origin, arising out of or in connection with your use of or reliance on the Services or these Terms of Service.

 

10.2 You will indemnify us against all costs, losses, expenses and damages incurred through any claims against us resulting from your use of the Services.

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11. Intellectual Property

 

11.1 You acknowledge and agree that we and/or our licensors own all intellectual property rights in and to the Services (including all modifications, developments and enhancements to them). All rights are reserved to us.

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11.2 You must not:

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a. use, reproduce, duplicate, reverse assemble, reverse engineer, modify, alter, adapt, disassemble, decompile or amend any such intellectual property rights or any of the underlying materials in any way, whether directly or indirectly;

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b. assert ownership or rights in, or exploit, sell or seek to generate profit from any of our intellectual property rights in the Services; or

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c. copy, republish, or distribute any content from us, for any reason whether in public, for commercial purposes, or otherwise.

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12. Suspension and Termination

 

12.1 We may, at our discretion, suspend or cancel your access to the Services if you fail to comply with these Terms of Service, or if we cease to make the Services available to the general public.

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12.2 You may delete your account at any time by deleting your profile from the platform.

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13. General

 

13.1 These Terms of Service constitute the entire agreement between you and us in respect of your use of our Services. 

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13.2 If any part or a provision of these Terms of Service is judged invalid or unenforceable in a jurisdiction it is severed for that jurisdiction and the remainder of these Terms of Service will continue to operate.

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13.3 Any delay or failure to enforce our rights under these Terms of Services does not mean we have waived those rights.

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13.4 These Terms of Service will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New Zealand, and you and we agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the New Zealand courts.

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If you have any questions or concerns in relation to the Services or these Terms of Service, please contact us at info@socialdog.co.nz

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