PEPPULA

Legal

Privacy policy

Last updated: June 2026

This policy covers the Peppula website, including Coat Check and Peppy chat, and the Peppula app. The website is owner-first; professional groomer tools are available in the app. Peppula is currently in private beta.

1. Who we are

Peppula ("we", "us", "our") is currently operated as a registered Belgian sole trader (zelfstandige / indépendant): Rajarshi Bhattacharjee, BCE/KBO number BE1028.715.583, established in Belgium. The sole trader is the data controller for personal data collected through peppula.com and the Peppula app during this closed, invite-only beta phase. Once Peppula BV is incorporated, the controller will transfer to the company and this page will be updated; existing users will be notified by email.

Processing is governed by Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and the Belgian Law of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data.

Contact: info@peppula.com.

2. What we collect and why

2.1 Website (peppula.com)

  • Beta access form — name, email, business name, city, and a free-text "about" field. Used to evaluate and grant access to the private beta. Legal basis: pre-contractual measures (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).
  • Website chatbot (Peppy) — the free-text messages you send, optionally your name and email if you share them, plus a conversation ID. Messages are stored on our backend to provide continuity across visits, operate Peppy and improve the service. The Peppula team may access conversations for quality assurance; no human reads them in real time. Chat messages are not exported to analytics or training datasets. Please only share personal data that is necessary for your question. We do not need sensitive health information, exact addresses, ID numbers or similar details; your name and email are sufficient if you choose to provide them. Legal basis: legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)); consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) when you voluntarily share contact details.
  • Analytics (Google Analytics 4) — anonymized IP, page views, button clicks, device/browser type. Loaded only if you accept analytics cookies. Legal basis: consent (Art. 6(1)(a)).
  • Email notifications — when you submit a form or start a chat we send an internal notification to info@peppula.com via Resend. Legal basis: legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)).
  • Technical logs — minimal request metadata kept by our hosting and backend providers for security and debugging. Legal basis: legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)).

2.2 Peppula app

Account data: email address (via Google Sign-In), name (entered during onboarding), optional phone number, salon name and address.

Dog and appointment data: dog names, breed and owner contact details, appointment dates, times and status, coat assessment results and groomer notes, grooming workflow selections and pricing.

Photos: photos taken during coat assessments. Photos are processed to remove location metadata (EXIF/GPS) before storage or analysis.

Usage data: assessment decisions (confirmed/dismissed conditions), anonymized feature usage analytics, crash reports (device type, OS version, error details).

3. AI processing

Peppula uses artificial intelligence in two ways:

  • In the app — coat assessments. On-device models (CLIP, breed classifier) run locally on your phone; no data leaves the device. For enhanced analysis, compressed photos stripped of location metadata are sent securely to the Google Gemini Vision API, which returns breed and coat condition suggestions only. Google does not use your photos to train their models (per Google Cloud terms). Every AI suggestion can be confirmed, modified, or dismissed by you and does not replace professional judgment.
  • On the website — Peppy chat. Messages are routed through the Lovable AI Gateway to an AI model to generate replies. Do not use the chat for emergencies or veterinary diagnosis.

4. Who we share data with (processors)

We rely on a small set of trusted processors: cloud storage and authentication, AI coat analysis (Google Gemini API), app authentication (Google Sign-In), website analytics (Google Analytics 4 — consent only), transactional email (Resend), Peppy chat replies (Lovable AI Gateway), content delivery and hosting (Cloudflare / Lovable), and optional crash monitoring (Sentry, no PII). The Peppula team may access stored chat conversations for quality assurance.

We do not sell personal data and do not share it with advertisers.

International transfers. Some processors (Google, Resend, Lovable AI Gateway) may process data in the United States. Where data leaves the European Economic Area, transfers are covered by the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and/or the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs, Decision 2021/914), together with the processors' supplementary measures. Primary storage is provisioned in an EU region (AWS Frankfurt) where available.

5. Where data is stored

  • Local: on your device (SQLite database, encrypted in transit).
  • Cloud: Lovable Cloud on AWS EU (Frankfurt region).
  • AI processing: Google Cloud EU endpoints.

6. How long we keep your data

  • Account, appointments, assessments and photos — until account deletion.
  • AI processing cache — 7 days (auto-deleted).
  • Debug logs — 30 days (auto-deleted).
  • App analytics events — 90 days (auto-deleted).
  • Beta requests (website) — up to 24 months, then deleted.
  • Website chatbot conversations — up to 90 days, then automatically deleted. Website chat data can be deleted sooner through our data request form or by emailing us.
  • Google Analytics 4 — GA4 default retention (14 months).
  • Internal email notifications — deleted from inbox after follow-up.

7. Your rights under GDPR

You have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you (Art. 15) — in the app: Profile > Export my data.
  • Request correction of inaccurate data (Art. 16) — edit in app or contact us.
  • Request deletion ("right to be forgotten") (Art. 17) — in the app: Profile > Delete Account.
  • Restrict or object to processing (Art. 18 and 21).
  • Data portability (Art. 20) — in the app: Profile > Export my data.
  • Withdraw consent at any time (e.g. notifications via device settings), without affecting prior processing.

For website requests, the easiest way is the data request form, or email info@peppula.com. We respond within 30 days (GDPR Art. 12(3)).

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority (APD/GBA), Rue de la Presse 35, 1000 Brussels, contact@apd-gba.be — dataprotectionauthority.be.

8. Data deletion

When you delete your app account: all profile data is permanently deleted; all dogs, appointments and assessments are permanently deleted; all photos are permanently deleted from cloud storage; local data on your device is cleared. Website-only chat data can be deleted on request through our data request form or by email. This action is irreversible.

9. Cookies

We only set non-essential cookies on the website after you consent via the cookie banner. See our cookie policy for the full list.

10. Children

The Peppula website is primarily for dog owners; professional groomer tools are available in the Peppula app. Neither is directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect data from minors.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the product evolves. The "last updated" date at the top will change and material updates will be announced on this page and, for the app, in-product.

12. Contact

Email: info@peppula.com.