Social networks, search engines, and online retailers collect thousands of data points about you and your online habits. They use these data points to get you to look more often, “like” more content, and buy more stuff.
At Astro, our machine learning algorithm uses the data you provide about your pet to provide health recommendations that will help your pet live a longer, happier, and healthier life. We also collect app and web browsing data as specified below. The key takeaway? We will always be transparent about the data we collect, and how we’ll use it.
Your data
We will never sell your personally identifiable information (PII). This includes your name, email address, physical address, credit card information, social handles, or your pet’s name. We collect this data solely to deliver our service to you.
We do collect app and web browsing data through cookies. Cookies help us deliver a better customer experience by allowing us to store data like your name or email address to make filling out forms easier, as well as remember personalizations on the site. Cookies can be disabled at any time in your browser. Here’s how to do it for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.
We also collect and anonymize data that might make your Astro experience better. For example, we might partner with a retailer to offer a coupon for a certain type of food and serve you that offer because it’s recommended for pets like yours. At no time does your data leave Astro, and you can opt out at any time in Settings in the Astro app.
Your pet’s data
We want you to know that your pet’s data is safe with Astro. We will never share your pet’s data without your consent, but there are a few times when we will ask you for permission.
The first is when you sign up for the service. By accepting our Terms & Conditions and Privacy policy, you give Astro permission to review your pet’s medical records and look for patterns. We do this to power future services like proactive care recommendations and reminders. Because these future services are core to why we built Astro, you cannot opt out of this service. Our guiding mission has always been to leverage the power of many to improve the health and lives of our pets.
The second is an explicit opt-in to participate in research. We’re on a mission to extend the lives of pets in the Astro system by 10% in five years. To do this, we need your help. Your pet’s Astro ID prevents any PII from being shared with our research and pharmaceutical partners (i.e., your pet is just a number in these datasets). This anonymized data is a powerful tool for researchers and may accelerate faster therapies for or cures to illnesses that shorten the lives of our pets. The data you share with us helps researchers accelerate the pace of innovation and deliver life-enhancing treatments for all pets (see Astro’s research mission, and the part you play).