Privacy Policy

Pet FBI Privacy Policy

This Policy was last modified on March 12, 2021.

This privacy policy discloses the privacy practices for PetFBI.org. It applies solely to information collected by Pet FBI – Pets Found By Internet, an Ohio nonprofit corporation (hereafter “Pet FBI”). It will notify you of the following:

• What personally identifiable information is collected, how and why it is used, and with whom it may be shared.
• How you can control the personal information we collect, including the modification and deletion of that information.
• The security procedures in place to protect your information.
• How cookies and third-party technologies are used and for what purposes.

Our Privacy Policy may change from time to time and all updates will be posted on this page. If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact us immediately via email at PetFBI@petfbi.org.

What Information We Collect

Pet FBI collects the following personal information.

1. Information you provide

   1. Contact information

   Email address, phone 2. Account information

   Your zip code, first name, last name, password 3. Pet information

   Pet name, pet photo(s), location last seen/location found, date last seen/date found, species, sex, pet description, personal message about your lost or found pet, updates on the search for your lost pet or the owner of your found pet 4. Organization information

   The name, organization type, address, city, state, website, phone, fax, and logo of an organization(s) with which you are affiliated 5. Payment information for donations

   Credit card number, expiration date, CVV, and name on card. Pet FBI does not store credit card information; this information is encrypted and held by our third-party payment processor, PayPal 6. Communications data

   Emails you send to Pet FBI directly, or to another user via a Pet FBI proxy email address

2. Automatically collected information

   1. Location information

   Depending on the Pet FBI services that you use, and your app settings or device permissions, we may collect your precise or approximate location information as determined through data such as GPS, IP address and Wi-Fi. 2. Device information

   Depending on the Pet FBI services that you use, we may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device you use, your mobile device’s unique device ID, the IP address of your mobile device, your mobile operating system, and the type of mobile internet browsers you use. 3. Usage information

   We collect information about how you interact with our services. This includes information such as access dates and times, features used, and pages viewed. In some cases, we collect this information through cookies, pixel tags, and similar technologies that create and maintain unique identifiers. This is explained further in the Cookies and Third-Party Technologies section of our Privacy Policy.

3. Information from other sources

   1. User comments

   We collect comments (such as from Facebook) from users regarding lost or found pets posted to Pet FBI. 2. Publicly available sources

   In addition to maintaining a proprietary database of lost & found pets, Pet FBI serves as an aggregator of pet information across the web. Information collected from these publicly available sources includes but is not limited to pet name, pet photo(s), location last seen/location found, date last seen/date found, species, sex, pet description, and contact information of the person who posted.

How We Use Your Information

Pet FBI uses the information it collects for the following purposes.

1. Providing services and features

   1. Creating your account

   We use your email address, password, and location to create your Pet FBI account. This enables you to login to post new lost or found pets, or to modify information you have already provided to Pet FBI. 2. Creating and distributing an alert for a pet you have lost or found

   The core function of Pet FBI is to raise awareness for a pet you have lost or found. When you post a report on Pet FBI, we will share your pet’s information and certain contact information with our users in the following locations: 1. Pet FBI website 2. Facebook and other social networks 3. Emails to Pet FBI subscribers 4. On the print flyer generated for the lost or found pet 5. With our alert network partners, including those with access to our lost & found pet feeds.

2. Displaying location-specific information

We may use your location information – either submitted by you or collected automatically – to present you with location-specific information, such as nearby lost & found pets. 3. Support

We use your email address and/or phone number to contact you in order to assist you when you contact our support services. 4. Research and development

We may use the information we collect for testing, research, analysis, and product development. This allows us to improve our existing services and develop new features and products. 5. Communication among users

We use collected contact information to enable communications between our users. For example, a user may call or email another user (via a Pet FBI email proxy or online form) to let them know they have located their lost pet or have located the owner of their found pet. 6. Communications from Pet FBI

We may use the information we collect to communicate with you about products, services, promotions, news, and updates. 7. Legal proceedings and requirements

We may use the information we collect to investigate or address claims or disputes relating to your use of Pet FBI’s services, or as otherwise allowed by applicable law, or as requested by regulators, government entities, and official inquiries.

With Whom We Share Your Information

Pet FBI may share the information we collect in the following ways.

1. With other users

We may share personal information, such as contact information and information about your lost or found pet, with other Pet FBI users. When you post a report on Pet FBI, we will share the information you provided with Pet FBI users on our website, our mobile applications, on Facebook and other social networks, and in emails to Pet FBI subscribers. Certain personal information, such as your email address, will be hidden behind a proxy address created by Pet FBI on your behalf. We will share no more information than is necessary to facilitate in the reunion of your lost or found pet. 2. With other lost pet recovery groups

Pet FBI partners with volunteer groups and they may contact you to offer their assistance. None of the groups charge a fee for their service. You may also be contacted by shelters, vet clinics or other individuals that may have information about the pet you listed. Your listing will be sent via email to Pet FBI’s members in your area. Additionally, your listing may be posted on websites and social media platforms by Pet FBI’s partner organizations and by individuals receiving your listing. Pet FBI partners are listed at </about-pet-fbi/our-partners/>. We may also share your listing with other lost pet recovery organizations.

1. With Pet FBI service providers and other partners
   1. Payment processors and facilitators, such as PayPal
   2. Cloud storage providers, such as Amazon Web Services
2. For legal reasons or in the event of a dispute
   1. We may share your information as required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena or similar legal process.
   2. We may share your information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect your rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request.
   3. If Pet FBI is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, you will be notified via email and/or prominent notice on our website of any change in ownership or uses of this information, as well as any choices you may have regarding this information.
3. With your consent

We may share your information other than as described in this policy if we notify you and you consent to the sharing, such as in sharing reunion stories) with our audience or partners.

How to Control Your Information

You have certain rights regarding your personal information collected by Pet FBI. These rights and the processes by which you exercise them are explained below.

1. 1. View information

   You have the right to receive a copy of the information that Pet FBI collects about you if collected on the basis of consent or because Pet FBI requires the information to provide the services that you request. To receive a copy of your information, send your request to PetFBI@petfbi.org. 2. Modify information

   You can modify information you have provided to Pet FBI, such as your contact information, pet information, or location information, by logging into your Pet FBI account and navigating to the Show Reports or Edit Profile sections. You can also modify information by sending your request to PetFBI@petfbi.org. 3. Delete information

   You may request the deletion of your account and/or any personal information we have about you at any time. To delete your information, send your request to PetFBI@petfbi.org. 4. Object or file complaints

   You have the right to object to or file a complaint relating to Pet FBI’s handling of your personal information. If you have an objection or complaint, you should contact us at PetFBI@petfbi.org. 5. Opt-out of Pet FBI communications

   Email communications

   You can opt out of email communications from Pet FBI at any time by logging into your Pet FBI account, then click on Edit Report and navigate to Contact Preferences. You can also click the Unsubscribe link in any email notification from Pet FBI. Unsubscribe requests may take up to five days to process.

How Your Information Is Stored and Protected

We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline.

Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a closed lock icon at the bottom of your web browser or looking for "https" at the beginning of the address of the web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees, volunteers, or partner organizations who need the information to perform a specific job are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

Cookies and Third-Party Technologies

We use cookies and other identification technologies on our website, apps, emails, and online ads. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your browser or device by websites, apps, online media, and advertisements. Pet FBI uses cookies and similar technologies for purposes such as:

• Remembering user preferences and settings
• Analyzing site traffic and trends, and generally understanding the online behaviors and interests of people who interact with our services.
• Delivering and measuring the effectiveness of advertising campaigns

You have the right to choose whether or not to accept cookies. However, they are an important part of how our services work, so you should be aware that if you choose to refuse or remove cookies, this could affect the availability and functionality of the services.

Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove or reject browser cookies. To do so, please follow the instructions provided by your browser, which are usually located within the “Help” or “Preferences” menu. Some third parties also provide the ability to refuse their cookies directly, such as from the Ad Preferences menu of your Facebook account.

The types and purposes of cookies used by Pet FBI are explained below.

1. Local storage

We use cookies to remember user preferences, such as assisting with your account login.

2. Analytics, performance, and research

We use cookies to understand, improve, and research products and services, including when you access the Pet FBI website and/or application from a computer or mobile device. We use cookies from the following third parties for these purposes:

• 1. Google Analytics

3. Advertising

We use cookies and pixels to deliver relevant ads, track email marketing or ad campaign performance. For example, we may use cookies, attribution service, or another similar technology to determine whether we have served an ad and how it performed or provide us with information about how you interact with them. We use cookies from the following third parties for these purposes:

• 1. Facebook Pixel
• 2. Google AdWords

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Policy, please contact us at PetFBI@petfbi.org.