Privacy Policy

About this Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how VetBiomeX LLC collects, uses, discloses, and retains personal information when you use VERA PET. VetBiomeX LLC is the controller or business responsible for this information unless another notice identifies a different responsible entity.

1. Information we collect

We collect information you provide, information created through use of VERA PET, limited technical information, and information received from service providers.

• Account and profile: name, email, country or region, time zone, password credentials maintained by WordPress, verification status, and account settings.
• Pet and care information: pet profiles, daily check-ins, weight and body-condition records, medications, supplements, feeding information, laboratory and microbiome results, veterinary visits, documents, care-team information, reminders, shared routines, Together entries, and story moments.
• Retired Personal Context fields: VERA PET no longer collects new owner-mood or personal-reflection entries in Together. Historical values already saved remain in the owner workspace until the owner deletes the applicable Together entry, workspace data, or account, subject to stated retention limits.
• Professional-support requests: selected service, concern, goals, preferred format, location, selected health context, messages, status history, and administrative notes.
• Previous or optional AI-assisted features: if you used Ask VERA while it was available, or use another AI-assisted feature when enabled, records may include questions, limited conversation history, generated responses, a selected pet identifier, and the allow-listed pet context you chose to include.
• Membership and transactions: Stripe customer and subscription identifiers, plan, status, billing periods, trial and renewal dates, cancellation status, event records, and consent evidence. VERA PET does not store full payment-card numbers.
• Device, usage, support, and legal: IP address or privacy-preserving hashes, browser and device information, timestamps, security and error events, communications, privacy requests, and records needed to establish consent or comply with law.

2. Sources of information

We receive information directly from you, from your interaction with VERA PET, from an authorized caregiver acting for you, and from providers such as WordPress/Automattic, Stripe, OpenAI when an AI-assisted feature is enabled or for historical processing, and infrastructure, email, or security vendors.

3. How we use information

We use information to provide and secure accounts; synchronize owner workspaces; display records and reminders; respond to support and privacy requests; administer memberships and professional-support requests; process questions submitted through an AI-assisted feature when enabled; maintain historical records; prevent fraud and abuse; troubleshoot and improve reliability; comply with law; enforce agreements; and create aggregated or deidentified analytics. We do not use Owner Content to train OpenAI models on our behalf, and we will not opt content into model training without a separate, explicit choice.

4. Authorized administrative access

Authorized VetBiomeX administrators can access owner-entered database information when reasonably necessary for support, security, privacy requests, service administration, legal compliance, or troubleshooting. Access and export functions are limited to administrators, are read-only where practical, and are logged. Exports require a documented operational purpose. Personnel and contractors must follow confidentiality, least-access, and security requirements.

5. Previous or optional AI-assisted processing

If you used Ask VERA while it was available, or use another AI-assisted feature when enabled, VERA PET presents an applicable AI acknowledgment before first use. A submitted question, limited recent conversation history, and—only when selected—an allow-listed summary for the selected pet may be sent to OpenAI to generate a response. Pet photos, uploaded file contents, owner mood, care-team contact details, passwords, payment information, and internal consultation notes are excluded.

For prior or enabled OpenAI API requests, application-state storage is disabled (store=false). OpenAI may retain limited abuse-monitoring logs for up to 30 days unless different approved data controls apply. VERA PET does not claim zero-data-retention unless that control has been separately approved and enabled. Historical AI-assisted conversation records may remain in an owner workspace until removed through applicable export or deletion controls and stated retention limits.

6. How we disclose information

We disclose information to service providers acting for us; to professional-support personnel only when needed to review an owner request; to protect rights, safety, and security; to comply with law or legal process; in a corporate transaction subject to appropriate safeguards; and at your direction or with your consent. No external professional or clinic automatically receives owner information merely because a request is prepared.

7. Cookies and analytics

VERA PET and its hosting providers may use strictly necessary cookies or local storage for authentication, security, preferences, workspace recovery, and application operation. If nonessential analytics or advertising technologies are introduced, we will provide any notice and choice required by law. We do not currently use owner health information for targeted advertising.

8. Retention and deletion

We keep account and Owner Content while the account is active and as reasonably necessary to provide the service. Owners can download information, delete the workspace while keeping the account, or request account deletion through protected controls. Backups and security logs may persist for a limited period before routine deletion.

Submitted professional-support records may be retained and deidentified from the deleted account when reasonably necessary for service, legal, safety, or operational purposes. Billing, transaction, consent, security, and legal records may be retained for applicable limitation, tax, fraud-prevention, and recordkeeping periods. Consent evidence is retained for at least three years after collection or one year after the relevant membership ends, whichever is later, unless a longer period is required by law.

9. Security

We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed for the nature of the information, including authenticated owner access, role-restricted administrative tools, encryption in transit, secret isolation, signed billing events, integrity checks, rate limits, audit logging, and data minimization. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Your choices and rights

Depending on location and applicable law, you may request access, correction, deletion, portability, restriction, objection, or withdrawal of consent; opt out of certain processing; or appeal a decision. VERA PET also provides direct account, export, workspace-deletion, and account-deletion controls. We may verify identity and may retain information where an exception applies. Authorized agents may submit requests where permitted by law.

11. United States state privacy disclosures

Where applicable, the categories collected and purposes are described above. VetBiomeX does not sell personal information for money, does not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and does not offer financial incentives in exchange for personal information. We do not discriminate for exercising privacy rights. If these practices change, we will update this Policy and provide required choices.

12. Legal bases for processing

Where a legal basis is required, we process information as necessary to perform the contract with you, based on legitimate interests such as security and service improvement, to comply with legal obligations, to protect vital interests in limited circumstances, and with consent where consent is the appropriate basis. You may withdraw consent prospectively where processing relies on consent.

13. International processing and service location

VetBiomeX and its providers may process information in the United States and other countries whose data-protection laws may differ from those where you live. We use safeguards required by applicable law for international transfers. Location-dependent professional support is not currently available in the United States, although the VERA PET organizational application may be accessible there.

14. Children

VERA PET is not directed to children under 13 and account holders must be at least 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children through owner accounts. Contact us if you believe a child submitted information without appropriate authorization.

15. Third-party sites and services

Links and independently controlled third-party services are governed by their own privacy practices. This Policy does not cover information a third party collects for its independent purposes.

16. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy to reflect legal, technical, or business changes. We will post the revised version and effective date and provide additional notice when a material change or applicable law requires it.