Hey Pawfriends (“we,” “us,” “our”) respects the privacy of our users. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal data when you use our website, www.heypawfriends.com<, and the services offered (collectively, the “Services”). This policy applies to all individuals using our Services (“users,” “you,” “your”), with specific attention to compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) of Malaysia.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If changes are made, we will notify you by revising the date at the top of the Policy and, in certain cases, provide additional notice (such as on our homepage or via email).

• “Personal Data”: Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. This includes names, contact information, pet information, photos, social media links, financial data, IP addresses, location data, and other online identifiers.
• “Processing”: Any operation performed on Personal Data, including collection, recording, organization, storage, use, disclosure, transfer, erasure, and more.
• “Controller”: Hey Pawfriends is the controller of your Personal Data and is responsible for determining the purposes and means of Processing.
• “Data Subject”: You, the user whose Personal Data is being processed.

We collect the following types of Personal Data:

• User-Provided Data:
  • Account Creation: Name, email address, phone number, pet’s name, breed, social media profiles
  • Campaign Participation: Additional pet photos and videos, campaign specifics, billing/payment information
  • Communications: Any information you share via email, support tickets, or direct messaging on our platforms.
• Automatically Collected Data:
  • Device Information: IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers.
  • Usage Data: Interactions with our website (pages visited, features used, time spent, links clicked).
  • Location Data: May be collected with your consent for location-specific services or analytics.
  • Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, pixels, web beacons, and similar tracking to enhance your experience, analyze website traffic, and personalize content/ads.

We process your Personal Data for the following purposes:

• Account Management: To create and manage your user account and pet profiles.
• Service Provision: To facilitate pet influencer campaigns, connect you with potential clients, manage campaign details, and process payments.
• Communication: To contact you about your account, campaigns, important updates, and customer support.
• Marketing and Promotions: To send you promotional materials about our Services or third-party offers, with your explicit consent.
• Website Improvement: To analyze usage patterns, optimize website functionality, and improve the user experience.
• Security and Fraud Prevention: To protect our Services and users, detect and prevent fraudulent activity, and enforce our Terms of Service.
• Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations, court orders, or in connection with legal proceedings.

We rely on the following legal bases for Processing your Personal Data:

• Consent: For marketing communications and certain non-essential tracking. You may withdraw consent at any time.
• Contractual Necessity: For providing core Services, account management, and payment processing.
• Legitimate Interests: For website analytics, security measures, and fraud prevention (balanced with user rights).
• Legal Obligations: Where necessary to comply with the law or legal requests.

We may share your Personal Data with:

• Service Providers: Third-parties helping with payment processing, analytics, cloud storage, or marketing (list specifics).
• Clients: Limited identifying and pet information necessary for campaign matching and execution.
• Social Media Platforms: If integrations exist, and with your consent.
• Law Enforcement and Authorities: If required by law, court order, or to protect our rights or others.
• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your Personal Data against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration. Measures include:

• Encryption of data in transit and at rest
• Access controls and authorization systems
• Regular security reviews and updates
• Incident response procedures

Please note: No security system is perfect, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

We retain your Personal Data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy. Retention periods are determined based on:

• Account Activity: Data is retained while your account is active.
• Legal Obligations: Data may be held longer if required by law, tax regulations, or accounting needs.
• Legitimate Interests: Some data may be retained for limited periods to support website analytics, security, and fraud prevention.

Upon request, we will delete or anonymize your Personal Data unless further retention is legally justified. You can request deletion through your account settings or by contacting us.

Under the PDPA in Malaysia, you have the following rights regarding your Personal Data:

• Right of Access: You may request confirmation of whether we process your data and access a copy of it along with relevant processing details.
• Right to Rectification: You may request that inaccurate or incomplete data be corrected.
• Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): You may request erasure of your Personal Data in certain circumstances (e.g., withdrawn consent, unlawful processing).
• Right to Restrict Processing: You may request limiting the processing of your data in specific scenarios.
• Right to Data Portability: You may receive your Personal Data in a structured, commonly used format and transmit it elsewhere (where technically feasible).
• Right to Object: You may object to processing based on legitimate interests, direct marketing, or certain other purposes.

To exercise your rights, please contact us at hello@heypawfriends.com. We will respond within a reasonable timeframe, as mandated by law.

Our Services are not intended for children under the age of 13 (or the locally defined age of consent). We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from children. If you become aware we have collected data from a child without parental consent, please contact us immediately.

While we may use algorithms to facilitate campaign matching, these are not solely automated systems. Human review is involved in final decisions affecting your rights. You may request explanation of such processes and have the right to contest decisions if needed.

We may transfer your Personal Data to countries outside of Malaysia to service providers or in the event of a business restructuring. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for such transfers, such as:

• Standard Contractual Clauses: Approved by relevant data protection authorities.
• Binding Corporate Rules: For transfers within a group of companies.
• Adequacy Decisions: Where the recipient country is deemed to offer adequate data protection by relevant authorities.

You have control over your marketing preferences. You can:

• Opt-out: Unsubscribe from email marketing at any time using unsubscribe links or by updating your account settings.
• Interest-based Advertising: You may be able to limit interest-based advertising through your device settings or third-party opt-out mechanisms (e.g., Network Advertising Initiative: https://optout.networkadvertising.org/).

Please note that opting out only affects future communications. Some transactional or service-related messages may remain necessary.

If you have concerns about our handling of your Personal Data, please contact us first. We will address your concerns promptly.

If unresolved, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority:

• Malaysia: Personal Data Protection Department (link to the department’s website: https://www.pdp.gov.my/)

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy. Changes will be communicated by updating the “effective date” at the top and may include additional notice as necessary. Your continued use of the Services following changes indicates your acceptance of the updated Policy.

If you have questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Hey Pawfriends
 Email: hello@heypawfriends.com

For users outside Malaysia, by using our services, you acknowledge and explicitly consent to potential transfers of your personal data outside of Malaysia, understanding the safeguards we employ for such transfers.

Our system may not currently respond to “Do Not Track” signals sent by web browsers.

In the event of a data breach that compromises your Personal Data, and where it is likely to result in significant harm, we will notify both you and the relevant supervisory authorities in accordance with applicable laws.

If any provision of this Privacy Policy is deemed invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to be valid, or severed as needed, with the remainder of the Policy remaining in full force and effect.

This Privacy Policy shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Malaysia. Any disputes arising in connection with this Policy shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Malaysia.