PRIVACY POLICY
Doggone is committed to the protection of your personal privacy and so we have developed this plain-language privacy policy to explain how we look after your personal information.
This policy describes the information Doggone collects about you, how Doggone uses that information, how that information may be disclosed, the security of that information, how you can access and correct your information and other relevant details concerning your privacy.
Why we collect your personal information
Doggone is about:
- helping dog and cat owners (you) find their lost pets; and
- for Councils offering Doggone, helping them with their dog registration and dog control activities.
To start, you need either a Doggone text tag or smart tag for your pet which you can purchase directly from us. For Councils offering Doggone, you will receive the tag from the Council when you register your dog. The tag will have a unique registration number on it and a message to anyone who finds your lost pet asking them to text the pet’s tag number to 4133 to receive your contact phone number (as provided by you), together with any important information you wish to share with the finder (eg. if your pet has a medical condition).
You need to download the Doggone app and confirm your emergency contact details. You can provide further information about your pet with the option of including a photo; microchip number; gender; date of birth; spayed/neutered status; nature; medical information; vet’s name and contact number. You can share any information that you think is important for a finder to know through the 4133 text service.
It is important that the information you provide is correct. If your contact details change or any information about your pet requires updating, you should update it as soon as possible. All changes made and saved within the App are updated online immediately.
Personal information Doggone collects from you must be relevant, fair and lawful. We collect your name, email address and your nominated emergency contact phone number and we relate this information to information about your pet, including your pet’s address. We may also collect transaction information such as credit card or debit card details if you are buying products or services from us. If you want to provide Doggone with any other personal information – that is over to you.
If you want to use a separate phone for the Doggone app or use someone else’s mobile number (with their permission), that is ok.
If you have given permission for your mobile number or any other information to be released to the person finding your dog, then the finder will receive a text back from 4133 with your number and that information so the finder can contact you directly. If you have not given permission for your phone number to be released, then the finder will be given the contact number for Doggone’s customer service (0800 321 111). For Council’s offering Doggone, the alternative number provided to the finder will be the local Council phone number.
AT NO TIME DOES DOGGONE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PERSON FINDING THE DOG OR THEIR WHEREABOUTS.
Personal information about a person who has the app on their phone is not linked with the person finding the pet.
If your Council offers Doggone as an official dog registration tag, your Council will tell you about that and may share some information with Doggone to provide the service. It will be information like your dog’s name, registration number, microchip number, and your contact phone number. This information will be linked to your dog’s registration tag.
Doggone may share information about lost and found dog notifications with any Council or a Council’s animal control officer. This information may be used by the Council to discuss an incident with you or why your dog is getting lost/wandering.
Other Information and Use
Doggone may also collect and store information about your visit to its website, including:
- The name of the domain in which you accessed the internet
- The date and time you accessed the website
- The internet address of the website from which you linked directly to the website
- The pages you accessed while visiting the website
This information does not in itself identify individuals and is used to measure the number of visitors to the website and how it was navigated. This information assists us to make the website more useful to you.
Doggone may also collect information from you or website visitors for the purposes of improving our quality and effectiveness and to provide you with information. Doggone welcomes questions and feedback from you about all aspect of its service. We store those questions and any feedback in order to make our service better. Doggone will not publish your name in connection with any information you provide without your permission.
Doggone may use your personal information to provide products and services to you. We use online platforms WooCommerce and Stripe for payment of products and services we supply to you. Their separate privacy statements are here: https://automattic.com/privacy/ and https://stripe.com/en-nz/privacy. If you would prefer to pay Doggone directly, please contact us at support@doggone.co.nz.
Doggone may use your personal information to provide you with pet welfare information and tips, newsletters or other communications.
If you do not want to receive these notifications, you can opt out via your account settings on the Doggone app or unsubscribe through the link provided in any email we send to you.
Other than for the purposes we have told you about, Doggone will not use your personal information without your prior consent. The only exceptions are where disclosure is necessary to prevent injury to life or health, to investigate any suspected unlawful activity or where it may be required by law such as in a response to a warrant, subpoena or other legal process. Doggone may also provide information to third parties where any of our functions or services are being outsourced. In that situation, the third party will be required to comply with this privacy policy and confidentiality.
Cookies
Cookies are small text files that are placed in your browser by the websites you visit. They are widely used to help users navigate websites efficiently, to perform certain functions on the sites, and/or to provide site owners with information about how their sites are used.
Doggone uses cookies on our site and on our app where they are required for a particular feature to work – for example, if you are a logged in user, to allow you to remain logged in whilst you complete certain tasks.
Security of your Information
Doggone will take all reasonable steps to ensure security of your information from risks such as loss or unauthorised access, destruction, use, modification or disclosure. Your personal information is maintained in a secure environment which can be accessed only by authorised personnel.
However, no data transmission over the internet or information stored on servers accessible through the internet can be guaranteed to be fully secure. These activities are taken at your own risk.
Please let us know if you think your personal information held by us has been compromised. We are committed to privacy security but if there’s a privacy breach of our systems we will investigate and contain the breach where possible. If we believe that breach has caused or is likely to cause serious harm, we will notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and work with the Commissioner to address the breach. This may include letting affected people know if required.
Access and correction of Personal Information
You may request access to your personal information held by us at any time. You may do this through your Doggone app or by sending us an email at our contact address: support@doggone.co.nz. If any information is incorrect, you may update it yourself or request Doggone to do so.
Links to Other Websites
Doggone is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of any other website that is linked to this website. It is your responsibility to investigate the privacy policies of those other sites.
Changes to this Privacy Statement
This privacy policy may change from time to time particularly as new rules, regulations and industry codes are introduced. We will notify Doggone users of any change.