Terms of Use

1. Scope

These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern the use of the Dogs Out mobile app and the website dogsout.app ("Dogs Out", "the app", "the platform").

Dogs Out is operated by Moritz Davinghausen and Lea Mutschler, c/o Moritz Davinghausen, Wallisellerstrasse 124, 8152 Opfikon, Switzerland ("we", "us"). Dogs Out is not a registered company.

Dogs Out is aimed at dog owners, and at people who look after dogs or are looking for someone to look after theirs. Dogs Out can in principle be used from anywhere; its services are currently aimed at Switzerland.

By registering and using Dogs Out, users ("users", "you") agree to these Terms.

2. Purpose and function of Dogs Out

Dogs Out is a digital platform that puts dog owners in touch with each other and with people who look after dogs.

In particular, Dogs Out lets you:

• create a profile for yourself and for each of your dogs;
• browse dog owners nearby and match with them ("Discover");
• exchange messages with your matches, and invite them for a walk;
• create and join meetups in a park ("Playdates"), each with its own group chat;
• tell your matches that you are out walking, at the park or otherwise available, and see theirs ("Who's outside");
• offer to look after dogs or look for someone to look after yours, post and accept dogsitting jobs, share the details of a sitting, and review a sitter afterwards ("Dogsitting");
• raise an alert when your dog has gone missing ("SOS");
• find dog shelters near you ("Shelters");
• and use further features that make meeting other dog owners and organising dog care easier.

Dogs Out puts people in touch. Dogs Out does not itself provide dogsitting, dog walking or any other care for animals, and it does not process payments between users.

In particular, Dogs Out is:

• not the employer of any sitter;
• not the client of any sitter;
• not a party to any agreement between users, including an agreement to look after a dog;
• and not responsible for how a meeting, a walk, a playdate or a sitting is actually carried out.

Any agreement to look after a dog is made solely between the owner and the sitter.

3. Requirements for use

3.1 Minimum age

You must be at least 18 years old to use Dogs Out. Dogs Out is a service for adults; it is not intended for minors in any role.

3.2 Accurate information

All users must provide complete, truthful and up-to-date information when registering and when using Dogs Out.

In particular, you may not give false information about your identity, your age, your location, your dogs, your experience with dogs, or any other circumstance relevant to other users.

We may check information and, where there is reasonable doubt, ask for further evidence.

3.3 Private use

Dogs Out is intended for private use. Commercial offers, advertising for your own business, and the recruitment of users for other services are not permitted without our prior consent. People who look after dogs professionally are responsible for any permits, registrations and insurance their activity requires, including under Swiss animal welfare law.

4. Registration and user account

You need a user account to use Dogs Out. You can register with an email address and a password, or sign in with Google or Apple. An account registered with an email address must be confirmed with the code we send to that address.

You are responsible for keeping your login details confidential and for protecting your account against access by others.

An account may only be used by the person for whom it was created. It may not be transferred to another person, and each person may hold only one account.

You must tell us without delay if you become aware that your account has been used without your permission.

5. Profiles and dogs

5.1 Your profile

Your profile must contain at least your name and your date of birth. Other users see your age, never your date of birth.

You may add further information, in particular photos, a short bio, interests and other details you choose to share.

5.2 Dog profiles

You may only create a profile for a dog that you own or for which you are otherwise responsible. A dog profile contains at least the dog's name and may include photos, breed, date of birth, temperament and other details.

5.3 Photos

You may only upload photos to which you hold the necessary rights, and whose publication is lawful.

Photos may show only you and your dogs, or other people who have agreed to it. We ask you not to upload photos in which children can be recognised.

Photos are delivered to the app through a link. Anyone who has the link can open the photo, so treat a photo you upload as visible to everyone who can see your profile.

5.4 Location

Dogs Out works with the location you save in the app. It is used to find people, playdates and alerts near you. Other users see how far away you are, never your saved location. A place is only shown to others where you choose to share it: as the meeting point of a playdate or walk, in a status, or as the place where your dog went missing.

6. Matching and communication

In Discover, you can say yes or no to other users' profiles. When two users both say yes, it is a match, and a chat opens between them. A chat can also be opened through the Dogsitting area or by contacting the owner of a missing dog.

You may exchange your phone number or other contact details in a chat. Once you have done so, you may also communicate outside Dogs Out; you do so at your own risk, and these Terms continue to apply to everything that happens within Dogs Out.

Messages and other text you publish are checked automatically for offensive language. We do not read your chats; we may look at a conversation only where it has been reported to us and only to the extent needed to assess the report (section 15).

Ending a match deletes the chat between the two users for both of them.

7. Meeting in person, walks and playdates

Dogs Out helps you meet other dog owners. Any meeting, walk or playdate takes place at your own responsibility.

We recommend meeting in public places, such as parks, and only bringing a dog that is healthy, vaccinated as appropriate, and comfortable around other dogs and people.

Every dog owner remains responsible for their dog, including its behaviour towards people and other animals, and for complying with the applicable rules, in particular cantonal and communal rules on leashes, restricted areas and dog-related obligations.

The person who creates a playdate decides who can see it, whether it is limited to a number of participants, and whether dogsitters without a dog of their own are welcome. Playdates are open to dog owners and, where the host allows it, to dogsitters; other users cannot join. The host may change or cancel a playdate.

8. Dogsitting

8.1 Roles

You can mark yourself as available to look after dogs ("sitter"), as looking for someone to look after yours ("owner"), or both. Each role only gives access to the other side's list: sitters see owners who are looking, owners see sitters who are available.

8.2 Jobs and offers

Owners can post a dogsitting job with the dates, times and dogs concerned. Sitters can offer to take a job. A job is only taken once the owner has accepted a sitter's offer.

Contact, a job post, an offer or an informal agreement in a chat does not on its own establish any agreement between the parties.

8.3 The agreement between owner and sitter

Any agreement to look after a dog is made solely between the owner and the sitter. Dogs Out is not a party to it.

The parties are themselves responsible for agreeing on everything that matters for the sitting before it begins, in particular:

• the date, start and end of the sitting;
• where it takes place, and the handover of keys;
• the dogs concerned, their feeding, medication and health;
• their behaviour, including towards other dogs, children and strangers;
• what to do in an emergency, and which vet to contact;
• any compensation;
• and any other arrangements.

We strongly recommend a personal meeting and a trial meet-and-greet with the dog before a first sitting.

8.4 Handover details

Once a sitter has been accepted, the owner can share the address, an emergency phone number and a to-do list with that sitter. These details are shown only to the accepted sitter, for that sitting. The sitter may use them only to carry out the sitting.

8.5 Cancellations

A sitter who can no longer carry out a sitting must cancel it in the app as early as possible; the job is then opened again for other sitters. A cancellation less than 24 hours before the start counts as late. After three late cancellations within twelve months, the sitter cannot take new jobs for 30 days.

8.6 Compensation

Dogs Out does not set, collect or pass on any compensation for a sitting. Whether and how much a sitter is paid is agreed and settled directly between the owner and the sitter. The parties are themselves responsible for any tax and social insurance obligations that may arise from it.

8.7 What Dogs Out does not check

Dogs Out does not check the identity, experience, qualifications, reliability or suitability of sitters or owners, and does not verify any self-declared information. The choice of a sitter, and the decision to accept an offer, is the owner's alone. Each sitter likewise decides alone which jobs they take on.

9. SOS alerts for lost dogs

If a dog you own or are responsible for has gone missing, you can raise an SOS alert. The alert is sent to every Dogs Out user within 100 km of the place where the dog went missing, with the dog's name and photos, the place, your name and a note if you add one. Anyone who receives it can open a chat with you.

You may raise an alert only for a dog that is genuinely missing. You must close the alert as soon as the dog has been found or the alert is no longer needed. You may raise no more than three alerts per week.

Dogs Out does not search for missing dogs and does not guarantee that an alert reaches anyone or leads to the dog being found. We recommend also informing the national dog database, the local animal shelters, the police and your vet.

Misuse of the SOS feature, in particular a false alarm raised deliberately, may lead to the suspension of your account.

10. Shelter directory

Dogs Out lists dog shelters in Switzerland, Germany and Austria and links to their own websites. The information is compiled with care, but we do not guarantee that it is complete or up to date.

The shelters are independent third parties. Any adoption is arranged solely between you and the shelter, on the shelter's own terms.

11. Advertising

Dogs Out is free to use. To cover its costs, Dogs Out shows occasional advertisements between profiles in Discover. Ads never appear in chats.

Ads are provided by Google AdMob and are the content of the respective advertiser. We do not select individual ads and do not endorse the products or services advertised. Tapping an ad may take you out of the app to a third-party offer, for which the respective provider is solely responsible.

Whether ads are personalised depends on the choices you make; see the Privacy Policy, section 4.

You may not tap ads deliberately without genuine interest, or otherwise manipulate the display or measurement of ads.

12. Reviews

After a sitting, the owner can review the sitter. Reviews and the resulting average are shown on the sitter's profile.

Reviews must be truthful, factual and fair.

In particular, the following are not permitted:

• insulting or discriminatory content;
• threats;
• false statements of fact;
• personal attacks;
• content that is unlawful or immoral;
• reviews given solely to harm another person;
• and reviews of a sitting that did not take place.

We may remove reviews or hide them from display if they breach these Terms or applicable law.

13. Prohibited conduct

When using Dogs Out, it is prohibited in particular to:

• harass, threaten, insult or discriminate against other users;
• publish sexual, violent, hateful or otherwise unlawful content;
• impersonate another person, or create fake profiles or profiles for dogs that do not exist;
• offer, sell, give away or breed animals, including dogs and puppies;
• send spam, chain messages or advertising;
• collect other users' data, in particular by automated means;
• interfere with the security or operation of Dogs Out, or attempt to bypass its restrictions;
• use Dogs Out for any purpose that is unlawful or contrary to these Terms.

14. Animal welfare

Dogs Out is a platform for dog owners and not an animal welfare organisation.

Owners and sitters are jointly responsible for taking due account of the welfare of the dogs in their care.

Where there are indications that an animal is being mistreated or neglected, we may take measures and, where required or permitted by law, inform the competent authorities.

15. Reporting and blocking users

You can report or block any user from your chat with them.

A report may be made in particular in the case of:

• inappropriate behaviour;
• harassment;
• threats;
• false information;
• suspected fraud;
• breaches of these Terms;
• or any other behaviour that may affect the safety or integrity of the platform or of other users.

We review every report and may take appropriate measures. Blocking a user hides each of you from the other and stops them from contacting you. You can undo a block in Settings.

16. Suspension and deletion of accounts

We may suspend or delete a user account temporarily or permanently, in particular if:

• these Terms are breached;
• false or misleading information has been given;
• there is a reasonable suspicion of abusive or unlawful use;
• other users or animals are endangered or harassed;
• reviews, alerts or communication features are misused;
• or there is another objective reason that justifies a suspension or deletion.

In the case of serious breaches, we may suspend an account without prior warning.

The statutory rights of the users concerned remain reserved.

17. User content

Users remain responsible for the content they upload or publish.

This includes in particular:

• profile information and dog profiles;
• photos;
• descriptions and statuses;
• playdates, jobs and alerts;
• reviews;
• messages;
• and any other content.

Users warrant that they hold the necessary rights and that publication does not infringe the rights of third parties.

We receive the right, limited to what is necessary, to store, display and process such content for the operation and technical provision of the platform.

18. Liability

To the extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for damage arising in connection with contacts, meetings, walks, playdates or sittings arranged through Dogs Out.

In particular, we are not liable for:

• the acts or omissions of other users;
• injuries to people or animals, including dog bites and the transmission of disease;
• damage to property, including to the home in which a sitting takes place;
• a dog that runs away or goes missing;
• agreements between users that are not kept, and short-notice cancellations;
• incorrect or incomplete information provided by users or by third parties, including shelters;
• third-party offers reached through an ad or a link;
• or the personal suitability, reliability or qualifications of a sitter or owner.

Nor are we liable for Dogs Out being available at all times and without interruption, unless an outage is caused by our wilful intent or gross negligence.

These exclusions apply only to the extent permitted by mandatory Swiss law. Liability for damage caused wilfully or through gross negligence remains to the extent required by law.

19. No insurance through Dogs Out

Dogs Out has no insurance that covers damage arising from meetings, walks, playdates or sittings between users.

Owners and sitters are themselves responsible for checking their personal insurance cover and, where appropriate, taking out suitable insurance, in particular dog owner's liability insurance where the canton requires it.

In particular, we give no guarantee that any user holds liability, accident or other insurance.

20. Availability and technical changes

We endeavour to keep Dogs Out as reliable and available as possible.

There is, however, no entitlement to the availability of all features at all times.

We may develop, change, restrict or discontinue features at any time, provided this is reasonable for the operation of the platform.

21. Data protection

Personal data is processed in accordance with the separate Privacy Policy.

The Privacy Policy is a separate part of the information about the use of Dogs Out, and explains in particular how personal data is collected, processed, stored and passed on.

22. Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time in the app under Settings → Delete account.

When the account is deleted, the data associated with it is deleted, unless statutory retention obligations or other legally permissible grounds require it to be kept for longer.

The details of how personal data is stored and deleted are set out in the Privacy Policy and on the page Delete your account.

23. Rights in Dogs Out

All rights in the platform, in particular in the software, design, name, logos, illustrations, texts and other content provided by us, remain with us or with the respective rights holders.

Any reproduction, modification, distribution or other use beyond the intended use of the platform requires our prior consent.

24. Changes to these Terms

We may change these Terms where this is necessary because of the further development of the platform, changes to how it is financed, changes in the law or other objective reasons.

Material changes will be communicated to users in an appropriate manner.

Where consent to amended Terms is required, it will be obtained before the further use of the features concerned.

25. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is or becomes wholly or partly invalid or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining provisions is not affected.

The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a valid provision that comes as close as legally possible to the purpose of the original provision.

26. Governing law and place of jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by Swiss law, excluding its conflict-of-laws rules and, where applicable, the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

To the extent permitted by law, the place of jurisdiction for disputes arising from or in connection with the use of Dogs Out is Zurich.

Mandatory statutory places of jurisdiction, in particular for consumers, remain reserved.

27. Contact

For questions about these Terms or the use of Dogs Out, you can contact us at help@dogsout.app.

Operators: Moritz Davinghausen and Lea Mutschler, c/o Moritz Davinghausen, Wallisellerstrasse 124, 8152 Opfikon, Switzerland.