Privacy Policy

1) VetsApp is not an official government or Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) application, it’s simply a mobile platform that connects Veterans directly to the many benefits and services they have earned. VetsApp users can bypass this app altogether and visit VA.gov to access most of the same services, websites, and applications.

2) None of the external links available within VetsApp, or any personal information received or transmitted through those links, are hosted on VetsApp LLC or GoodBarber(our hosting company) servers; they are hosted directly on the official external website the user is accessing. Specific information (with the exception of general metadata, such as geodata, the name of the website being accessed, or other non-personally identifiable information (PII) or personal health information (PHI) that Good Barber is legally required to collect) being exchanged between the user and the external website is not hosted, monitored, logged, or otherwise available to any entity except the user and the external website they are accessing, via secure HTTPS encryption.

3) VetsApp LLC’s licensed hosting company, Good Barber, maintains a privacy policy and terms of service for the use of information users 1) voluntarily submit as part of their personal VetsApp profile (not related to their VA records) and 2) messages and interactions with other VetsApp users within the Community function. Use of VetsApprepresents acceptance of Good Barber’s privacy policy and terms of service.

4) VetsApp LLC does not record and maintain keystrokes, messages, or any other information input through VetsApp, nor any information exchanged between the app user and the secure website being accessed. Messages VetsApp users send to other VetsApp users through social media functions are only available to those two people. VetsApp LLC does not monitor or log these conversations. If you are a VetsApp user and no longer want to be contacted by another users, please select the “flag abuse” icon at the top right of your conversation, or swipe right on a conversation to access the “block” function.

5) Some legalize our hosting company makes us say (it’s dense, but stick with us!): Good Barber maintains they only store “Personal Information we process on behalf of our Users for as long as needed to provide our Services or to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, prevent abuse, and enforce our agreements … [and] To meet legal requirements, including complying with court orders, valid discovery requests, valid subpoenas, and other appropriate legal mechanisms … [and] To respond to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.” Whew, you made it.

6) Use of VetsApp represents the user’s acceptance of this VetsApp LLC privacy policy and Good Barber’s Terms of Service, and affirms release of VetsApp LLC from any personal, professional, or financial liability associated with problems using this app, misuse of data stemming from security vulnerabilities associated with the external website the VetsApp user is accessing, the mobile device and software platform the VetsApp user is using to access VetsApp, or security vulnerability/liabilities associated with VetsApp LLC’s licensed app hosting company, Good Barber. (What we’re saying is that we can’t be responsible for things that our outside of our control. If you’re not good with that, consider just going to VA.gov or other linked websites directly.)

7) To delete your VetsApp account and remove your information, open the app and click the menu at the top left. Tap My Profile, then tap the settings icon at the top right. Choose Delete my account from the menu. You may also email contact@vetsapp.org with a request to delete your account and remove your information.

By subscribing to our application, you accept the general terms and conditions defined below:

VetsApp collects some limited, basic Personal Data from its Users to enhance the User experience. We rely on the hosting company for VetsApp, GoodBarber, to implement appropriate security controls to safeguard the storage and processing of that data. GoodBarber has a Data Privacy Official who is responsible for the information hosted on Goodbarber servers, and they may be reached at dpo@goodbarber.com

VetsApp users may not request the personal or financial information from other users, nor may they send abusive, harrassing, or otherwise unwanted messages to other users. Any violation of these terms will result in an account ban and user deletion, without appeal. Banned users may not re-access the app under any circumstances. VetsApp will make every effort to prevent banned users from re-gaining access to the app, but VetsApp LLC is not liable for failure to prevent a user circumventing our safeguards and creating a new account under a fake or assumed identity.

While using VetsApp features, such as the community and instant messaging function, there is always a risk of scammers or bad actors who seek to request or exploit users’ personal or financial information for gain. VetsApp provides a way for users to report this kind of abuse and block these bad actors from further communication, but users are responsible for safeguarding their personal and financial information and should not provide this information to any user that requests it. Further, VetsApp users agree that VetsApp LLC will not be held legally or financially responsible for the exploitation or misuse of their data as a result of bad actors receiving data or information that the user shares with them. Users will be solely, legally responsible for any personal information they share within the app, and Goodbarber will be responsible for the exploitation of unauthorized access to data or information stored on Goodbarber servers, applications, and platforms.

Summary

Personal Data collected for the following purposes and using the following services:

Access to third party services’ accounts

Access to the Facebook account (optional)
Permissions: If you choose to register the app with Facebook or you choose to share VetsApp content to your Facebook feed, we need access to app registration, Likes and Publish to the Wall

Access to the Twitter account (optional)
Permissions: If you choose to register the app with Twitter or you choose to share VetsApp content to your Twitter feed, we need access to app registration, Likes and Publish to the Feed

Interaction with external social networks and platforms

Facebook Like button, social widgets
Personal Data: Cookie, Usage Data, Profile information

Full policy

Data Controller (VetsApp) and Owner (User):

Types of Data collected:
Among the types of Personal Data that VetsApp collects, by itself or through third parties, there are: Cookie and Usage Data.

Other Personal Data collected may be described in other sections of this privacy policy or by dedicated explanation text contextually with the Data collection.

The Personal Data may be freely provided by the User, or collected automatically when using VetsApp.

Any use of Cookies – or of other tracking tools – by VetsApp or by the owners of third-party services used by VetsApp, unless stated otherwise, serves to identify Users and remember their preferences, for the sole purpose of providing the service required by the User.

Failure to provide certain Personal Data may impede VetsApp’s ability to provide the experience Users expect.

The User assumes responsibility for the Personal Data of third parties published or shared through VetsApp and declares to have the right to communicate or broadcast them, thus relieving VetsApp of all responsibility.

Mode and place of processing the Data

Methods of processing:

VetsApp processes the Data of Users to make enhancements to app usability, and relies on GoodBarber, the app hosting company, to take appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, modification, or unauthorized destruction of the Data.

The Data processing is carried out using computers and/or IT enabled tools, following organizational procedures and modes strictly related to the purposes indicated. In addition to the Data Controller, in some cases, the Data may be accessible to certain types of persons in charge or involved with the operation of the site (administration, sales, marketing, legal, system administration) or external parties (such as third party technical service providers, mail carriers, hosting providers, IT companies, communications agencies) appointed, if necessary, as Data Processors by the Owner. The updated list of these parties may be requested from the Data Controller at any time.

Place:

The Data is processed at the Data Controller’s operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved with the processing are located. For further information, please contact the Data Controller.

Retention time:

The Data is kept for the time necessary to provide the service requested by the User, or stated by the purposes outlined in this document, and the User can always request that the Data Controller suspend or remove the data.

The use of the collected Data:

The Data concerning the User is collected to allow the Application to provide its services, as well as for the following purposes: Access to third party services’ accounts, Creation of the user in app profile, Content commenting and Interaction with external social networks and platforms.

The Personal Data used for each purpose is outlined in the specific sections of this document.

Facebook permissions asked by VetsApp:

VetsApp may ask some Facebook permissions allowing it to perform actions with the User’s Facebook account and to retrieve information, including Personal Data, from it.

For more information about the following permissions, refer to the Facebook permissions documentation (https://developers.facebook.com/docs/authentication/permissions/) and to the Facebook privacy policy (https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/).

The permissions asked are the following:

Basic information:

By default, this includes certain User’s Data such as id, name, picture, and locale.

Publish to the Wall:

Enables the app to post content, comments, and likes to a user’s stream and to the streams of the user’s friends.

Detailed information on the processing of Personal Data:

Personal Data is collected for the following purposes and using the following services:

Access to third party services’ accounts:

These services allow VetsApp to access Data from your account on a third-party service and perform actions with it. These services are not activated automatically, but require explicit authorization by the User.

Access to the Facebook account (VetsApp):
This service allows VetsApp to connect with the User’s account on the Facebook social network, provided by Facebook Inc.

Permissions asked: Likes and Publish to the Wall.

Place of processing: USA – Privacy Policy https://www.facebook.com/policy.php

Access to the Twitter account (VetsApp):

This service allows VetsApp to connect with the User’s account on the Twitter social network, provided by Twitter Inc.

Personal Data collected: Various types of Data.

Place of processing: USA – Privacy Policy http://twitter.com/privacy

Interaction with external social networks and platforms:

These services allow interaction with social networks or other external platforms directly from the pages of VetsApp.

The interaction and information obtained by VetsApp are always subject to the User’s privacy settings for each social network.

If a service enabling interaction with social networks is installed it may still collect traffic data for the pages where the service is installed, even when Users do not use it.

Facebook Like button and social widgets (Facebook)
The Facebook Like button and social widgets are services allowing interaction with the Facebook social network provided by Facebook Inc.

Personal Data collected: Cookie and Usage Data.

Place of processing: USA – Privacy Policy http://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.php

Additional information about Data collection and processing:

Legal action:

The User’s Personal Data may be used for legal purposes by the Data Controller, in Court or in the stages leading to possible legal action arising from improper use of VetsApp or the related services.

The User is aware of the fact that the Data Controller may be required to reveal personal data upon request of public authorities.

Additional information about User’s Personal Data:

In addition to the information contained in this privacy policy, VetsApp may provide the User with additional and contextual information concerning particular services or the collection and processing of Personal Data upon request.

System Logs and Maintenance:

For operation and maintenance purposes, VetsApp and any third-party services may collect files that record interaction with VetsApp (System Logs) or use for this purpose other Personal Data (such as IP Address).

Information not contained in this policy:

More details concerning the collection or processing of Personal Data may be requested from the Data Controller at any time. Please see the contact information at the beginning of this document.

The rights of Users:

Users have the right, at any time, to know whether their Personal Data has been stored and can consult the Data Controller to learn about their contents and origin, to verify their accuracy or to ask for them to be supplemented, cancelled, updated or corrected, or for their transformation into anonymous format or to block any data held in violation of the law, as well as to oppose their treatment for any and all legitimate reasons. Requests should be sent to the Data Controller at contact@vetsapp.org

VetsApp does not support “Do Not Track” requests.

To determine whether any of the third-party services it uses honor the “Do Not Track” requests, please read their privacy policies.

Changes to this privacy policy:

The Data Controller reserves the right to make changes to this privacy policy at any time by giving notice to its Users via push notification. If a User objects to any of the changes to the Policy, the User must cease using VetsApp and can request that the Data Controller erase the Personal Data. Unless stated otherwise, the then-current privacy policy applies to all Personal Data the Data Controller has about Users.

Information from the use of our Applications:

When you use our mobile apps, we may collect certain information in addition to information described elsewhere in this Policy. For example, we may collect information about the type of device and operating system you use. We may ask you if you want to receive push notifications about activity in your account. If you have opted in to these notifications and no longer want to receive them, you may turn them off through your operating system. We may ask for access or track location-based information from your mobile device so that you can test location-based features offered by the Services or to receive targeted push notifications based on your location. If you have opted in to share those location-based information and no longer want to share them, you may turn sharing off through your operating system. We may use mobile analytics software (such as crashlytics.com) to better understand how people use our application. We may collect information about how often you use the application and other performance data.

Definitions and legal references

Personal Data (or Data)
Any information regarding a natural person, a legal person, an institution or an association, which is, or can be, identified, even indirectly, by reference to any other information, including a personal identification number.

Usage Data
Information collected automatically from VetsApp (or third party services employed in VetsApp ), which can include: the IP addresses or domain names of the computers utilized by the Users who use VetsApp, the URI addresses (Uniform Resource Identifier), the time of the request, the method utilized to submit the request to the server, the size of the file received in response, the numerical code indicating the status of the server’s answer (successful outcome, error, etc.), the country of origin, the features of the browser and the operating system utilized by the User, the various time details per visit (e.g., the time spent on each page within the Application) and the details about the path followed within the Application with special reference to the sequence of pages visited, and other parameters about the device operating system and/or the User’s IT environment.

User
The individual using VetsApp, which must coincide with or be authorized by the Data Subject, to whom the Personal Data refer.

Data Subject
The legal or natural person to whom the Personal Data refers to.

Data Processor (or Data Supervisor)
The natural person, legal person, public administration or any other body, association or organization authorized by the Data Controller to process the Personal Data in compliance with this privacy policy.

Data Controller (or Owner)
The natural person, legal person, public administration or any other body, association or organization with the right, also jointly with another Data Controller, to make decisions regarding the purposes, and the methods of processing of Personal Data and the means used, including the security measures concerning the operation and use of VetsApp. The Data Controller, unless otherwise specified, is the Owner of VetsApp.

VetsApp
The hardware or software tool by which the Personal Data of the User is collected.

Cookie
Small piece of data stored in the User’s device.

Legal information
Notice to European Users: this privacy statement has been prepared in fulfillment of the obligations under Art. 10 of EC Directive n. 95/46/EC, and under the provisions of Directive 2002/58/EC, as revised by Directive 2009/136/EC, on the subject of Cookies.

This privacy policy relates solely to VetsApp.