PawHelp Terms of Use

1. What PawHelp is

PawHelp is an Android app in which users mark homeless animals that need help on a map and arrange that help. Service territory: the entire territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan; the service can also be used from other countries (international region).

The current version offers:

• a shared map of reports;
• creating a report with a description, a map point and a photo;
• responding with "I'll help";
• a chat for report participants;
• changing the report status ("help needed", "help arranged", "help provided", "not found");
• complaints about reports and messages;
• account deletion.

Push notifications and the paid PawHelp Support subscription work only when enabled in the service.

The subscription is sold through Google Play under the "PawHelp Support Subscription Terms":

• a month or a year, renewing automatically;
• base price: 3 USD per month and 33 USD per year;
• you are charged the amount Google Play shows before purchase, in your country's currency.

The subscription lifts the free plan's daily limits and, while notifications are on, the free plan's notification delay. The subscription gives no other benefits. There is no trial period and there are no special offers.

The free plan has daily limits shown in the app. When the subscription ends, the account returns to the free plan; your data is not deleted.

PawHelp is not a veterinary, rescue or emergency service. We do not check reports on site and do not guarantee that anyone will respond. If a human or animal life is in danger, contact the emergency services.

2. Who may use PawHelp

PawHelp is only for people aged 18 or over. At registration you confirm your age by declaration; we do not verify it independently. If we learn that an account belongs to a minor, we will restrict or delete it.

To use the app you must accept the current editions of these Terms, the Community Guidelines, the Privacy Policy and the Personal Data Processing Consent. The processing consent covers cross-border transfer of data and showing report data to other users. Without these documents you cannot publish content. When the documents change, the app will ask you to accept the new edition.

3. Account

• You can sign in only with a Google account. One Google account corresponds to one PawHelp account.
• You are responsible for keeping access to your Google account secure and for actions taken through it.
• At registration you choose your country of residence. It determines your service region (section 5). Choose it truthfully. It cannot be changed in the app: to change it, delete the account and register again.
• Do not hand your account to others, create accounts to evade restrictions or impersonate anyone.

4. Reports, photos and location

• Create reports only about real animals you have seen. Descriptions must be truthful.
• The map point is exact coordinates visible to all users (section 6). Do not choose a point that reveals your or someone else's address unless it is needed to help the animal.
• Photograph the animal. Keep people's faces, car and house numbers, documents and other details about people out of the frame.
• The app removes metadata (including GPS) from photos but does not check what the image shows.
• Location access is only used to show your position on the map and to pick a point. You may refuse it and pick a point manually.
• You can change the status of your report. Publishing may be limited by daily limits.

5. Regions

Accounts are either Kazakhstan accounts (country "Kazakhstan" chosen) or international accounts. The region determines where your data is stored (see the Privacy Policy).

• Reports from both regions appear on the shared map.
• A report's photos are visible only to users of the same region.
• You can respond to a report, write in its chat or report it only from an account of the same region.
• Registration of Kazakhstan accounts is available from the date it is enabled in the app.

6. Content visibility

• A report is visible to all signed-in users who have confirmed 18+, unless hidden. The description, animal type, help type and urgency, status, times and exact coordinates are shown. Internal identifiers of the author and helpers are shown instead of names and email addresses.
• A photo is visible to users of the same region.
• A report's chat is visible only to the author and the users who responded.
• Complaints are visible only to moderators.

7. Chats

The chat is for arranging help for the animal. Be respectful and stay on topic. Do not post other people's personal data in the chat or ask for it without need. Messages are deleted together with the report or the author's account. In the Kazakhstan region a moderator can also delete a single message.

8. Complaints and moderation

You can report a post or a message in the app: choose a reason and optionally add a comment. People without an account can write to support@pawhelp.app.

Moderators review complaints manually within 20 calendar days starting from the day after the complaint is received and send the user who filed it a reasoned response. They can:

• hide a report together with its chat and photos;
• delete a single message;
• issue a warning;
• restrict an account.

The app does not notify you of the outcome of a complaint.

9. Account restriction (suspension)

A moderator may restrict an account for violating these Terms or the Community Guidelines. A restricted account cannot create reports, upload photos, or send messages or complaints, but can read its chats and delete the account.

• A temporary restriction lasts until the date set by the moderator or, if no date is set, until a moderator lifts it after review or once the violation is remedied.
• A permanent restriction is applied for serious or repeated violations. It is not lifted.

You can appeal a restriction at support@pawhelp.app. We send a reasoned reply to an appeal within 20 calendar days starting from the day after it is received.

An administrative restriction is a moderation measure. User blocking (section 9.1) is a separate feature.

9.1. Blocking a user

You can block the author of a chat message or of a report: choose "Block user" in the message menu or "Block author" in the report menu, then confirm. A block is not a complaint: moderators are not told about it. To report a violation, send a complaint (section 8).

• A block works both ways: you and the blocked user do not see each other's chat messages and are not notified of each other's actions. A message that nobody in the chat except the blocked person would see is not sent.
• Other chat participants still see both users' messages and keep talking. The blocked user's reports stay on the shared map; a block never stops anyone from helping an animal.
• The blocked user is not told about the block, and the app never shows who has blocked you.
• You can only block users of your own region (section 5). Blocks by Kazakhstan accounts are stored in the regional database in the Republic of Kazakhstan; blocks by international accounts in the international service.
• Your blocked users are listed in your profile ("Blocked users"), where you can also unblock them. You can hold up to 200 blocks at a time.

10. Prohibited

Prohibited content and conduct are listed in the Community Guidelines (https://pawhelp.app/legal/en/community-guidelines), which form part of these Terms. Among other things, the following are prohibited:

• false reports;
• animal cruelty and promoting it;
• insults, threats and harassment;
• spam, advertising and fraud;
• posting other people's personal data;
• unlawful content;
• interfering with the service or evading limits and restrictions;
• automated data collection.

11. Content rights

You keep the rights to the text and photos you post. By posting content you confirm that you have the right to do so. You grant PawHelp a free, non-exclusive licence to store, process (including downsizing and re-encoding photos) and display the content to PawHelp users within the service. The licence lasts until the content is deleted and does not include the right to sell the content or use it in advertising.

12. User responsibility

You are responsible for the accuracy and lawfulness of what you post, for respecting other people's rights, and for your own safety when meeting people or helping animals. Take care when meeting other users or approaching animals.

13. Availability

The service is provided "as is". There may be interruptions, errors, and changes to features and limits. To the extent permitted by applicable law, we are not liable for users' actions, the condition of animals, or damage caused by being unable to use the service.

14. Account deletion

You can delete your account in the app (Profile → Delete account) or at https://pawhelp.app/delete-account. The procedure is described in the "Account Deletion" document. We may delete an account for serious violations.

15. Requests and disputes

Send questions and claims to support@pawhelp.app. Send personal data questions to privacy@pawhelp.app.

• Pre-trial procedure: send a claim to support@pawhelp.app.
• Governing law: the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan; for users from other countries, mandatory rules of the law of their country of residence also apply where applicable.
• Disputes not settled out of court are resolved by: a competent court under the jurisdiction rules of the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
• If the language versions differ, the Russian text prevails.

16. Changes

We may change these Terms. Each edition has a version number. After material changes the app will ask you to accept the new edition. If you do not agree with it, you can delete your account.

References

• Google Play — User Generated Content: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9876937
• Google Play — Account deletion: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/13327111
• Google Play — User Data: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/10144311
• Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 94-V "On Personal Data and Their Protection": https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/Z1300000094