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Privacy Policy

Effective date: 2026-03-20 This Privacy Policy explains how The Animal Traders (“we”, “us”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use our app and related services (the “Service”).

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Summary

• We collect account and profile information so you can sign in and use the Service.
• We collect and display listing content (including photos/videos and seller-selected fields) so a marketplace can function.
• We store exact pickup locations privately for sellers and organizations, and may show only city/state and an approximate map pin to help buyers browse.
• If you opt into social media promotion, or if we choose to promote a nonprofit listing at no charge, we may use listing content in regional promotion on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
• We use third-party providers for core functionality: Clerk (authentication), Supabase (database, storage, edge functions), Google Places/Geocoding (location search), Uploadcare (media upload/CDN) and AWS Rekognition (media moderation), and Vercel Speed Insights (web performance telemetry).

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Information we collect

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Account and authentication

When you sign up or sign in, we process account data through Clerk, such as:

• Email address and verification status
• Name and profile image (if you provide them)
• Organization membership and role (if you create/join an organization)

We also store a corresponding profile row in our database (for example: display name, avatar URL, role flags like buyer/seller).

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Listings and marketplace activity

If you browse, create, or interact with listings, we process information such as:

• Listing details you provide (title, description, category/species/breed, inventory quantities/prices)
• Listing media (photos/videos) you upload
• Listing documents you upload (for example, vaccination records or registration papers), and the visibility level you choose
• Promotion selections you make for a listing, such as social media promotion and browse featured spotlight
• Favorites (saved listings)
• Reviews/ratings you submit (where applicable)

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Location information

We process location in a few different ways:

• Device location (optional): If you choose “Use My Location” while browsing, the app may request your device’s location permission to sort listings by distance and show nearby results.
• Pickup/meetup location (sellers and organizations): If you set a pickup location, we store the exact address and coordinates in a private table restricted by row-level security. For browsing and map display, we publish city/state and an approximate coordinate (rounded, not exact) as a public projection.
• Location search: When you search for a place (for example, setting your pickup area or picking a browse location), we send your query and, if available, a coarse location “bias” to our server-side proxy which calls Google Places/Geocoding.

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Verification documents (nonprofits)

If an organization submits documentation for nonprofit verification, we store:

• The uploaded PDF document in a private storage bucket
• A verification request record (status, timestamps, document name/path, reviewer info)

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Usage and diagnostics

We collect limited usage data to operate and improve the Service, such as:

• Listing view counts (used to rank “popular” listings)
• Web performance telemetry on the web version (via Vercel Speed Insights)

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How we use information

We use information to:

• Provide the Service (sign-in, listings, browsing, documents)
• Enforce seller privacy protections (for example, hiding exact pickup addresses)
• Create and run optional listing promotion features, including regional social media promotion when selected
• Run trust/safety and content moderation (including automated checks for uploaded media)
• Prevent abuse, secure the Service, and troubleshoot issues

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How we share information

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Public and buyer-facing sharing

Some information is visible to others as part of the marketplace experience:

• Public browsing: Active listings and certain related data may be visible to visitors who are not signed in.
• Seller pickup area: Buyers may see a seller’s city/state and an approximate map pin. Exact addresses and exact coordinates are not shown publicly.
• Documents: Buyers may see document metadata depending on the visibility you select. File downloads are served using time-limited signed URLs after authorization checks.

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Social media promotion

If you opt into social media promotion for a listing, we may use listing content in promotional posts, ads, or similar campaign materials on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. This promotional content may include:

• Listing title and description
• Listing photos or videos
• Animal details and seller-provided listing attributes
• General location context, such as city, metro area, county, state, or a broader regional market

We use general regional targeting based on the listing location. We do not publish your exact pickup address or exact coordinates as part of social media promotion. If we do not have any paid social media promotions scheduled for a given week, we may choose to promote nonprofit listings at no charge. This promotional use is optional, discretionary, and not guaranteed.

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Service providers

We share information with vendors that help us run the Service:

• Clerk for authentication and organization management
• Supabase for database, storage, and edge functions
• Google Places/Geocoding to power place search and reverse geocoding
• Uploadcare to upload, store, and deliver photos/videos via CDN
• AWS Rekognition (via Uploadcare add-ons) for automated media moderation
• Vercel Speed Insights for web performance measurement

These providers process information on our behalf under their terms and privacy practices.

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Your choices

• Location permissions: You can deny location permission. Browsing still works, but distance-based sorting may be unavailable.
• Pickup location: Sellers can update or delete their pickup location. Deleting it removes the public pickup area display.
• Account: You can manage your account via the app’s account settings.

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Security

We use a combination of technical and organizational safeguards, including:

• Row-level security policies for sensitive tables
• Private storage buckets for documents
• Time-limited signed URLs for file downloads

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Data retention

We keep information for as long as needed to provide the Service and for legitimate operational, security, and compliance purposes. You can remove certain information directly in the app (for example, delete a pickup location or listing documents).

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Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make changes, we will update the effective date above.

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Contact

To ask questions about privacy or request help, contact us through the app.