Privacy policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Vets@Home (the Service) and its website vetsathome.myshopify.com (the “Site”) collects, uses, and discloses your Personal Information when you:

- visit, make a purchase, or book an appointment on the Site

- use the veterinary services provided by Vets@Home Inc

Veterinary services provided to you (the client) and your pet (the patient) are subject to regulations by the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC).

Vets@Home Inc encourages our customers, visitors, business associates, and other interested parties to read this Privacy Notice, which applies to all users. By using our Service or Site or submitting personal information to us by any other means, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to be bound by this Privacy Notice, and agree that we may collect, process, transfer, use, and disclose your personal information as described in this Notice. Further, by accessing any part of the Service or Site, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of our terms of service (the “Terms of Service”). If you do not agree with any part of this privacy notice or our terms of service, please do not use any of the services.

For individuals located outside of South Africa in particular in Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area (EEA), please note that Vets@Home Inc is a South African based company. Vets@Home Inc does not market to or solicit customers from outside South Africa, therefore, users of the Service and Site should not expect to avail themselves of the rights provided under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). If you use the Service or SIte, all information, including personal information, will be transferred to Vets@Home Inc in South Africa. By using the Service or Site, you unambiguously consent to the transfer of your personal information and other information to South Africa and elsewhere for the purposes and uses described in this Notice. Further, you acknowledge that Vets@Home Inc is not subject to the GDPR or similar international privacy laws, and, therefore, you will be unable to claim the privacy rights provided in those laws.

Collecting Personal Information

When you visit the Site, we collect certain information about your device, your interaction with the Site, and information necessary to process your purchases and book appointments online. We may also collect additional information if you contact us for customer support. In this Privacy Policy, we refer to any information that can uniquely identify an individual (including the information below) as “Personal Information”. See the list below for more information about what Personal Information we collect and why.

We may use third party service providers to help us deliver certain services, and it may result in the processing of personal information in data centers and locations outside of South Africa. For example, these service providers may provide us with essential information technology or tools we use to run our business. We may permit these service providers to process our business information and/or your personal information. We do not permit these service providers to process any personal information outside of a contract, and these service providers may collect personal information on our behalf. Our third-party service providers are required to comply fully with this Privacy Notice.

Device information

  • Examples of Personal Information collected: version of web browser, IP address, time zone, cookie information, what sites or products you view, search terms, and how you interact with the Site.
  • Purpose of collection: to load the Site accurately for you, and to perform analytics on Site usage to optimize our Site.
  • Source of collection: Collected automatically when you access our Site using cookies, log files, web beacons, tags, or pixels 
  • Disclosure for a business purpose: shared with our processor Shopify

Order information

  • Examples of Personal Information collected: name, billing address, shipping address, payment information (including credit card numbers), email address, and phone number.
  • Purpose of collection: to provide products or services to you to fulfill our contract, to process your payment information, arrange for shipping, and provide you with invoices and/or order confirmations, communicate with you, screen our orders for potential risk or fraud, and when in line with the preferences you have shared with us, provide you with information or advertising relating to our products or services.
  • Source of collection: collected from you via the Site.
  • Disclosure for a business purpose: shared with our processor Shopify, and our courier service The Courier Guy. 

Online booking information

  • Examples of Personal Information collected: name, physical address, email address, phone number, details of your pets and the nature of the requested appointment.
  • Purpose of collection: to provide an online appointment booking service to you, to prepare for the consultation in line with the nature of the problem, and to contact you should we need any additional information or to reschedule the appointment.
  • Source of collection: collected from you via the Site.
  • Disclosure for a business purpose: the online booking system is managed by our cloud based Electronic Medical Record Keeping (EMR) software called Digitail. The client may request Digitail’s privacy policy.

Customer support information

  • Examples of Personal Information collected: name, email address, and phone number.
  • Purpose of collection: to provide customer support and answer questions regarding the services we deliver and the products we sell.
  • Source of collection: collected from you via the Site.

 Veterinary Consultation information

  • Examples of Personal Information collected: name, physical address, email address, phone number, details of your pets (Name, Breed, Gender, Age, Vaccination Status) and the nature of the pet’s ailment.
  • Purpose of collection: to provide a veterinary service to you (the client) and your pet (the patient). This information is necessary to gather the patient signalment and interpret historical findings, to keep track of patient diagnostics and treatment, to be able to contact the client with updates on the medical progress or concerns regarding the patient, and to invoice the client. In the case of mobile veterinary visits at home, we require your physical address to deliver this service. Furthermore, the SAVC requires medical records to be kept for a minimum of five years.
  • Source of collection: collected from you manually or via the Site
  • Disclosure for a business purpose: all medical records are stored and managed by our cloud based Electronic Medical Record Keeping (EMR) software called Digitail. The client may request Digitail’s privacy policy. Details of the client are also shared with Quickbooks, our online accounting software. Quickbooks’ privacy policy may also be requested by the client.

Information Storage and Security

We employ industry-standard and/or generally accepted security measures designed to secure the integrity and confidentiality of all information submitted through the Service or Site. However, the security of information transmitted through the internet or via a mobile device can never be guaranteed. We are not responsible for any interception or interruption of any communications through the internet or for changes to or losses of data. 

Users of the Service and Site are responsible for maintaining the security of any password, user ID or other form of authentication involved in obtaining access to password protected or secure areas of the Service or Site. In order to protect you and your information, we may suspend your use of any of the Service or Site, without notice, pending an investigation, if any breach of security is suspected.

Please note that we do not use any PII to market our services and products directly to you. Our marketing will be limited to online platforms. However, when making use of our veterinary services, you have the option to “opt-in” to receiving reminders for vaccinations and check-ups. You have an opportunity to withdraw consent (“opt-out”) to receive such direct marketing communications, as permitted by law.

If you no longer wish to receive correspondence, emails, or other communications from us, you may opt-out by contacting us directy or by using the UNSUBSCRIBE link in any email communication you may have received.

External Links

The Site may contain links to other websites maintained by third parties. Please be aware that we exercise no control over linked sites and Vets@Home Inc is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such sites. Each linked site maintains its own independent privacy and data collection policies and procedures, and you are encouraged to view the privacy policies of these other sites before providing any personal information. 

You hereby acknowledge and agree that Vets@Home Inc is not responsible for the privacy practices, data collection policies and procedures, or the content of such third-party sites, and you hereby release us from any and all claims arising out of or related to the privacy practices, data collection policies and procedures, and/or the content of such third-party sites.

Sharing Personal Information

Vets@Home Inc does not sell, re-sell, or distribute for re-sale your personal information.

Vets@Home Inc may provide any of the described categories of personal information to its employees, consultants, affiliates or other businesses or persons for the purpose of processing such information on our behalf in order to provide the Service and Site to you. In such circumstances, we require that these parties agree to protect the confidentiality of such information consistent with the terms of this Privacy Notice.

In addition, we may release personal information: (i) to the extent we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with any applicable law; (ii) to enforce any provision of the Terms of Service , protect ourselves against any liability, defend ourselves against any claims, protect the rights, property and personal safety of any user, or protect the public welfare; (iii) when disclosure is required to maintain the security and integrity of the Service or Site, or to protect any user’s security or the security of other persons, consistent with applicable laws (iv) to respond to a court order, subpoena, search warrant, or other legal process, to the extent permitted and as restricted by law; or (v) in the event that we go through a business transition, such as a merger, divestiture, acquisition, liquidation or sale of all or a portion of our assets.

We share your Personal Information with service providers to help us provide our services and fulfill our contracts with you, as described above. For example:

  • We use Shopify to power our online store. You can read more about how Shopify uses your Personal Information here: https://www.shopify.com/legal/privacy.
  • We may share your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, comply with guidelines set out by the SAVC, to respond to a subpoena, search warrant or other lawful request for information we receive, or to otherwise protect our rights.
  • We may share the necessary personal information with:
    •  The courier service we use (The Courier Guy) in order to facilitate delivery of goods ordered online
    • Our online EMR keeping software (Digitail) in order to keep the patient’s medical records are required by law
    • Quickbooks, our online accounting software

In addition to the communication described here, you may receive third-party marketing communications from providers we have engaged to market or promote our products and services. These third-party providers may be using communications lists they have acquired on their own, and you may have opted-in to those lists through other channels.  If you no longer wish to receive emails, SMSs, or other communications from such third parties, you may need to contact that third party directly.

Third Party Advertisers

We may allow other companies, called third-party ad servers or ad networks, to serve advertisements within the Site. These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to send, directly to your device, the advertisements and links that appear on the Site. They automatically receive your device ID and IP address when this happens. They may also use other technologies (such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons) to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and to personalize the advertising content you see. You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers or ad networks for more information on their practices and for instructions on how to opt-out of certain practices. This Privacy Notice does not apply to them, and we cannot control their activities.

As described above, we use your Personal Information to provide you with targeted advertisements or marketing communications we believe may be of interest to you. For example:

For more information about how targeted advertising works, you can visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s (“NAI”) educational page at http://www.networkadvertising.org/understanding-online-advertising/how-does-it-work.

Using Personal Information

We use your personal Information to provide our services to you, which includes offering products for sale, processing payments, shipping and fulfillment of your order, booking appointments online, providing veterinary consultations and performing procedures on patients.

Retention

When you place an order through the Site, book an appointment online, or make use of our veterinary services, we will retain your Personal Information for our records unless and until you ask us to erase this information. We are by law required to keep all client and patient medical records for a minimum of 5 years as prescribed by the SAVC. For more information on your right of erasure, please see the ‘Your rights’ section below.

Collection of User Generated Content

We may invite you to post content on the Site, including your comments and any other information that you would like to be available on the Site, which may become public (“User Generated Content”). If you post User Generated Content, all of the information that you post will be available to authorized personnel of Vets@Home Inc. You expressly acknowledge and agree that we may access in real-time, record and store archives of any User Generated Content on our servers to make use of them in connection with the Site. If you submit a review, recommendation, endorsement, or other User Generated Content through the Site, or through other websites including Facebook, Instagram, Google, Yelp, and other similar channels, we may share that review, recommendation, endorsement, or content publicly on the Service.

Cookies

A cookie is a small amount of information that’s downloaded to your computer or device when you visit our Site. We use a number of different cookies, including functional, performance, advertising, and social media or content cookies. Cookies make your browsing experience better by allowing the website to remember your actions and preferences (such as login and region selection). This means you don’t have to re-enter this information each time you return to the site or browse from one page to another. Cookies also provide information on how people use the website, for instance whether it’s their first time visiting or if they are a frequent visitor.

We use the following cookies to optimize your experience on our Site and to provide our services.

Cookies Necessary for the Functioning of the Store

Name

Function

_ab

Used in connection with access to admin.

_secure_session_id

Used in connection with navigation through a storefront.

cart

Used in connection with shopping cart.

cart_sig

Used in connection with checkout.

cart_ts

Used in connection with checkout.

checkout_token

Used in connection with checkout.

secret

Used in connection with checkout.

secure_customer_sig

Used in connection with customer login.

storefront_digest

Used in connection with customer login.

_shopify_u

Used to facilitate updating customer account information.

Reporting and Analytics

Name

Function

_tracking_consent

Tracking preferences.

_landing_page

Track landing pages

_orig_referrer

Track landing pages

_s

Shopify analytics.

_shopify_fs

Shopify analytics.

_shopify_s

Shopify analytics.

_shopify_sa_p

Shopify analytics relating to marketing & referrals.

_shopify_sa_t

Shopify analytics relating to marketing & referrals.

_shopify_y

Shopify analytics.

_y

Shopify analytics.

 

The length of time that a cookie remains on your computer or mobile device depends on whether it is a “persistent” or “session” cookie. Session cookies last until you stop browsing and persistent cookies last until they expire or are deleted. Most of the cookies we use are persistent and will expire between 30 minutes and two years from the date they are downloaded to your device.

You can control and manage cookies in various ways. Please keep in mind that removing or blocking cookies can negatively impact your user experience and parts of our website may no longer be fully accessible.

Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can choose whether or not to accept cookies through your browser controls, often found in your browser’s “Tools” or “Preferences” menu. For more information on how to modify your browser settings or how to block, manage or filter cookies can be found in your browser’s help file or through such sites as www.allaboutcookies.org.

Additionally, please note that blocking cookies may not completely prevent how we share information with third parties such as our advertising partners. To exercise your rights or opt-out of certain uses of your information by these parties, please follow the instructions in the “Behavioural Advertising” section above.

South African Privacy Rights

If you are a South African resident, South Africa law may provide you with certain rights with regard to your personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act (“POPIA”) and Promotion of Access to Information Act (“PAIA”).as well the Consumer Protection Act Throughout this Privacy Notice you will find information required by POPIA regarding the categories of personal information collected from you; the purposes for which we use personal information, and the categories of third parties your data may be shared with.  This information is current as of the date of the Notice and is applicable in the 12 months preceding the effective date of the Notice.

As a South African resident, the POPIA and PAIA provide you the ability to make inquiries regarding to your personal information. Specifically, the degree to which the information is not already provided in this Privacy Notice, you have the right to request disclosure or action your personal information, including:

  • If your personal information is collected by us.
  • The specific pieces of personal information collected about you.
  • The ability to correct or delete certain personal information collected about you.
  • The ability to delete all the personal information collected about you, subject to certain exceptions.
  • To opt-in or opt-out of direct marketing to you.
  • To object to processing of your personal information, or 
  • Appeal any rejection of access to your personal information.

Note that we are by law required to keep any patient medical records for five years.

If we receive a POPIA request from you, we will first decide regarding the applicability of the law, and we will then take steps to verify your identity prior to responding. The steps to verify your identity may vary based on our relationship with you, but, at a minimum, it will take the form of confirming and matching the information submitted in the request with information already held by Vets@Home Inc and/or contacting you through previously used channels to confirm that you submitted the request (i.e. confirming identity through contact information that we have on file, and/or the contact information submitted to make the request). 

Vets@Home Inc does not knowingly collect or process the special personal information such as your religious or philosophical beliefs, race or ethnic origins, trade union memberships, political persuasion, health or sex life, or your criminal behaviour or biometric information.

Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons.

Contact

If you have a comment, question, or complaint about how we are processing your personal information, we hope that you contact us directly in order to allow us to resolve the matter. In addition, if you are located in the Republic of South Africa, you may submit a complaint regarding the processing of your personal information to the Information Regulator at the following link: https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/contact.html.

 For more information about our privacy practices, if you have questions, or if you would like to make a complaint, please contact us by e-mail at info@vetsathome.co.za, or by calling 0658271809.

Last updated: 30/06/2021

Link to Digitail Privacy Policy https://www.digitail.io/privacy-policy/

Link to Quickbooks Privacy Policy https://www.intuit.com/privacy/

Link to Google Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/u/1/privacy?hl=en

Link to The Courier Guy Privacy Policy https://www.thecourierguy.co.za/privacy-policy/