Privacy

Lost Paws Malta is a free volunteer project. We keep as little about you as we can.

Who is responsible

The Lost Paws Malta volunteers are responsible for your information. Lost Paws Malta is an independent volunteer project, not yet a registered organisation. Contact us about anything to do with your data at lostpawsmalta@gmail.com.

What we store

• The photos, description, locality and date you post.
• Your first name (shown) and email address (never shown). The email is used only to send your private link, likely-match alerts and messages people send you through the site.
• A phone number, only if you choose to show one.
• Any Facebook post text you paste in, so people can search it.
• If you choose Messenger as a way to be contacted, the profile or m.me link you give us is shown on your post.
• If you sign in to My account, we send a one-time sign-in link to your email and set a cookie that keeps you signed in on that device for 30 days. No password is stored.
• If you turn on area alerts, we keep your email and the areas you chose so we can send them. Every alert has an unsubscribe link.
• Messages people send through the site (sightings, "this is my cat", offers of a home or help), passed on to the person they're for.
• If you message us on WhatsApp or Messenger, we keep your messages, photos and your WhatsApp number or Messenger ID to build your draft and reply. Drafts you don't publish are deleted after 7 days.

What we do to protect you

• Photos are resized and their hidden location data (GPS) is removed before they're stored.
• We show the locality and a landmark you choose, never an exact address.
• Posts drop out of search after 60 days unless renewed. Posts are deleted permanently a year after they close.
• No ads, no tracking cookies, and your details are never sold. They're only shared with the services that run the site, listed below.

Emails we send

Only emails you'd expect, like your private link, possible matches, messages from people about your cat, a check-in at 14 and 45 days to ask if your cat is home, and alerts you signed up for. No newsletters or marketing.

Services we use

Vercel hosts the website, Supabase stores the database and photos, and Brevo sends emails, each under GDPR data protection terms. Meta handles Messenger and WhatsApp messages you send us. Photo matching runs on your own device. When you ask us to fill in a form from a Facebook post, or send us a post on Messenger, its text and any screenshots go to Groq, an AI service based in the US, only to read the details. Your email address is never sent.

Why we can use your information

You choose to post and to give us your details, so we use them to run your post and pass on messages about your cat. We also keep what's needed to stop scams and misuse, and to keep the site safe. You can remove your post or ask us to delete your data at any time.

Cookies and storage

No tracking, analytics or advertising cookies, so there's no cookie banner. We only store what the site needs to work:

• Your language (English or Malti), so the site remembers your choice. Kept for a year.
• A sign-in cookie, only if you sign in to My account, so you stay signed in on that device for 30 days.
• A volunteer sign-in cookie, only for the people who run the site.
• On your own device only: an unfinished report, so you don't lose it if the page closes, and small settings like hiding the testing notice. Clearing your browser's site data removes them.

Where your information goes

The map images come from OpenStreetMap, which sees your IP address when the map loads, like any website you visit. Some of the services we use are based outside the EU, in the UK or the US. They work under the European Commission's standard data protection terms or an adequacy decision.

Your choices

Use your private link to edit or remove your post at any time. To have everything about you deleted, email lostpawsmalta@gmail.com.

You can ask to see, correct or delete what we hold about you at any time, or use Delete your data. If you're unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to Malta's Information and Data Protection Commissioner (idpc.org.mt).

Last updated 1 October 2026.