1. Introduction and Scope
BēCN Technologies, LLC, doing business as BēCN Pets ("BēCN," "we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect personal information when you:
- visit the website at becnpets.com (the "Site");
- use the BēCN Pets web application and related services (the "App"); or
- use a BēCN Pets tag and scan or interact with it.
Together, these are the "Services."
This Privacy Policy applies to personal information we process as a data controller — that is, where we determine why and how information is processed. It does not apply to information processed by third parties under their own privacy policies.
Please read this policy carefully. It describes, among other things, what a person who scans your pet's tag may see.
2. Who We Are
Data Controller: BēCN Technologies, LLC
United States
Email: support@becnpets.com
Website: becnpets.com
If you have questions about this policy or wish to exercise a privacy right, contact us at the email address above.
3. Information We Collect
3.1 Information you provide
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Account information | Your email address, and authentication data associated with it |
| Profile information | Your name or display name, and any contact preferences you set |
| Pet information | Your pet's name, species, breed, description, photographs, and any care or medical notes you choose to record |
| Pet Passport settings | Which information you choose to make visible when your pet's tag is scanned |
| Communications | The content of messages you send to us, including support requests |
| Transaction information | Records of purchases, subscription status, and billing history. We do not receive or store full payment card numbers; payments are handled by our payment processors |
| User Content | Any other material you submit to the Services |
3.2 Information collected automatically
When you use the Services, we and our service providers may automatically collect:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Device and technical data | IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, and language settings |
| Usage data | Pages and features accessed, actions taken, timestamps, and referring pages |
| Log data | Server logs, error reports, and diagnostic information |
| Cookie and similar data | Identifiers stored in cookies, local storage, and similar technologies (see Section 8) |
3.3 Location information
The tag does not transmit location. The tag contains no battery, electronics, or transmitter, and does not collect or send location information on its own.
Where location information is used by the Services, it is derived from the device used to scan a tag or to use the App, and only where that device and its user permit location sharing. Depending on the feature, this may include:
- Approximate location derived from IP address; and
- More precise location where the device permits it — for example, when a person chooses to share their location while scanning a tag or while viewing a Rescue Alert.
You can control location sharing through your device settings and through any in-App controls we provide. If you disable location sharing, some rescue features may not function.
3.4 Information from third parties
We may receive information from:
- Service providers who help us operate the Services, such as hosting, email delivery, analytics, and payment processing providers;
- Organizations you are associated with, such as a shelter, rescue organization, or veterinary practice that provides you with a tag or an account as part of its own program; and
- Members of the public who scan a tag or submit a lost-pet or found-pet report.
3.5 Information about pets
Information you provide about your pet is not personal information about a person. However, it may become associated with you — for example, if it appears alongside your contact details in a Pet Passport. We treat such information in accordance with this policy.
4. How We Use Information
We use personal information to:
- Provide the Services — create and secure Accounts, display Pet Passports, register and associate tags, and generate Rescue Alerts;
- Authenticate you — send sign-in links or codes and verify your identity;
- Operate the rescue and community features — connect owners, Caregivers, and Finders, and deliver notifications about lost and found pets;
- Communicate with you — respond to inquiries, send service and transactional messages, and provide notices about changes to the Services or this policy;
- Process payments — manage purchases and subscriptions;
- Improve the Services — understand how the Services are used, diagnose problems, and develop new features;
- Maintain safety and security — detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, security incidents, and violations of our Terms and Conditions;
- Comply with law — meet legal, tax, and regulatory obligations, and respond to lawful requests; and
- Establish and defend legal claims.
We may use aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you, for any lawful purpose.
We do not use the information in your Pet Passport to send you third-party advertising.
5. Legal Bases for Processing (EEA and UK)
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we process your personal information on the following legal bases:
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Providing the Services, managing your Account, and delivering Pet Passports and Rescue Alerts | Performance of a contract |
| Authentication and account security | Performance of a contract; legitimate interests |
| Improving the Services, analytics, and fraud prevention | Legitimate interests |
| Sending service and transactional messages | Performance of a contract; legal obligation |
| Sending marketing communications | Consent, or legitimate interests where permitted |
| Complying with legal obligations | Legal obligation |
| Establishing and defending legal claims | Legitimate interests |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have assessed that our interests are not overridden by your rights. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests at any time (see Section 11).
6. How We Share Information
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only as described below.
6.1 With other users — and with anyone who scans a tag
This is the most important sharing to understand.
When someone scans your pet's tag, the Services display the Pet Passport. The person who scans the tag will see the information you have chosen to publish, which may include your pet's name, photograph, description, care notes, and any contact details you have chosen to make visible.
You control what is published through your Pet Passport settings. We recommend that you do not publish your home address or any information you would not wish a stranger to see. Where the Services offer a way to be contacted without disclosing direct contact details, we encourage you to use it.
If you are a Finder who scans a tag, we may share information about the scan with the pet's owner or Caregiver — including the approximate location and time of the scan, and any information you choose to provide. Payment or reward arrangements, if any, are strictly between you and the owner; we are not a party to them.
6.2 With service providers
We share information with vendors who perform services on our behalf, including hosting and cloud infrastructure, email delivery, analytics, payment processing, and customer support tooling. These providers are contractually restricted from using your information for their own purposes.
6.3 With partner organizations (B2B2C)
Where you receive a tag or an Account through a shelter, rescue organization, veterinary practice, or another partner, we may share information with that partner to the extent necessary to administer the program — for example, to confirm activation status or to provide aggregate reporting. Where we share personal information with a partner, that partner's own privacy policy also applies.
6.4 For legal reasons
We may disclose information where we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to comply with a law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; to enforce our Terms and Conditions; to detect or address fraud or security issues; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of BēCN, our users, or the public.
6.5 Business transfers
If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will provide notice of any such change and any choices available to you.
6.6 With your consent
We may share information for other purposes where you direct us to or where you have given consent.
7. Cookies and Similar Technologies
We use cookies, local storage, and similar technologies to:
- keep you signed in and maintain your session;
- remember your preferences;
- understand how the Services are used; and
- maintain the security and integrity of the Services.
| Type | Purpose | Can you opt out? |
|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Sign-in, session management, security | No — required for the Services to function |
| Preference | Remembering settings and choices | Yes, where offered |
| Analytics | Understanding usage and improving the Services | Yes, where offered |
Most browsers let you refuse or delete cookies through their settings. If you disable strictly necessary cookies, parts of the Services may not work.
8. Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide the Services and for the purposes described in this policy.
| Category | Typical retention |
|---|---|
| Account and profile information | While your Account is active, and for a reasonable period after closure |
| Pet Passport information | While the Pet Passport is active. If an Account is closed or a subscription lapses, the Pet Passport may be deactivated |
| Rescue Alert records | Retained for a period after the alert is resolved, for record-keeping and dispute resolution |
| Transaction and billing records | Retained as required for tax, accounting, and legal purposes |
| Support communications | Retained for a reasonable period to assist with follow-up |
| Server and security logs | Retained for a limited period for security and diagnostic purposes |
Where a legal, tax, or regulatory obligation requires longer retention, we retain the information for that period. When information is no longer needed, we delete or de-identify it.
9. Security
We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information, including encryption in transit, access controls, and vendor due diligence.
Tag and QR code integrity
BēCN tags carry a unique rescue ID — a randomly generated 10-digit number that is not your account ID and not your pet ID. The rescue ID is not part of the URI and is never sent over the network unencrypted. A tag can be deleted or replaced per pet, which disassociates the rescue ID from that pet.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of your information. Please use a strong, unique password where passwords are used, keep access to your Account email secured, and contact us promptly at support@becnpets.com if you believe your Account has been compromised.
10. Children's Privacy
The Services are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
We do not permit anyone under 13 to create an Account. If you are between 13 and 18, you may use the Services only with the involvement of a parent or legal guardian.
Where a pet is cared for by a person under 18, the Account should be created and maintained by a parent, legal guardian, or authorized Caregiver.
If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete it. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, contact us at support@becnpets.com.
11. Your Rights and Choices
11.1 Rights available to everyone
Regardless of where you live, you may:
- Access the information in your Account and Pet Passports through the App;
- Correct information you have provided through the App;
- Update your Pet Passport settings to change what is visible to a Finder;
- Close your Account by contacting support@becnpets.com; and
- Contact us with any privacy question or concern.
11.2 Additional rights for EEA and UK residents
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you have the right to:
- Access your personal information and receive a copy;
- Rectify inaccurate or incomplete information;
- Erase information in certain circumstances;
- Restrict processing in certain circumstances;
- Object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time;
- Data portability — receive information you provided in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format, or have it transmitted to another controller;
- Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal; and
- Lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
11.3 Additional rights for California residents
See Section 13 below.
11.4 How to exercise your rights
Contact us at support@becnpets.com or by mail at the address in Section 2. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request, and we may ask for information necessary to do so.
We will not discriminate against you for exercising a privacy right.
12. International Data Transfers
BēCN is based in the United States, and the Services are operated from the United States. If you access the Services from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States and possibly in other countries where our service providers operate. Those countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in your country.
Where we transfer personal information from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we rely on appropriate safeguards — such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, or another lawful transfer mechanism. You may contact us for more information about the safeguards we use.
13. Notice to California Residents
This section applies to California residents and supplements the rest of this policy. It describes our practices under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (together, the "CCPA").
13.1 Categories of personal information collected
In the preceding 12 months, we have collected the following categories of personal information, as defined in the CCPA:
| Category | Collected | Sources | Purposes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers (email address, IP address) | Yes | You; automatic collection | Providing the Services; security; analytics |
| Personal information under the customer records statute (name, contact details) | Yes | You | Providing the Services |
| Commercial information (purchase and subscription records) | Yes | You; payment processors | Processing payments; accounting |
| Internet or network activity (usage and interaction data) | Yes | Automatic collection | Analytics; security; improvement |
| Geolocation data (approximate and, where permitted, precise) | Yes, where location sharing is enabled | Your device; you | Rescue features |
| Photographs and other user content | Yes | You | Providing the Services |
| Inferences drawn from the above | Yes | Derived | Improvement; security |
13.2 Sale and sharing of personal information
We do not sell personal information, and we do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We have not done so in the preceding 12 months.
13.3 Your California rights
You have the right to:
- Know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose, and to request a copy;
- Delete personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions;
- Correct inaccurate personal information;
- Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information — a right that does not currently apply, because we do not sell or share personal information in that sense;
- Limit the use of sensitive personal information — we do not use sensitive personal information for purposes beyond those permitted without a limitation right;
- Non-discrimination for exercising your rights; and
- Authorize an agent to make a request on your behalf, subject to verification.
To exercise these rights, contact us at support@becnpets.com.
14. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control
Some browsers transmit "Do Not Track" signals. There is no industry consensus on how to interpret them. We do not currently respond to Do Not Track signals. Where required by applicable law, we honor Global Privacy Control signals as a valid request to opt out of sale or sharing — although, as noted in Section 13.2, we do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
15. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top. Where a change is material, we will provide notice through the Services or by email before the change takes effect, and where required by law we will seek your consent. Your continued use of the Services after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
16. Contact Us
BēCN Technologies, LLC
Email: support@becnpets.com
Website: becnpets.com
For privacy questions, requests to exercise your rights, or concerns about how we handle personal information, contact us at the email address above. If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom and are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.