Terms of Service
Last updated: May 2026
1. Acceptance of Terms
By creating an account or using PawPact in any way, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, you must not use PawPact. These terms apply to all users including visitors, registered pet owners, and verified veterinary providers.
2. What PawPact Is
PawPact is an all-in-one pet care platform. Owners can: build one or more pet profiles (species, breed, age, photo, medical) and switch between them from Settings, log symptoms and observations, track vaccinations, weight, photos, vet visits, and caregiver hires, post to an anonymous community feed, PAW UP posts they relate to, discover patterns, message other owners with pet photos, connect with a vet through our Care Thread messaging, hire caregivers (walkers, sitters, groomers, trainers) through our marketplace, and create or donate to fundraisers for pet surgeries or local animal shelters. Caregivers can create a provider profile, list services and rates, publish weekly availability, receive booking requests, and build a paw rating based on completed jobs. Vets can connect with owners who opt in and exchange messages through the Care Thread. PawPact is NOT a veterinary service and does NOT provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment of any kind.
3. Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the United States to use PawPact. All bookings, donations, payouts, and tips are denominated in US dollars (USD) only. By using the platform you represent that you meet both requirements. We reserve the right to terminate accounts we believe belong to users under 18 or located outside the United States.
4. Anonymous Identity (Owners)
Community posts are anonymous. Owners are identified only by a PAW-ID. Your real name and personal contact information are never displayed in public community posts. Your pet's name and photo may be visible to the community, but they are never linked to your personal identity. Caregivers and vets operate under their real names for accountability — see Section 5.
5. Caregivers & Vets (Real Names)
Caregivers and vets are listed under their real names so owners can make informed decisions before hiring or connecting. If you create a caregiver or vet profile, you agree that your display name, bio, services, rates, photo (if added), and availability are public. You also agree to abide by the Caregiver Agreement at /caregiver/agreement, which covers the independent-contractor relationship, platform fee, and non-solicit terms.
6. Marketplace & Platform Fee
Caregiver services are sold through the PawPact marketplace. PawPact charges a 5% platform fee on each completed booking. Caregivers are independent contractors, not employees, and are responsible for their own taxes (1099-NEC issued when thresholds are met). Bookings, payments, and payouts are processed through our payment partner (Stripe Connect). PawPact is not a party to the service itself — it provides the discovery, booking, messaging, and payment infrastructure. Owners may also leave an optional tip on any completed booking; 100% of every tip routes directly to the caregiver and PawPact takes no cut on tips ($1–$500 per tip).
6a. Cancellation & Refund Policy (Bookings)
When a booking is cancelled, refunds follow a fixed rule based on when the cancellation happens relative to the booking start time: (a) Owner cancels ≥ 24h before start — 100% refund to the owner, no payment to the caregiver. (b) Owner cancels < 24h before start — 50% refund to the owner, the caregiver keeps 50% minus the platform fee. (c) Caregiver cancels ≥ 24h before start — 100% refund to the owner, no penalty to the caregiver. (d) Caregiver cancels < 24h before start — 100% refund to the owner and a short-notice cancellation is recorded against the caregiver's account; three short-notice cancellations within a 90-day rolling window trigger an account review and possible removal. Unpaid bookings (pending / accepted) can be cancelled at any time with no refund mechanics. No-shows by the caregiver result in no payment and immediate review. Stripe refunds are issued via Stripe Connect's reverse-transfer mechanism — the refunded amount is pulled from the caregiver's connected balance back to the owner.
6b. Fundraisers
PawPact allows any owner to create a fundraiser for their pet's medical care (surgery, treatment, rehab) or for a local animal shelter or rescue. Fundraisers display a photo, story, and monetary goal and accept donations from other users through Stripe Checkout. PawPact charges a 3.5% platform fee on each donation (lower than the 5% caregiver fee because fundraising proceeds go directly to animals in need); the remaining 96.5% is routed to the organizer's connected Stripe account. The organizer must complete Stripe Connect onboarding before their fundraiser can receive any donations. Organizers agree to: (i) be 100% truthful about how donated funds will be used; (ii) spend funds only on the stated purpose; and (iii) issue refunds or transfer unused funds to a verified rescue if the stated purpose becomes impossible (e.g. the pet passes away before surgery). Fake fundraisers, misrepresentation, off-topic asks (non–animal-welfare), or failure to spend funds as described are grounds for immediate removal, donation refunds, and possible referral to law enforcement. Donations are final once collected except where a fundraiser is proven fraudulent. PawPact is not a party to the donor-organizer relationship; we provide the listing, payment, and payout infrastructure only.
7. Non-Solicit (Caregivers)
To protect the platform that connects caregivers with owners, caregivers agree not to solicit owners they met through PawPact to book services off-platform for 12 months after their first booking. Full terms are in the Caregiver Agreement.
8. Not Veterinary Advice — Important
PawPact is NOT a veterinary service and does NOT provide veterinary, medical, diagnostic, or treatment advice. Community posts, PAW UP counts, pattern data, Care Thread messages, and any other content on the platform are peer-shared observations and informational only. Never delay seeking care or disregard professional advice because of something on PawPact. For any medical concern, consult a licensed veterinarian. For emergencies, go to your nearest emergency animal hospital or call ASPCA Animal Poison Control at 1-888-426-4435. PawPact assumes no responsibility for decisions you make based on platform content.
9. Acceptable Use
You agree not to: post false, misleading, or harmful content; harass, threaten, or abuse other users; impersonate veterinarians, caregivers, or other credentialed professionals; use PawPact for commercial solicitation without authorization; circumvent the platform fee by moving booked jobs off-platform; attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, or exploit the platform; post content that is sexual, violent, or hateful. Violations may result in immediate account termination and forfeiture of pending payouts.
10. Pet Data Accuracy
You are responsible for the accuracy of the pet health data you post. PawPact does not verify clinical claims. Knowingly posting false health information that could harm other pets or mislead the community is a violation of these terms.
11. Content Ownership
You retain ownership of the content you post. By posting, you grant PawPact a worldwide, royalty-free license to display and distribute your content within the platform for community discovery, marketplace listings, and service matching purposes. We will never sell your individual content or pet data to third parties.
12. Ratings & Reviews
Owners may rate caregivers after a completed job (paw rating). Ratings must be based on the actual service received. Fake ratings — positive or negative — are a violation of these terms. PawPact reserves the right to remove ratings that violate these terms.
13. Termination
PawPact may terminate or suspend your account at any time for violations of these terms or for any reason at our discretion. You may delete your account at any time from Settings → Delete Account, which permanently removes all your data. Caregivers with pending bookings must complete or formally cancel them before deletion.
14. Limitation of Liability
PawPact is provided 'as is' without warranties of any kind. We are not liable for any damages arising from your use of the platform, decisions made based on community content, services provided by caregivers, actions taken by your veterinarian, or any other third-party conduct. You use caregiver services at your own risk.
15. Governing Law
These terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles.
16. Third-Party Services
PawPact relies on: Supabase (authentication + database), Vercel (hosting), Resend (transactional email), and Stripe Connect (payments + payouts). Each processes only the minimum data required for its role and is governed by its own terms and privacy policy. By using PawPact, you also agree to Stripe's Connected Account Agreement for any caregiver booking payments.
17. Account Deletion
You may delete your account at any time from Settings → Delete Account. Upon deletion: your profile, posts, PAW UPs, replies, messages, pet profile, journal data, bookings history (where regulation permits), and caregiver profile are permanently removed from our active systems within 30 days. Stripe and our email provider may retain limited transaction or communication records as required by tax, anti-fraud, or other legal obligations. Deletion is irreversible. If you have pending bookings as a caregiver, you must complete or formally cancel them before deletion.
18. User Rights (Privacy)
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, port, or delete your personal data, and to opt out of certain processing. You can exercise most of these rights directly in the app (Settings → Delete Account, pet profile edit, etc.), or by writing to contact@pawpact.app. We will respond within 30 days.
19. Intellectual Property & Trademarks
PAWPACT™ and PATTERN ENGINE™ are trademarks of PawPact LLC, with applications currently pending before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The PawPact name, logo, color palette, brand design, user interface, copy, and all associated marks and materials are the intellectual property of PawPact LLC and its licensors. You may not copy, modify, create derivative works of, reverse engineer, distribute, or imitate any part of the platform, the PAWPACT mark, the PATTERN ENGINE mark, or the PawPact logo or visual identity in any commercial context without prior written permission. Nominative or referential use (e.g. "works with PawPact" in a third-party integration) is permitted only when accurate, non-misleading, and not styled in a way that suggests endorsement or affiliation. If you submit feedback, suggestions, or ideas about PawPact, you grant us a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use them without obligation to you.
20. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless PawPact, its officers, employees, and partners from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from: your use of the platform, your content, your violation of these Terms, or your interactions with other users (caregivers, vets, or pet owners).
21. Dispute Resolution & Arbitration
Before filing any claim, you agree to first contact us at contact@pawpact.app to seek an informal resolution. If the dispute is not resolved within 60 days, any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or PawPact shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by JAMS in Philadelphia, PA, under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules. You and PawPact each waive the right to a jury trial and to participate in a class action. Either party may bring small-claims matters in small-claims court.
22. Apple App Store Terms (iOS users)
If you downloaded PawPact from the Apple App Store, you acknowledge: (a) these Terms are between you and PawPact — Apple is not a party. (b) Apple has no obligation to provide support or maintenance for the app. (c) Apple is not responsible for product warranties, claims of non-conformity, product liability, intellectual-property infringement, or refunds. (d) Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you. (e) You represent that you are not located in a country embargoed by the U.S. government and are not on any U.S. government restricted-parties list.
22a. Google Play Store Terms (Android users)
If you downloaded PawPact from Google Play, you acknowledge: (a) these Terms are between you and PawPact — Google is not a party. (b) Google has no obligation to provide support or maintenance for the app. (c) Google is not responsible for warranties, product liability claims, or any non-conformity. (d) You agree to comply with Google Play's Terms of Service and Google's Acceptable Use Policy in addition to these Terms. (e) Caregiver bookings and tips are real-world services processed via Stripe Connect under Google Play's physical-services exemption from Google Play Billing. (f) Fundraiser donations and Stripe Connect onboarding open in your device's system browser per Google Play's peer-to-peer / user-funds policy. (g) Push notifications require an Android 13+ runtime permission you can grant or revoke at any time.
23. Push Notifications
PawPact uses push notifications to keep both sides of the marketplace informed about time-sensitive booking events: new booking requests, acceptance/decline outcomes, payment confirmations, 24-hour and 2-hour pre-booking reminders, job-completion prompts, payout-landed alerts, tip receipts, and cancellation notices. You may turn booking notifications on or off at any time from Settings → Notifications. Disabling them does not affect the underlying booking or payment — it only mutes the push.
24. External Browser for Payment Onboarding & Donations
Two flows open in your device's system browser (Safari on iOS, Chrome on Android) rather than inside the app: (i) Stripe Connect onboarding when you connect a bank account to receive caregiver payouts or fundraiser donations; and (ii) donating to another user's pet medical fundraiser. This is by design — it complies with Apple App Store Guideline 3.2.1(vii) (charitable donations to non-verified entities must be processed outside the app) and aligns with Google Play's user-funds and payments policy, which prohibits using Google Play Billing for real-world goods, services, and peer-to-peer transfers. You are returned to PawPact automatically once the external flow completes. In-app booking and tip payments remain inside the app under both stores' real-world-service exceptions (Apple Guideline 3.1.3(e) / Google Play physical-services exemption).
25. Changes to Terms
We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use of PawPact after changes constitutes your acceptance. We will make reasonable efforts to notify users of material changes via email or in-app notice.
26. Contact
Questions about these terms? Reach us at contact@pawpact.app. Support requests: support@pawpact.app.