Privacy Policy
Last Updated: [Insert Date]
YowFam respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how YowFam collects, uses, protects, and shares information when you use our website, platform, services, forms, accounts, job postings, profiles, and related features.
By using YowFam, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.
1. Our Privacy Commitment
YowFam is built on a simple principle:
Your information belongs to you.
YowFam does not sell, rent, trade, or monetize personal user information. Users decide what information they share, who they share it with, and when they share it.
Customer addresses, phone numbers, personal email addresses, and exact locations are not intended to be publicly displayed. Contractors and professionals also control what business or contact information they choose to make public.
2. Information We Collect
YowFam may collect information that users provide directly, including:
- Name or display name
- Username
- Email address
- Account type, such as Customer or Professional
- Profile photo, if provided
- Business name, if provided
- Primary service or trade, if provided
- Service area, if provided
- Job or project descriptions
- General project location
- Messages, forms, and communications submitted through the platform
- Reviews, ratings, or feedback, if available
- Login and account activity information
YowFam may also collect basic technical information automatically, such as:
- IP address
- Browser type
- Device type
- Pages visited
- Date and time of visits
- Security and error logs
- Cookies or similar technologies used to maintain login sessions and improve site performance
3. Customer Privacy
Customers are encouraged not to publicly post sensitive personal information.
Customers should not include the following in public job descriptions:
- Full street address
- Apartment or unit number
- Gate codes
- Phone number
- Personal email address
- Exact GPS location
- Access instructions
- Any other sensitive personal details
Customers may choose when and with whom to share private information. For example, a customer may decide to share an address or phone number only after selecting a professional they want to work with.
YowFam does not automatically make customer contact details publicly visible.
4. Professional Privacy
Professionals control what information they choose to display publicly on their profiles.
Professionals may choose to display information such as:
- Business name
- Services offered
- Service area
- Business website
- Business phone number
- Commercial business address
- Portfolio images
- Credentials, badges, or verification status
Professionals should not upload or publicly display sensitive personal information unless they choose to do so. Personal home addresses, private phone numbers, government identification, insurance documents, and license documents should not be publicly shared unless the platform specifically provides a secure verification process.
5. How We Use Information
YowFam may use information to:
- Create and manage user accounts
- Display job or project listings
- Display professional profiles
- Allow users to log in and use platform features
- Help customers and professionals connect
- Improve website performance and user experience
- Send account-related messages
- Review, moderate, or remove unsafe or inappropriate content
- Prevent fraud, spam, abuse, or misuse of the platform
- Maintain platform security
- Comply with legal obligations
- Resolve disputes or investigate reported issues
YowFam does not use personal information to sell user data to advertisers, marketers, data brokers, or unrelated third parties.
6. Information Sharing Between Users
YowFam may display limited information between users as needed for the marketplace to function.
Customers may be able to view professional profiles, service areas, business information, ratings, and completed job history if those features are available.
Professionals may be able to view public job details, general location, project description, job type, and other non-sensitive information provided by the customer.
Private customer information, such as full address or phone number, should only be shared when the customer chooses to provide it.
7. No Sale of Personal Data
YowFam will not sell, rent, trade, or share personal user information for third-party advertising or data brokerage purposes.
YowFam’s business model is based on connecting customers and professionals, not selling user information.
8. Communication Through the Platform
YowFam encourages users to communicate through platform tools whenever possible. This helps protect privacy and creates a record of important project-related communication.
Users may choose to share phone numbers, email addresses, addresses, or other contact information with each other, but YowFam does not require users to publicly expose that information.
Users are responsible for information they voluntarily share with other users.
9. Public Job Listings and Profiles
Some information submitted to YowFam may be visible to other users or the public, depending on the feature and privacy settings.
Publicly visible information may include:
- Display name or username
- General location or service area
- Job title
- Job description
- Job type or category
- Professional profile details
- Business information provided by professionals
- Reviews or ratings, if available
Users should avoid posting private or sensitive information in public fields.
10. Account Deactivation and Data Retention
Users may request account deactivation. When an account is deactivated, the profile may be hidden from public view and new activity may be paused.
YowFam may retain deactivated account information for up to one year to allow account recovery, resolve disputes, maintain platform integrity, prevent fraud, comply with legal obligations, or respond to safety concerns.
After the retention period, YowFam may delete or anonymize personal information unless continued retention is legally required or necessary for legitimate platform purposes.
Certain non-personal or anonymized records may be retained, such as:
- Completed project history
- Reviews or ratings shown without personal identity
- Internal audit logs
- Security records
- Records required for legal, tax, fraud prevention, or dispute resolution purposes
11. Active Projects
If a user is involved in an active project, YowFam may delay permanent deletion or anonymization of certain account information until the project is completed, cancelled, disputed, or otherwise resolved.
This helps protect both customers and professionals and preserves necessary records related to active work, disputes, safety concerns, or platform integrity.
12. Cookies and Tracking
YowFam may use cookies or similar technologies to:
- Keep users logged in
- Remember basic preferences
- Improve site performance
- Protect against spam, abuse, or security threats
- Understand general website usage
Users may adjust browser settings to block or delete cookies, but some features may not work properly without them.
13. Third-Party Services
YowFam may use third-party services for hosting, email delivery, security, payments, analytics, verification, forms, or other website functionality.
These third-party services may process limited information as necessary to provide their services. YowFam does not authorize third parties to sell user personal information.
Examples of third-party services may include:
- Website hosting providers
- WordPress plugins
- Email delivery services
- Payment processors, if payments are added in the future
- Security and spam protection tools
- Analytics tools
Each third-party service may have its own privacy policy.
14. Data Security
YowFam takes reasonable steps to protect user information from unauthorized access, misuse, loss, or disclosure.
However, no website, online platform, or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Users should protect their passwords and avoid sharing sensitive information unnecessarily.
15. User Choices and Control
Users may have options to:
- Update profile information
- Change account information
- Control what information appears publicly
- Deactivate an account
- Request correction or removal of personal information
- Choose whether to share contact details with another user
YowFam’s goal is to give users meaningful control over their personal information.
16. Children’s Privacy
YowFam is not intended for children under the age of 13. Users must be old enough to create an account and enter into agreements under applicable law.
If YowFam becomes aware that information has been collected from a child without appropriate consent, YowFam may remove that information.
17. Legal Requests and Safety
YowFam may disclose information if required to do so by law, court order, subpoena, government request, or other legal process.
YowFam may also disclose or retain information when reasonably necessary to:
- Protect users
- Prevent fraud or abuse
- Investigate security issues
- Resolve disputes
- Enforce Terms and Conditions
- Protect the rights, safety, or property of YowFam or others
18. Changes to This Privacy Policy
YowFam may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Updated versions will be posted on this page with a revised “Last Updated” date.
Continued use of YowFam after updates are posted means you accept the updated Privacy Policy.
19. Contact
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to request changes to your account information, please contact YowFam at:
support@yowfam.com
By using YowFam, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.