Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

The data controller is ПАВКО ПЕТ ДООЕЛ Битола, ул. Солунска бр. 33, 7000 Битола, Северна Македонија (tax number / ЕДБ: MK4002026580746; registration number / ЕМБС: 7946996).

For any privacy question, or to exercise your rights, contact us at privacy@pawko.app or contact@pawko.app.

2. What data we collect

Data you give us

• Account data: your name, email address, password (stored hashed), and language preference.
• Profile data: profile photo, phone number, city / service area, a short bio, and (for sitters) experience, services offered and pricing.
• Pet data: information about your pets — name, species, breed, age, size, behaviour, medical and care needs.
• Booking and message data: booking details, dates, special instructions, and messages you exchange with other users.
• Sitter verification data: for sitters, identity and screening information collected during our manual in-person vetting (e.g. ID details, address, references).
• Payment and payout data: billing details, the amounts of your bookings, and — for sitters — the bank account and tax information needed to pay you and to issue invoices.
• Support data: anything you tell us when you contact support, leave a review, or report a problem.

Data we collect automatically

• Device and usage data: IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed, and actions taken on the Platform.
• Cookies and similar technologies: see the Cookies section below.
• Location, only if you use a location feature and grant permission: some optional features, such as a live handoff map (to find each other at drop-off or pickup) or live dog-walk tracking, use your device's location while the feature is active and stop automatically when you finish. Your live position is sent directly to the other party to that booking over a private, access-controlled channel and is not kept on our servers; for dog walks, the route is recorded so the owner can follow along. These features are optional, are available only where we have enabled them, and need your device's location permission, which you can turn off at any time. If you do not use these features or do not grant permission, we do not collect your device's location.

3. Why we use your data and our legal basis

We use your personal data only where we have a legal basis to do so:

• To provide the Platform — create your account, show sitter profiles, enable bookings and messaging, and connect owners with sitters (legal basis: performance of a contract).
• To process payments, pay out sitters, calculate commission and taxes, and issue invoices and receipts (legal basis: performance of a contract and compliance with legal/tax obligations).
• To verify and screen sitters and keep the community safe (legal basis: legitimate interests and, where required, your consent).
• To send you service messages about your bookings, account and security (legal basis: performance of a contract).
• To provide customer support and resolve disputes (legal basis: legitimate interests and performance of a contract).
• To improve, secure and prevent fraud or abuse on the Platform (legal basis: legitimate interests).
• To send marketing communications, where you have opted in (legal basis: consent — you can withdraw it at any time).
• To comply with the law, including tax, accounting and lawful requests from authorities (legal basis: legal obligation).

4. Who we share data with

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only as needed to run the Platform:

• Between users: when you book or accept a booking, owners and sitters see the information needed to provide the service — name, photo, relevant pet details, the meeting address, your messages, and — during a live handoff or dog walk, and only while it is active — your real-time location.
• Payment providers: a licensed payment processor handles card payments and payouts; we never store full card numbers.
• Service providers (processors): hosting, database, email delivery, analytics and similar vendors that process data on our behalf under a data-processing agreement and only on our instructions.
• Advertising partners: with your consent, we use the Meta (Facebook) Pixel, provided by Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, to measure our advertising. When active it shares data such as your IP address, device information and actions on the Platform with Meta, which may process it outside North Macedonia, including in the United States. You can withdraw this consent at any time from the cookie banner or "Cookie settings" in the footer; see Meta's Privacy Policy (facebook.com/privacy/policy) for how Meta uses it.
• Authorities and advisors: tax authorities, accountants, lawyers, courts or regulators where required by law or to protect our rights.
• Business transfers: if Pawko is involved in a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, data may be transferred as part of that transaction.

5. International transfers

Some of our service providers store or process data on servers located outside North Macedonia, including in the European Union and other countries. Where data is transferred internationally, we rely on appropriate safeguards — such as transfers to countries with an adequate level of protection or standard contractual clauses — to keep your data protected to the same standard.

6. How long we keep data

We keep your personal data only as long as needed for the purposes above:

• Account and profile data: for as long as your account is active, and for a reasonable period afterwards in case you return.
• Booking, message and review data: for the life of the account and as needed to resolve disputes.
• Invoices, payments and tax records: for the retention period required by accounting and tax law in North Macedonia (generally several years).
• Marketing consent records: until you withdraw consent, plus a short period to evidence the withdrawal.

When data is no longer needed we delete it or irreversibly anonymise it.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time from the Settings screen in the app, or by emailing us. When you delete your account, we delete or irreversibly anonymise your personal data, except for records we must keep by law, such as invoices and tax records, which we retain only for the period the law requires.

7. Your rights

Subject to the conditions in the law, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy.
• Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erase your data (the 'right to be forgotten') where there is no overriding reason to keep it.
• Restrict or object to certain processing, including direct marketing.
• Data portability — receive your data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing already carried out.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@pawko.app. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Agency for Personal Data Protection (Агенција за заштита на личните податоци, azlp.mk) if you believe your rights have been breached.

8. How we protect your data

We apply appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit, hashed passwords, access controls and regular review of our systems. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work continuously to safeguard your information and will notify you and the competent authority of a data breach where the law requires.

9. Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember your language and preferences, keep the Platform secure, and understand how it is used.

• Strictly necessary cookies: required for the Platform to function (e.g. your session and security). These cannot be switched off.
• Preference cookies: remember choices such as your language (pawko_locale).
• Marketing cookies: set only if you consent, these power the Meta (Facebook) Pixel from Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, which helps us measure our advertising. Accept or reject them in the cookie banner, or change your choice at any time via "Cookie settings" in the footer.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking strictly necessary cookies may stop parts of the Platform from working.

10. Children

The Platform is intended for adults. It is not directed at children, and you must be at least 18 years old to create an account. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us data, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes we will update the effective date and, where appropriate, notify you. Continued use of the Platform after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.

12. Contact us

Questions about this policy or your data? Email privacy@pawko.app or write to ПАВКО ПЕТ ДООЕЛ Битола, ул. Солунска бр. 33, 7000 Битола, Северна Македонија.