Privacy policy

This policy explains personal information handled through opensits.com, the OpenSits applications, account registration, verification and support. OpenSits, we, us and our refer to the OpenSits platform. It covers visitors, homeowners, sitters and people who contact us or whose information members provide in connection with a sit.

The policy concerns personal information about people. Information about a pet or home can also be personal information when connected with an identifiable owner, resident or sitter. Our Safety & sitting rules separately prohibit indoor surveillance by members.

External websites and services may explain their own processing in separate privacy notices. We remain responsible for the obligations that apply to the processing we determine. You can contact OpenSits about this policy.

The information involved depends on which features you use. We collect information you submit when you create an account, complete a profile, publish a listing, apply, arrange a sit, communicate or ask for help.

• Account and profile details: name, email, phone number, authentication information, profile photograph, introduction, location, preferences, experience and verification status.
• Homes, pets and sits: descriptions, photographs, approximate location and exact address, dates, care instructions, access arrangements, emergency contacts, applications and confirmation or cancellation records.
• Communications and community content: messages, attachments, reviews, reports, support requests and information supplied to investigate or resolve them.
• Verification information: details needed to verify your email or phone and, if you choose an identity check, the identification, selfie or liveness information required for that check and its result.
• Payment information, if you choose an optional paid feature: the transaction and payment-status information needed to provide it. The payment service’s own notice explains payment details it collects.

Other members may provide information about you in a review, application, conversation or report, or name you as an emergency contact. Where you provide someone else’s information, share only what is needed, have an appropriate basis to provide it and make them aware of this policy.

When you use a verification or review-import feature, we receive information from the relevant provider or source, such as a check result or the review details you choose to import. Imported content may include the reviewer’s displayed name, rating, review text and source. Do not import private material or content you have no right to share.

Our hosting, delivery and security systems process technical information such as an IP address, browser or device details, request times, approximate country, service errors and activity needed to diagnose failures or detect misuse. Browser language and approximate country can help show an appropriate language or currency; this does not require your precise device location.

We use information to provide and maintain OpenSits, handle the actions you request, protect members and respond to requests or legal obligations. Where applicable data protection law requires a lawful basis, the basis depends on the purpose.

• Providing the service: account administration, profiles, listings, search, applications, conversations, sit arrangements and service notifications are used to perform the service agreement or take steps you request before entering it.
• Safety and security: preventing abuse, authenticating access, handling reports, maintaining reliable systems and protecting or defending rights support legitimate interests in a safe and functioning platform, subject to your interests and rights.
• Legal responsibilities: responding to valid legal requirements and handling applicable privacy obligations rely on the relevant legal obligation.
• Optional activities: where we ask for consent, such as for a particular optional use of information, we use it for the stated purpose. Consent can be withdrawn for future processing. Accepting Terms is not a substitute for that consent.
• Emergencies: information may be used or shared where necessary and legally permitted to protect a person’s vital interests.

Your profile and the listing information you publish are intended to help other members decide whether to connect with you. Published listings may also appear in public previews on the marketing website, including photographs, an approximate location, sit dates and pet information. Public information may be viewed or copied by others and indexed by search engines.

Exact addresses and private arrival or care details are treated separately from public listing previews and are made available through the relevant sit and access permissions. Do not place an exact address, door code, private contact detail or sensitive personal information in a public description or photograph. Information you send in a message is shared with that conversation’s participants.

Authorised support, moderation or technical personnel may access information where needed to deal with a request, investigate abuse, keep systems working or meet a legal obligation. Messages are not a promise of confidentiality from OpenSits personnel performing those functions.

Other members remain responsible for their own use of information they receive. Share only what is needed for the sit. Account deletion cannot retrieve copies another person has already lawfully received or independently saved.

Email and phone verification use your contact details and information about the verification attempt to confirm access to that address or number and prevent misuse. We retain verification status and relevant records needed to operate those checks.

If you choose identity verification, the verification provider may process an identity document, selfie, liveness information and related technical information to check identity and detect fraud. Automated document and face comparisons may be involved. OpenSits uses the result and relevant verification records to operate the feature and display the corresponding status.

A photograph and biometric recognition are not necessarily the same processing. Where biometric information is used to identify you, a separate condition for that processing is required under laws that protect special-category data. The notice and permissions presented for the particular verification flow explain that processing; agreement to these Terms or this policy alone is not explicit biometric consent.

A failed or incomplete check may prevent a verification badge or a feature that requires the check. Contact support to question a result or request review. An identity badge is not a guarantee of suitability or safety.

Information is handled by service providers used for hosting and storage, content delivery and security, authentication, email and SMS delivery, identity verification, maps and geocoding, and technical monitoring. Where a payment feature is used, a payment provider handles relevant transaction information. A provider receives information relevant to the function it performs.

We may disclose information where legally required, where reasonably necessary to investigate misuse or protect rights and safety, or to advisers acting under appropriate duties of confidentiality. We do not make private conversations or verification submissions publicly available as part of a listing.

OpenSits can be accessed from different countries. Members and service providers receiving information may be outside your country, where data protection laws differ. Restricted international transfers require a valid mechanism under applicable law, such as an applicable adequacy decision or approved contractual safeguards. Ask us for the recipients, locations and safeguards relevant to the processing of your information.

The website, app and sign-in service use technical storage and request information for functions such as keeping a session, completing sign-in, preventing abuse and remembering choices. A saved language preference, where present, can be used alongside your browser language. Security services may process device and request signals to distinguish legitimate use from automated abuse.

Browser storage may last for the session or remain until it expires or is cleared. You can manage cookies and local storage in your browser, but blocking necessary storage may prevent login or other features from working. Clearing browser storage does not itself delete an OpenSits account or information held on our servers.

Where a use of cookies, tracking or device information requires consent, it must be offered separately before that use. Merely browsing the site or accepting Terms does not grant consent to optional tracking. Device permissions, such as access to photographs for an upload, are also managed through your device settings.

With your consent, the marketing website uses Meta Pixel to measure advertising and reach audiences on Facebook and Instagram. Meta receives website activity, including page visits and signup-link clicks, cookie identifiers, IP address and browser information, and may associate these with your Meta account. Optional marketing cookies remain off until you accept. You can accept, reject or withdraw consent using Cookie settings in the footer. We remember your choice in this browser for up to 180 days.

Retention depends on the purpose and type of information. Account and profile information is used while your account is active. Sit, conversation, review and support records may need to remain to support the other participant, deal with a complaint, investigate abuse, comply with law or establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

You can request account deletion from your profile or through support. The in-app process may require upcoming or active sits to be resolved first so care arrangements are not left unattended. You can still contact support about a privacy request. Closing an account does not necessarily erase every shared message, transaction, security record or backup at the same moment.

In deciding how long information is needed, relevant factors include whether an account or sit is active, the needs of the other participant, an unresolved complaint, applicable legal requirements and claim periods, fraud or security risks, and the retention arrangements of the service involved. You can ask which periods or criteria apply to a particular record or request deletion where continued retention is not justified.

Other members may retain information previously shared with them. Provider-held verification material and backup copies can have separate retention arrangements; ask us about these if you need a specific deletion or retention explanation.

You can update available profile fields, control what you choose to publish and request account deletion. Depending on applicable law, you may also have rights to access information, receive a portable copy, correct inaccurate information, request erasure or restriction, and question decisions made about you.

You may have a right to object to processing based on legitimate interests. You can object to direct marketing at any time. Where processing relies on consent, you can withdraw it for future processing without changing the lawfulness of processing that took place before withdrawal.

Not every right applies to every record or circumstance. We may need proportionate information to verify a request and protect other people’s information. We will explain any applicable limitation and respond within the period required by law. If you cannot access your account, your privacy rights still apply.

You can raise a concern with us and complain to the relevant data protection authority under applicable law.

We use access controls and other technical and organisational measures intended to protect information. No online service can promise absolute security. Keep your account secure, take care with information you publish, and contact us if you suspect unauthorised access or a disclosure.

OpenSits accounts are intended for people aged 18 or over. Do not create an account for a child or unnecessarily publish children’s names, photographs or other personal information in listings or messages. Tell us if you believe a child has provided personal information through an account so the circumstances can be reviewed.

We will update this policy when the service or relevant processing changes and identify the version and date. Where required, significant changes will be brought to your attention or a new choice requested before the changed processing begins. Updating a privacy notice does not itself provide a new lawful basis or your consent.

Contact OpenSits about access, correction, deletion, retention, service providers, verification or a privacy concern. Include enough information to identify the request, but do not send passwords, sign-in codes, a full payment-card number or identity documents unless a secure and necessary process is provided.