Privacy Policy

1. Personal Data We Collect

To provide safe, reliable, and verified cat boarding and sitting services, JustCat collects the following categories of information:

• Account & Identity: Full name, phone number, email address, profile avatar, residential city/area, and age confirmation (18+). For prospective cat hosts, we also collect identity verification inputs (government ID proof, address proof) and host-screening records.
• Cat & Care Details: Cat passport profiles, names, breeds, age, vaccination cards and history (e.g. FPV/Tricat, Rabies), spay/neuter status, dietary instructions, litter preferences, temperament, medical history, and emergency veterinarian details.
• Home Safety & Setup (Hosts): Home type (apartment, villa, house), balcony netting and window grille verification photos, room arrangements, and resident pet declarations.
• Booking Communications: In-app chat messages, stay notes, voice notes and audio memos, daily photo and video check-ins uploaded by hosts during stays, and structured booking event logs.
• Payments & Financial Transactions: Booking amounts, platform fees, payment transaction IDs, refund status, host bank account details for payouts, and accounting records. Payment credentials (credit/debit cards, UPI PINs) are processed directly by RBI-authorized payment aggregators (such as Razorpay) and are never stored on JustCat servers.
• Device, Location & Technical Usage: Device identifiers, operating system version, push notification tokens, IP address, approximate city-level location, app diagnostics, and crash logs.
• Support, Trust & Safety: Customer support messages, incident reports, stay reviews, feedback, and moderation records.

2. Where Data Comes From

We collect personal data directly from you when you register an account, create a feline profile, apply to become a host, or communicate on the platform. We also collect data from the counterpart in a booking (for instance, when a host provides daily check-in photos to a cat parent), from payment processors confirming your transaction status, and from your mobile device via permissions you explicitly grant (such as camera or photo library for cat pictures).

3. Why We Use Personal Data

We process your data for legitimate and specific business purposes:

• Delivering Cat Care Services: Matching cat parents with verified nearby feline hosts, processing quotes and bids, confirming bookings, facilitating stay coordination, and enabling daily photo/video updates.
• Safety & Trust Verification: Verifying host homes for escape prevention (balcony netting, window screens), validating mandatory cat vaccinations, ensuring safe environments, and vetting host identities.
• Payments & Payouts: Processing secure online booking payments, managing refunds according to our policy, and disbursing earnings to verified hosts.
• Customer Support & Dispute Handling: Investigating stay incidents, managing inquiries, and resolving claims.
• Service Communications: Sending OTP login codes, booking confirmations, stay reminders, and critical safety alerts.
• Legal & Statutory Compliance: Maintaining financial books of account, adhering to tax regulations (GST), and complying with lawful orders under Indian law.

4. In-App Communications & Platform Safety

To protect cats, parents, and hosts, and to maintain marketplace trust, JustCat processes in-app communications (messages and photos). Automated and manual review tools may detect unauthorized attempts to solicit off-platform cash transactions, bypass safety protections, or share sensitive contact information prior to a confirmed booking.

Off-platform bookings forfeit platform safety features, netting verification standards, and dispute protection. Review tools are internal safeguards; any serious platform action includes human moderation, and you may contest any review outcome by contacting support.

5. Who Receives Personal Data

We share information only under strict conditions:

• Confirmed Booking Counterparts: When a booking is confirmed, relevant stay details (cat profiles, parent and host names, phone numbers, drop-off/pick-up addresses, feeding instructions, emergency vet details) are shared between the parent and host for the purpose of completing the stay safely.
• Service Providers: Cloud infrastructure (Supabase, AWS), secure payment gateways (Razorpay), SMS and OTP delivery vendors (MSG91), and analytics services acting strictly under confidentiality obligations.
• Veterinary Emergencies: In the event of acute feline distress or accident during a stay, the host and JustCat may share health and contact details with emergency veterinary clinics.
• Legal Authorities: Where required by valid legal process, court orders, or applicable statutory laws.

6. Retention of Data & 30-Day Chat Media Auto-Deletion

We retain personal data for as long as your JustCat account remains active and as required to fulfill stay bookings, resolve disputes, maintain accounting ledgers, and satisfy statutory tax and legal requirements under Indian law.

When an account is deleted, personal identifiers (name, phone number, profile pictures, active cat passports) are removed or anonymized. Past completed financial transactions and statutory invoices are retained in encrypted archives for the minimum statutory limitation period mandated by law.

7. Your Choices and Rights

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you have rights regarding your personal data:

• Access & Summary: You may request a summary of the personal data we process about you.
• Correction & Updating: You can edit and update your personal and cat profile information directly in the JustCat app.
• Erasure & Account Deletion: You have the right to request permanent deletion of your account and associated records at any time. See our dedicated Account Deletion Guide.
• Consent Withdrawal: You may revoke optional permissions (such as photo library access, camera, or push notifications) in your device settings.
• Grievance Redressal: You may register concerns with our designated Grievance Officer.

8. Children’s Privacy

JustCat is exclusively intended for adults aged 18 or older. We do not knowingly allow individuals under 18 to create accounts or book pet care services. If you believe a minor has submitted personal information, please notify us immediately so we can remove the record.

9. Security Safeguards

We implement industry-standard technical and organizational security measures, including 256-bit encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS), role-based database access controls, secure cloud storage, and regular security reviews. However, no electronic transmission over the internet is completely infallible; we advise users to keep their login devices secure.

10. Grievance Officer & Contact Details

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the details of our Grievance Officer and corporate contact are set forth below: