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Privacy

Privacy, stated plainly.

Some consumer tools store data only in your browser; configured discovery may query an external listing provider; public forms and shelter workflows store data on the backend. This page distinguishes those paths.

Effective August 22, 2026
Plain-English summary

What this page governs

This policy covers the public website, externally sourced discovery, browser-local consumer tools, organization-scoped adoption applications, Discovery Questionnaire and pilot-request submissions, authenticated accounts, shelter or rescue operational records, and uploaded files.

What it does not govern

Each shelter or rescue remains responsible for its own notices, permissions, retention decisions, and lawful use of information it enters into WhiskerMatch.

Contact

Veldarium Technology Systems LLC · cazar-brandes@outlook.com

Product-stage note

WhiskerMatch is a founder-led pilot product. Consumer saves, matching preferences, lost-and-found drafts, and care notes stay in unencrypted local or session browser storage in this build. In RescueGroups mode, a postal-code or coordinate-radius search is made server-side and returned records remain temporary. Backend submissions and organization workflows store data only when the required database and hosting services are configured.

WhiskerMatch does not provide veterinary, legal, medical, behavioral, placement, or emergency services.

Who we are

WhiskerMatch is operated by Veldarium Technology Systems LLC. Privacy questions and requests can be sent to cazar-brandes@outlook.com.

What we collect and store

  • Category

    Browser-local consumer data

    Examples

    Saved profiles, recent views, saved searches, matching answers, lost-and-found drafts, uploaded-file names, care observations, and reminders created in the consumer experience.

    Purpose

    To make the current browser experience useful without requiring an account. These prototype surfaces do not send that content to WhiskerMatch's backend; it remains unencrypted on the device or current browser session until removed or browser storage is cleared.

  • Category

    External discovery data

    Examples

    Public animal and source-organization details, source timestamps and links, source-provided images and tracker pixels, approximate city/state location, and a postal-code or coordinate-radius search when RescueGroups mode is configured.

    Purpose

    To request and display temporary, source-attributed adoption listings without importing street addresses or source contact details into the public discovery model. Provider records expire and are not substituted with fixtures when the provider fails.

  • Category

    Public adoption applications

    Examples

    Name, email, optional phone number, and optional household notes submitted from an eligible organization's public animal listing.

    Purpose

    To create an applicant record for the shelter or rescue responsible for that listing so authorized staff can review the inquiry and contact the applicant.

  • Category

    Public questionnaire submissions

    Examples

    Contact details, organization context, workflow answers, and other information a person chooses to submit.

    Purpose

    To review needs, understand shelter and rescue workflows, generate reports, and follow up on the submission.

  • Category

    Pilot requests

    Examples

    Name, email, organization, role, workflow description, and other pilot-fit information supplied through the request form.

    Purpose

    To review pilot fit, manage the request pipeline, provision approved organizations, and communicate about onboarding.

  • Category

    Accounts and sessions

    Examples

    Administrator identity, email address, role, organization membership, password hash, session and security state, invitations, and password-reset records.

    Purpose

    To authenticate users, enforce permissions, support invitations and password recovery, and protect organization boundaries.

  • Category

    Shelter or rescue operational data

    Examples

    Animal records, intake details, statuses, notes, tasks, applicants, foster records, holds, public-profile drafts, review history, and audit events.

    Purpose

    To provide the operational workflows used by a provisioned shelter or rescue organization.

  • Category

    Uploads

    Examples

    Animal photos and documents intentionally uploaded by authorized organization users.

    Purpose

    To attach source material and approved assets to the organization's records. Uploads are kept in private storage and accessed through controlled links.

  • Category

    Technical and security information

    Examples

    Request metadata, IP address, timestamps, response status, rate-limit state, and error information generated by the application or hosting provider.

    Purpose

    To operate, secure, troubleshoot, and prevent abuse of the service.

How browser-local consumer tools work

The consumer discovery, matching, saved, lost-and-found, and care prototypes use localStorage when available and fall back to sessionStorage when persistent storage is unavailable. That data is not encrypted, does not sync across devices, and may be visible to other people who can use the same browser profile. Removing an item in the product or clearing site data removes the active local copy. A selected image in a lost-or-found draft is not uploaded; this build stores only its file name.

How external discovery works

When RescueGroups discovery is configured, WhiskerMatch sends a server-side search containing species, radius, and either the submitted postal code or an approximate coordinate to RescueGroups.org. WhiskerMatch displays a minimized projection of the response: public animal details, source organization, source link, freshness timestamps, source-hosted media, and an approximate location. It does not expose source street addresses, email addresses, or phone numbers. Opening source-hosted images or the required animal tracker may also send ordinary request data, such as IP address and browser headers, to RescueGroups or its media host.

How public submissions work

Organization-scoped adoption applications, the Discovery Questionnaire, and pilot-request forms validate and store submitted information in the configured WhiskerMatch database before a success state is shown. Adoption applications are stored for the organization responsible for the listing. These are not mailto-only workflows; a direct email link may also be offered as an optional alternative on other forms.

How authenticated workflows work

Provisioned users sign in to an organization-scoped application. Account, session, animal, applicant, foster, task, note, status, upload, and audit information may be processed and stored so the requested workflow can operate. Roles and server-side organization checks are used to limit access.

Infrastructure and service providers

  • Vercel hosts and delivers the application and may process standard request and diagnostic information.
  • Supabase provides Postgres database and private object storage when those backend services are configured for a deployment.
  • RescueGroups.org supplies temporary public adoption-listing data, source media, and required tracker images only when the deployment is placed in RescueGroups discovery mode.
  • Anthropic may receive an animal name, species, and public-safe source lines a reviewer types for one organization-owned profile draft when the optional AI key is configured. The action does not automatically load applicant, upload, document, or external provider records.
  • Automated transactional email is optional. Core workflows do not depend on email delivery: invitations and password resets can be completed with manually copied links.

How we use information

  • Provide, secure, maintain, and troubleshoot WhiskerMatch.
  • Authenticate users and enforce organization and role boundaries.
  • Store and display records entered by authorized users.
  • Review questionnaire and pilot submissions and respond to them.
  • Improve workflows using operational feedback and non-identifying patterns.
  • Investigate abuse, reliability problems, and security incidents.

What we do not do

  • We do not sell or rent organization, applicant, adopter, foster, or animal data.
  • We do not use operational data for ad targeting.
  • We do not guarantee adoption, foster, placement, medical, or behavioral outcomes.
  • We do not make veterinary, legal, emergency, or final placement decisions for organizations.
  • We do not claim absolute security or a certification we have not earned.

Organization responsibility

Shelters and rescues remain responsible for the records they enter, the permissions they grant, the people they invite, the decisions they make, and whether information is appropriate to collect, retain, share, or publish. WhiskerMatch supports those workflows; it does not replace organizational judgment or professional advice.

Retention, access, correction, and deletion

Browser-local prototype data remains until it is removed in the interface, the browser session ends for session-only storage, or site data is cleared. Backend retention depends on the type of record, the organization's active use of the service, operational requirements, and applicable obligations. Authorized organizations can manage many records in the application and may request export, correction, or deletion by contacting us. Public submitters may also ask what information we hold about them and request correction or deletion where appropriate.

Children

WhiskerMatch is not directed to children under 13. If you believe a child submitted personal information without appropriate authorization, contact us so we can review and address it.

Security and limitations

We use technical and organizational safeguards appropriate to the current pilot stage, including HTTPS, server-side authentication, role checks, organization-scoped access, private storage, and security testing. No internet service is perfectly secure, and we do not promise absolute security.

Changes

We may update this policy as WhiskerMatch changes. Material updates will be reflected on this page with a revised effective date.