Privacy Policy

Information we collect

• Account information. When a breeder creates an account we collect name, email address, a securely hashed password, and business or profile details.
• Buyer account information. When a buyer signs up, applies, joins a waitlist, or messages a breeder on a breeder's site we collect details such as name, email, phone number, application and form responses, in-app messages, and any files they upload (for example, documents the breeder requests). A signature field on a breeder's form records the name the buyer typed and when the form was submitted.
• Content and media. Site content, photos, and other media that breeders upload. Photo background removal runs in the breeder's own browser; the photo is not sent to a third party for that step.
• Payment information. Payments are processed by Stripe. We do not store full card numbers. We retain payment records and metadata (such as amounts, status, and identifiers) needed to operate subscriptions, reservations, deposits, and invoices. To prevent repeat free trials and referral abuse, we keep a one-way hashed fingerprint of the payment method used for a trial or a referred subscription; the fingerprint cannot be turned back into card details.
• Referral program data. If you arrive through a breeder's referral link, a signed cookie remembers that link for 30 days. When you subscribe, we record which breeder referred you, the checkout it came from, and the status of the referral so rewards can be granted or reversed correctly.
• Usage and device data. Operational logs, IP address, and browser or device information generated when you use the Service. Abuse controls such as rate limits keep only hashed keys, never the raw address or email.
• Cookies. We use strictly necessary cookies to keep you signed in and operate the Service. Authentication cookies are HTTP-only. See our Cookie Policy for the complete list and preference controls.

How we use information

We use the information we collect to:

• provide, operate, and maintain the Service;
• process payments, subscriptions, reservations, and invoices;
• send transactional emails and account notifications;
• run the referral program and apply rewards;
• provide customer support and respond to requests;
• maintain security, prevent fraud and abuse, and enforce our terms, including one-trial-per-payment-method checks and platform-wide rate limits; and
• measure marketing performance and improve and develop the Service.

Emails we send

• On behalf of breeders. Waitlist confirmations, reservation offers, payment requests, receipts, and similar messages to buyers are sent through our email provider from notifications@whelpify.com, showing the breeder's kennel name and replying to the breeder's contact address. Breeders can also send an update to their own waitlist from the dashboard; those messages go only to people who applied or joined that breeder's waitlist.
• From Whelpify to breeders. Account, billing, and product messages, plus replies to anything you send through our contact page. If we build a preview site for a breeder who has not signed up yet, we email an invitation and a small number of follow-ups, and stop when asked.
• Bounces and complaints. An address that bounces or reports a message as spam is added to a suppression list, stored as a one-way hash, so no breeder on Whelpify keeps emailing it.

How we share information

We do not sell personal information. We share data with service providers (subprocessors) that help us run the Service:

• Stripe: subscription billing, breeder payouts, and payment fraud prevention;
• Vercel: application hosting, custom-domain registration and renewal;
• Neon: our database;
• PostHog: optional product analytics, masked session recordings, technical error reports, surveys, and feature flags;
• Cloudflare: media storage and image delivery, and invisible Turnstile bot protection on submitted forms. Turnstile processes limited browser and network signals to tell people from bots; see Cloudflare's Turnstile Privacy Addendum;
• Resend: transactional and waitlist email delivery;
• Upstash: hashed rate-limit counters used for abuse prevention;
• Google: optional marketing-site analytics only after you allow it, and Public DNS lookups that your browser performs while you verify a custom domain in your dashboard;
• Meta (Facebook and Instagram): advertising measurement on our marketing pages, and social posting only if a breeder connects a Meta account; and
• img.ly: the photo background-removal tool downloads its model files from img.ly servers to run in your browser.

We may also disclose information to comply with applicable law, respond to lawful requests, enforce our agreements, or protect the rights, property, and safety of Whelpify, our users, or others. If Whelpify is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

Breeders and buyers: who controls your data

Whelpify is a multi-tenant platform. Each breeder independently controls their own site and the buyer information collected through it. For buyer data, the breeder is the data controller and Whelpify acts as a processor on the breeder's behalf. A buyer account can belong to more than one breeder if the buyer applies to several; each breeder sees only their own relationship. If you are a buyer and want to access, correct, or delete information you provided to a breeder, please contact that breeder directly; we will assist them as needed.

Data retention

We keep information for as long as needed to provide the Service and for legitimate business, legal, tax, and accounting purposes. If a subscription ends, the breeder's site goes offline but the data is kept so it can be restored. When information is no longer needed, we delete or anonymize it.

Security

We use measures such as encryption in transit, hashed passwords, scoped access controls, and private storage with short-lived links for sensitive uploaded documents to help protect information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Your choices and rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or port your personal information, or to object to or restrict certain processing. Breeders can export their waitlist, customer, payment, and offer records from the dashboard. For anything else, including deleting an account, email us at info@whelpify.com; there is no self-serve delete button today, and we handle requests by hand. Buyers should also contact the relevant breeder, who controls their data. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.

Children's privacy

The Service is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us information, please contact us so we can remove it.

International transfers

We and our providers may process information in the United States and other countries. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards for cross-border transfers.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we revise the effective date above, post a short summary of what changed at the top of this page, and, where appropriate, provide additional notice.

Contact us

Questions about this policy can be sent to info@whelpify.com, through the contact information on your Whelpify account, or by returning to the Whelpify homepage.