Privacy Policy

1. About us and this policy

Offleash is a dog owner social network operated by CEDR Consulting Pty Ltd dba Offleash (ABN 90 670 532 377) of 5 Repton Road, Malvern East VIC 3145, Australia (“we”, “us”, “our”). We operate the Offleash platform at getoffleash.com.au and associated applications (the “Service”).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, and otherwise handle your personal information. We are committed to handling personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

If you have questions about this policy or how we handle your information, contact us at hello@off-leash.app.

2. What personal information we collect

Account information

• Display name and email address
• Password (stored in hashed form — we never see your password in plain text)
• Profile photo (human account holder)
• Authentication data if you sign in with Google or Facebook

Dog profile information

• Dog name, breed, date of birth, weight, and size
• Gender
• Energy level and personality traits
• Photos of your dog
• Vaccination status, microchip number, vet clinic, allergies, and health notes (self-reported)
• Breeder name (optional)
• Spare human name (optional)

Emergency contact information

Emergency contact details you add to a dog profile are treated as sensitive personal information. This information is kept private and is visible only to the owners of dogs your dog is connected with. By entering emergency contact details, you confirm you have the consent of that person to have their information stored on Offleash.

Location information

• Park check-in data — the park you check in to and the time of check-in
• Check-out time (manual or automatic)
• Your approximate location may be used to suggest nearby parks during check-in (not stored beyond the session)

We store location at the park level, not as precise GPS coordinates. We do not continuously track your location.

Usage and device data

• Pages visited and features used
• Check-in and activity history
• Device type and browser information
• IP address
• Cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 11)

Professional walker information (walker accounts only)

If you register as a professional dog walker on the Offleash platform, we collect additional information including:

• Your business name and ABN (Australian Business Number)
• Professional insurance details
• Bank account information (collected and held by Stripe — not stored by Offleash directly)
• Walk session records, including dogs walked, parks visited, events logged, photos taken, and report cards generated
• Transaction metadata relating to client payments processed through the platform (see Section 6A)

3. How we collect personal information

We collect personal information:

• Directly from you when you create an account, set up a dog profile, check in to a park, post photos, send messages, or otherwise use the Service
• Automatically when you use the Service, through check-in events, activity logs, and analytics tools
• From Google or Facebook if you choose to sign in using those providers, in accordance with their privacy policies and the permissions you grant
• From Stripe, when you process a payment through the Offleash platform, in the form of transaction metadata (see Section 6A)

4. Why we collect personal information

We use personal information to:

• Create and manage your account and dog profiles
• Provide park intelligence features — showing breed mix, energy levels, and who is at a park
• Enable connections and messaging between dog owners
• Display your check-in status to your connections (subject to your privacy settings)
• Send system-generated dog DMs (automated messages written in your dog's voice — see Section 5)
• Send transactional communications such as account confirmation, password reset, and notification emails
• Provide push notifications you have consented to receive
• Improve, personalise, and develop the Service
• Conduct analytics on usage patterns to understand how the Service is used
• Produce anonymised, aggregated data for analytics and reporting purposes (see Section 6)
• Process payments between dog owners and professional dog walkers via our payment infrastructure partner, Stripe
• Comply with our obligations under the ATO Sharing Economy Reporting Regime (SERR), including reporting walker income data to the Australian Taxation Office (see Section 6A)
• Comply with our legal obligations
• Protect the safety and security of our users and the Service

We do not use your personal information for targeted advertising. We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

5. Dog DMs — automated messages

Offleash generates automated messages from your dog's profile (“dog DMs”) — friendly, first-person messages written in your dog's voice and sent to your account. These messages are triggered by events such as completing a walk, weather conditions, milestones, health reminders, and seasonal occasions.

Dog DMs are intended for entertainment purposes only. They do not constitute veterinary advice, health advice, or any form of professional guidance. Always consult a registered veterinarian for any health concerns about your dog.

By default, your dog will send you up to 3 DMs per fortnight. You can adjust the frequency or disable dog DMs entirely at any time in Settings. Disabling dog DMs does not affect any other features of the Service.

AI-generated walk report summaries

When a professional dog walker completes a walk, Offleash uses an AI language model (Anthropic Claude) to generate a draft summary of the walk for inclusion in the walk report card sent to the dog's owner. The walker reviews this draft before it is sent and may edit or remove it. AI-generated summaries are based solely on data logged during the walk session (duration, park, mood, behaviour tags, and potty counts). Walk report summaries are not veterinary advice and should not be treated as a substitute for professional judgment.

6. Aggregated and anonymised data

We may derive anonymised, aggregated data from the personal information we collect. Aggregated data cannot reasonably identify you and does not constitute personal information under the Privacy Act.

We use aggregated data to:

• Power park intelligence features such as breed mix and visit frequency statistics
• Develop internal analytics and improve the Service
• Produce reports and insights about park usage patterns for internal purposes and, in future, for councils and research partners

Aggregated data that cannot be linked back to you may be retained indefinitely. We will never sell individual-level personal information. When we share aggregated data with third parties such as councils or research partners, that data will not identify you.

You may opt out of your data contributing to aggregated data products shared with third parties at any time in Settings → Privacy → Data sharing. Note that opting out does not affect your use of the Service or the park intelligence features, which use aggregated data internally.

6A. Payment data and the Sharing Economy Reporting Regime

Payment data

When a client makes a payment to a dog walker through the Offleash platform, the payment is processed directly by Stripe Payments Australia Pty Ltd. Offleash does not receive, hold, or store your card number, CVV, expiry date, or bank account details. These are entered into a Stripe-hosted form and handled entirely by Stripe.

Offleash receives the following transaction metadata from Stripe following a completed payment:

• Stripe transaction ID
• Amount charged
• Offleash service fee amount
• Walker's Stripe Connect account ID
• Transaction status and timestamp
• Last 4 digits of the card used (for reference purposes only)

This metadata is stored in Offleash's database, hosted in the AWS ap-southeast-2 (Sydney) region. No raw payment credentials are stored by Offleash at any point.

Offleash charges a 1.5% service fee on each transaction processed through the platform. This fee is collected by Stripe on our behalf as part of the payment flow and is separate from Stripe's own processing fees, which are borne by the walker.

Sharing Economy Reporting Regime (SERR)

Offleash is an electronic distribution platform (EDP) for the purposes of the ATO's Sharing Economy Reporting Regime (SERR), which has been in effect since 1 July 2024. Under this regime, Offleash is required to report certain information about payments made to service providers (dog walkers) through the platform to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on a biannual basis.

The information reported to the ATO includes:

• Walker's name, ABN, date of birth, and address
• Total gross amount paid to the walker through the platform during the reporting period
• Total GST amount (where applicable)
• Total Offleash service fees charged
• Total net amount received by the walker

Reports are lodged with the ATO by 31 January and 31 July each year, covering the preceding six-month period. Walker accounts will be notified prior to each reporting period.

If you are a dog walker using the Offleash platform to accept client payments, by accepting the Walker Agreement you consent to Offleash collecting and reporting this information to the ATO as required by law.

Stripe Data Processing

Offleash has entered into a Data Processing Agreement with Stripe Payments Australia Pty Ltd covering personal information processed by Stripe on our behalf. Stripe's own privacy policy is available at stripe.com/au/privacy.

7. Who we share personal information with

Other users of the Service

Check-in status, dog profiles, photos, and certain activity is shared with other users as part of the core features of the Service. Your check-in status is shown only to your connections by default. You can adjust who can see your check-in status in Settings → Legal.

Service providers

We share personal information with the following third-party service providers who assist us in operating the Service. Each is bound by contractual obligations to handle your information securely and only for the purposes we specify:

Overseas disclosure

Your personal information may be stored or processed in the United States and other countries where our service providers operate. We take reasonable steps to ensure that overseas recipients handle your personal information in a manner consistent with the Australian Privacy Principles, including through data processing agreements with each provider.

Data Processing Agreements

Offleash has entered into Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) with each of its key service providers, including Supabase, Stripe, Resend, and PostHog, to ensure your personal information is handled in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles.

Legal requirements

We may disclose personal information where required by law, court order, or to cooperate with law enforcement or regulatory authorities. We will notify you of such disclosure where we are legally permitted to do so.

Business transfers

If CEDR Consulting Pty Ltd dba Offleash or the Offleash business is acquired, merged, or undergoes a change of ownership, personal information held by us may be transferred to the acquiring entity. We will notify affected users before any such transfer and prior to any change in how their information is used.

8. Dog health information

Vaccination status, health conditions, microchip numbers, allergy information, and other health-related data you enter on dog profiles is self-reported by you and is not independently verified by Offleash.

We treat this information with the same care as sensitive personal information. It is used only to:

• Display relevant information to you and, where you choose, to connected dog owners (but never microchip information)
• Power breed-specific features such as weather advisories (see Section 9)

We do not share dog health information with third parties, including pet insurance providers or veterinary services, without your explicit consent.

9. Weather advisories and breed-specific guidance

Offleash may display weather-based advisories and breed-specific guidance (for example, recommended time limits in high temperatures for your dog's breed and size). This guidance is general information only, derived from publicly available sources including the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) free API.

Weather advisories and breed-specific guidance are not a substitute for your own judgment or professional veterinary advice. Individual dogs vary significantly in their tolerance of heat, cold, and exercise. Always monitor your dog's condition and consult a registered veterinarian if you have concerns about their health or fitness for outdoor activity.

10. Retention of personal information

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide the Service and fulfil the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required by law.

Automated decision-making

Offleash uses automated processes in certain circumstances, including content moderation and walker account verification. Where an automated decision may materially affect your access to the Service, you may request human review by contacting us at hello@off-leash.app. This is consistent with our obligations under APP 1 and the forthcoming automated decision-making transparency requirements (effective 10 December 2026).

11. Cookies and tracking technologies

Offleash uses cookies and similar technologies to operate and improve the Service. Cookies are small files stored on your device.

Essential cookies are required for the Service to function and cannot be disabled. They include authentication tokens and session management data.

Analytics cookies are used to understand how the Service is used. We use PostHog for product analytics. PostHog may collect data about pages visited, features used, session duration, and device type. This data is used only to improve the Service and is not used for advertising.

We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies.

12. Children and minimum age

Offleash is intended for users aged 16 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16 years of age.

In accordance with the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 (Cth), which came into effect on 10 December 2025, we take reasonable steps to prevent users under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts on Offleash. Age is verified at the time of account creation.

If you believe we have inadvertently collected personal information from a person under 16, please contact us immediately at hello@off-leash.app and we will delete that information promptly.

13. Your rights

You have the following rights in relation to your personal information:

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@off-leash.app.

14. Data security

We use industry-standard security practices to protect your personal information, including:

• Encryption of data in transit (TLS)
• Encryption of data at rest
• Role-based access controls on our systems
• Regular review of security practices

While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm to affected individuals, we will notify affected users and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Privacy Act.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you via in-app notification with at least 14 days notice before the changes take effect. You may also be notified by email for significant changes.

If you do not accept the updated policy, you may delete your account before the changes take effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy. The version history of this policy is available on request.

16. Complaints

If you believe we have not handled your personal information in accordance with this policy or the Australian Privacy Principles, you have the right to make a complaint.

Step 1: Contact us directly at hello@off-leash.app. Please describe your concern in as much detail as possible. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to resolve it within 30 days.

Step 2: If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au or by calling 1300 363 992.

From June 2025, individuals may also bring a direct court action for serious invasions of privacy under the statutory tort introduced by the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Cth).

17. Contact