Privacy Policy

VetGuard LLC, an Illinois limited liability company doing business as VetGuard.io ("VetGuard," "VetGuard.io," "Company," "we," "us," or "our"), is committed to protecting the privacy of our customers and their data. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store, share, and protect information when you access or use our website at vetguard.io, the application at app.vetguard.io, our API, and all related services (collectively, the "Service").

By accessing or using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and forms part of our Terms of Service, available at vetguard.io/terms.

If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, do not use the Service.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

1.1 Information You Provide Directly

(a) Account Information. When you register for the Service, we collect your name, email address, phone number, job title, clinic or practice name, business address, and payment information. If you register on behalf of an organization, we may also collect the organization's name, address, tax identification number, and billing contact information.

(b) Clinical Data. When you use the Service, you submit Clinical Data for analysis, which may include SOAP notes (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan), invoice line items, appointment records, patient identifiers, fee schedules, procedure codes, and other veterinary practice data. Clinical Data may contain information about animal patients and their owners, including pet owner names, addresses, and contact information.

(c) Communications. When you contact us for support, submit feedback, or communicate with us by email, phone, chat, or other means, we collect the content of those communications along with associated metadata such as timestamps and sender information.

(d) Payment Information. When you subscribe to a paid plan, we collect payment details including credit card numbers, billing addresses, and transaction history. Payment information is processed and stored by our third-party payment processor and is not stored on our servers in unencrypted form.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

(a) Usage Data. We automatically collect information about how you interact with the Service, including pages visited, features used, audit frequency, number of audits performed, search queries, clickstream data, and session duration.

(b) Device and Browser Information. We collect information about the device and browser you use to access the Service, including IP address, device type, operating system, browser type and version, screen resolution, language preferences, and unique device identifiers.

(c) Log Data. Our servers automatically record information when you access the Service, including your IP address, the date and time of your request, the referring URL, the pages you visit, and the actions you take within the Service.

(d) Cookies and Similar Technologies. We use cookies, local storage, and similar tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing activity, maintain your session, remember your preferences, and analyze Service usage. See Section 8 (Cookies and Tracking Technologies) for more details.

1.3 Information from Third-Party Sources

(a) PIMS Integrations. If you connect your Practice Information Management System (such as ezyVet or Cornerstone) to the Service, we receive Clinical Data directly from those systems in accordance with the permissions you grant.

(b) Authentication Providers. If you sign in using a third-party authentication service (such as Google), we receive your name, email address, and profile picture from that provider.

(c) Analytics Providers. We may receive aggregated analytics data from third-party analytics services that help us understand how the Service is used.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

2.1 Providing and Operating the Service

• Processing and analyzing Clinical Data to generate Audit Results
• Managing your account and subscription
• Processing payments and billing
• Providing customer support and responding to inquiries
• Authenticating users and maintaining session security
• Sending transactional notifications (account confirmations, billing receipts, audit completion alerts, security notices)

2.2 Improving the Service

• Analyzing usage patterns to identify and fix bugs, errors, and performance issues
• Developing new features and functionality based on aggregated usage data
• Conducting internal research and analytics to improve the accuracy of our AI Components
• Monitoring system performance and infrastructure health

2.3 AI Processing

• Transmitting Clinical Data to AI processing partners (including large language model providers) to extract clinical events from SOAP notes, cross-reference clinical events against invoice line items, and generate confidence-scored Audit Results
• Improving the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated Audit Results through aggregated, de-identified performance analysis

2.4 Communications

• Sending you Service-related communications, including product updates, maintenance notices, and security alerts
• Sending you marketing communications if you have opted in (you may opt out at any time; see Section 6)
• Responding to your support requests and feedback

2.5 Legal and Compliance

• Complying with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, and governmental requests
• Enforcing our Terms of Service and other agreements
• Detecting, preventing, and investigating fraud, security incidents, and abuse
• Protecting the rights, property, and safety of VetGuard, our customers, and the public

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information or Clinical Data. We share information only in the following circumstances:

3.1 AI Processing Partners

We transmit Clinical Data to third-party AI model providers (currently Anthropic) for the purpose of generating Audit Results. These providers are contractually prohibited from using your Clinical Data for any purpose other than processing your requests, including training their AI models. All data transmitted to AI processing partners is encrypted in transit.

3.2 Service Providers

We engage trusted third-party companies to perform services on our behalf, including cloud hosting and infrastructure (DigitalOcean), payment processing, email delivery, analytics, customer support tools, and error monitoring. These service providers are granted access only to the information necessary to perform their functions and are contractually obligated to protect the confidentiality and security of your information.

3.3 PIMS Integration Partners

If you connect your PIMS to the Service, we exchange data with the PIMS provider in accordance with the integration permissions you authorize. We do not share your Clinical Data with PIMS providers beyond what is necessary for the integration to function.

3.4 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid legal process, including subpoenas, court orders, or government requests. We will notify you of such requests when legally permitted to do so.

3.5 Protection of Rights

We may disclose your information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of VetGuard, our customers, or the public, including to enforce our Terms of Service, prevent fraud, or respond to a security incident.

3.6 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, dissolution, sale of assets, or similar transaction, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such transfer and any choices you may have regarding your information.

3.7 With Your Consent

We may share your information with third parties when you have given us explicit consent to do so.

3.8 Aggregated and De-Identified Data

We may share aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified data that cannot reasonably be used to identify you or your practice. This data may be used for industry benchmarking, research publications, marketing materials, and Service improvement. For example, we may publish aggregate statistics such as "veterinary clinics using VetGuard recover an average of $3,200 per month in missed charges."

4. Data Security

We implement comprehensive administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information:

4.1 Encryption

(a) In Transit. All data transmitted between your systems and our servers is encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2 or higher. API communications require HTTPS.

(b) At Rest. Clinical Data and other sensitive information stored in our databases is encrypted using AES-256 encryption. Database backups are also encrypted.

4.2 Access Controls

• Role-based access controls restrict employee access to customer data on a need-to-know basis
• Multi-factor authentication is required for all VetGuard staff accessing production systems
• Access logs are maintained and reviewed regularly

4.3 Infrastructure Security

• The Service is hosted on managed cloud infrastructure with physical security controls, network firewalls, and intrusion detection systems
• Production systems are isolated from development and testing environments
• Regular vulnerability assessments and security audits are conducted

4.4 Incident Response

We maintain an incident response plan for security breaches. In the event of a breach affecting your personal information or Clinical Data, we will notify you and applicable regulatory authorities within seventy-two (72) hours of becoming aware of the breach, as required by applicable law.

4.5 Employee Training

All VetGuard employees with access to customer data undergo security awareness training and are bound by confidentiality obligations.

4.6 Limitations

While we implement industry-standard security measures, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, and you use the Service at your own risk.

5. Data Retention

5.1 Active Accounts

We retain your information for the duration of your active subscription as follows:

(a) Account Information. Retained for the life of your account.

(b) Clinical Data. Raw SOAP notes and invoice data are retained in encrypted form for the duration of your subscription to support auditing, historical analysis, and debugging. Audit Results are retained for the duration of your subscription.

(c) Usage Data. Retained for up to twenty-four (24) months for analytics and Service improvement purposes.

(d) Log Data. Server logs are retained for up to twelve (12) months for security and debugging purposes.

(e) Payment Records. Transaction records are retained for seven (7) years to comply with tax and accounting requirements.

5.2 After Account Cancellation

Upon cancellation or termination of your account:

(a) Your Clinical Data, Audit Results, and Account Information will be retained for thirty (30) days to facilitate potential reactivation.

(b) After the thirty-day retention period, Clinical Data and Audit Results will be permanently deleted from our active systems.

(c) Encrypted backups containing your data may persist for up to ninety (90) days as part of our disaster recovery procedures, after which they will be purged.

(d) Payment records and transaction history will be retained for seven (7) years as required by applicable tax and accounting laws.

(e) Aggregated, de-identified data derived from your use of the Service may be retained indefinitely.

5.3 Deletion Requests

You may request deletion of your Clinical Data at any time by contacting support@vetguard.io. We will process deletion requests within ten (10) business days and confirm completion by email. Please note that deletion requests do not apply to aggregated or de-identified data, data retained for legal or regulatory compliance, or data contained in encrypted backups during the backup retention period.

6. Your Rights and Choices

6.1 Access and Portability

You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you. You may also request a copy of your Clinical Data in a commonly used, machine-readable format (such as CSV or JSON) by contacting support@vetguard.io.

6.2 Correction

You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information. You may update your Account Information directly through the Service settings or by contacting support@vetguard.io.

6.3 Deletion

You have the right to request deletion of your personal information and Clinical Data, subject to the exceptions described in Section 5.3. To exercise this right, contact support@vetguard.io.

6.4 Restriction of Processing

You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, such as when you contest the accuracy of the data or object to our processing.

6.5 Objection

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes. You may also object to processing based on our legitimate interests, in which case we will cease processing unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds.

6.6 Marketing Communications

You may opt out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email, updating your communication preferences in your account settings, or contacting support@vetguard.io. Opting out of marketing communications does not affect transactional or Service-related communications.

6.7 Cookies

You may control cookies through your browser settings. See Section 8 for more details.

6.8 Do Not Track

The Service does not currently respond to "Do Not Track" browser signals. However, you may control tracking through cookie settings as described in Section 8.

6.9 Exercising Your Rights

To exercise any of your rights under this Privacy Policy, contact us at privacy@vetguard.io. We will respond to verified requests within thirty (30) days. We may request additional information to verify your identity before processing a request.

7. State-Specific Privacy Rights

7.1 Illinois Residents

If you are a resident of Illinois, you may have additional rights under the Illinois Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and other applicable Illinois laws:

(a) The right to be notified of a data breach involving your personal information.

(b) The right to security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information.

We comply with all applicable Illinois data protection laws, including breach notification requirements under 815 ILCS 530/10.

7.2 California Residents

If you are a California resident, you may have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):

(a) Right to Know. You have the right to request information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources of that information, the purposes for collection, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.

(b) Right to Delete. You have the right to request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.

(c) Right to Opt Out of Sale. We do not sell your personal information. If our practices change, we will provide a "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" mechanism.

(d) Right to Non-Discrimination. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

(e) Categories of Personal Information Collected. In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have collected the following categories of personal information: identifiers (name, email, IP address), commercial information (subscription and payment data), internet or electronic network activity (usage data, log data), professional information (job title, clinic name), and inferences drawn from any of the above.

(f) Authorized Agents. You may designate an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf. We may require verification of the agent's authorization.

To exercise your California privacy rights, contact us at privacy@vetguard.io.

7.3 Other State Privacy Laws

We comply with applicable state privacy laws, including those in Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, and other states with comprehensive privacy legislation. Residents of these states may have additional rights, including the right to access, correct, delete, and opt out of certain processing activities. To exercise these rights, contact privacy@vetguard.io.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

8.1 Types of Cookies We Use

(a) Essential Cookies. Required for the Service to function. These cookies enable core features such as authentication, session management, and security. They cannot be disabled without impairing the Service.

(b) Performance Cookies. Collect anonymous data about how you use the Service, including pages visited, time spent, and error messages. We use this data to monitor and improve Service performance.

(c) Functional Cookies. Remember your preferences and settings (such as language, timezone, and display options) to personalize your experience.

(d) Analytics Cookies. Help us understand how visitors interact with the Service through aggregated, anonymized data. We use Google Analytics and similar tools for this purpose.

8.2 Managing Cookies

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies, set cookie expiration policies, and view cookies currently stored. Please note that blocking essential cookies may impair the functionality of the Service.

Browser-specific instructions:

• Chrome: Settings → Privacy and Security → Cookies
• Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies
• Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Cookies
• Edge: Settings → Cookies and Site Permissions

8.3 Third-Party Analytics

We use Google Analytics to collect and analyze usage data. Google Analytics uses cookies to track interactions with the Service. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, available at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

9. AI-Specific Privacy Provisions

9.1 How AI Processes Your Data

When you use the Service, your Clinical Data is processed by AI Components as follows:

(a) Clinical Data (SOAP notes and invoice items) is transmitted to our AI processing partner (currently Anthropic) via encrypted API calls.

(b) The AI model analyzes the Clinical Data to extract clinical events, cross-reference them against invoice items, and generate confidence-scored Audit Results.

(c) The AI model's response is returned to VetGuard, parsed, and stored as Audit Results in your account.

(d) Each AI processing request is stateless. The AI model does not retain your Clinical Data between requests and does not learn from or store individual customer data.

9.2 AI Model Training

Your Clinical Data is not used to train AI models. Our agreement with our AI processing partner (Anthropic) explicitly prohibits the use of customer data for model training purposes. AI models are pre-trained on publicly available data and are not fine-tuned using customer Clinical Data.

9.3 AI Processing Location

AI processing occurs on servers located in the United States. Clinical Data transmitted to AI processing partners does not leave the United States unless otherwise disclosed to you in advance.

9.4 AI Accuracy and Limitations

AI-generated Audit Results are advisory and may contain errors, omissions, or inaccuracies. You are responsible for reviewing and verifying all Audit Results before taking action. VetGuard does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated output. See our Terms of Service for additional disclaimers regarding AI Components.

9.5 Human Review

VetGuard employees may access Clinical Data or Audit Results for the following limited purposes: investigating and resolving customer support requests, debugging technical issues with the Service, and monitoring for fraud or abuse. Access is logged and restricted to authorized personnel on a need-to-know basis.

10. Children's Privacy

The Service is not directed to individuals under the age of eighteen (18). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete that information promptly. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, please contact us at privacy@vetguard.io.

11. International Data Transfers

The Service is operated from the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. By using the Service, you consent to such transfers.

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we will ensure that any transfer of your personal information is conducted in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including through the use of Standard Contractual Clauses or other approved transfer mechanisms.

12. Third-Party Links and Services

The Service may contain links to third-party websites, services, or applications that are not operated or controlled by VetGuard. This Privacy Policy does not apply to third-party services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you access through the Service.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will notify you of material changes by sending an email to the address associated with your account at least thirty (30) days before the changes take effect, posting a prominent notice on the Service, and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of the updated Privacy Policy constitutes acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree to the updated Privacy Policy, you must stop using the Service and cancel your subscription.

14. Data Protection Officer

For questions or concerns about our data protection practices, you may contact our designated privacy contact:

Privacy Contact VetGuard LLC Email: privacy@vetguard.io Support: support@vetguard.io

We will respond to all privacy inquiries within thirty (30) days.

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

VetGuard LLC d/b/a VetGuard.io

General inquiries: hello@vetguard.io Privacy inquiries: privacy@vetguard.io Security inquiries: security@vetguard.io Support: support@vetguard.io

Mailing address: VetGuard LLC 211 W. Wacker Drive Ste 120 PMB 2192 Chicago, IL 60606 United States

By using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to this Privacy Policy.

© 2026 VetGuard LLC. All rights reserved.