Community Guidelines

Welcome to the Swipaw pack 🐾 These Community Guidelines (the "Guidelines") are our house rules, and they come down to one idea: be kind to animals and people. That keeps playdates fun and every fur baby safe.

In short: Cats and dogs only, never for sale. No cruelty, scams, harassment, sexual content, hate or doxxing. Pay in the app and review honestly. Kapag may mali, i-report mo: we act fast, explain why and hear appeals.

1. Where these Guidelines apply#

1. Swipaw is operated by Parada Technologies Inc.. These Guidelines form part of our Terms of Service, accepted at sign-up, and cover everything you post or send ("Content"), from profiles, pets, listings, chats and reviews to posts, comments, events, lost & found, places and memorials as those launch, and your conduct at playdates and bookings.
2. Swipaw is for adults aged 18 and over and their cats and dogs. Summaries never override the numbered clauses.

2. Animals first — hayop muna#

1. No cruelty. Don't post or share content that celebrates or makes light of an animal being hurt, neglected, fought, used as bait, abandoned or "pranked", and don't promote animal fights or the dog- or cat-meat trade (Animal Welfare Act, RA 8485 as amended by RA 10631; Anti-Rabies Act, RA 9482). Rescue appeals are welcome, but graphic cruelty images, sexualised animal images and explicit mating videos are not.
2. Cats and dogs only. Don't list, seek, swap or show off wildlife or exotic pets (sugar gliders, hedgehogs, reptiles and the like): trading or keeping them without a DENR permit is a crime (Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, RA 9147).
3. No animal sales. No selling, buying, advertising or "reservation fees" for any animal, litter or future puppy or kitten. Stud deals follow the Stud Service Terms; adoption fees, once adoption launches, are cost recovery only. Our own rule: no puppy or kitten under eight weeks or still nursing is handed over through Swipaw.
4. Honest stud claims. Say "vaccinated", "health-tested", "pedigreed" or "proven" only if true and documented; Verified badges come only from our checks (Verification Policy).
5. Vet work is for vets. Only PRC-licensed veterinarians may diagnose, treat, prescribe, sedate, vaccinate or certify an animal's health (Veterinary Medicine Act, RA 9268), and no one may promote cosmetic tail docking, ear cropping, declawing or debarking.

3. People too — walang bastusan#

1. Children. Swipaw prohibits child trafficking and all trafficking in persons, child sexual abuse or exploitation material, and the sexual exploitation of children (Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, RA 11862). Sexual content involving anyone under 18 and any grooming or solicitation of a child are removed at once, the account closed and the case reported to authorities (Anti-OSAEC and Anti-CSAEM Act, RA 11930; Anti-Child Pornography Act, RA 9775). Under-18 accounts are closed.
2. Intimate images. Never share anyone's intimate photo or video without their written consent, even if they agreed to be recorded (Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act, RA 9995). We remove it on report without asking the victim for proof, and share it only if a court orders.
3. Harassment. No threats, cyberstalking, incessant messages, unwanted sexual, sexist, homophobic or transphobic remarks, lies posted to hurt someone or false reports filed to silence them (Safe Spaces Act, RA 11313; Revised Penal Code, Arts. 282 and 287).
4. Discrimination and hate. No slurs, hate or exclusion over sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, sex characteristics, religion, ethnicity, disability, HIV status, age or civil status (Safe Spaces Act; Magna Carta for Persons with Disability, RA 7277; Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act, RA 11166; anti-discrimination ordinances such as Quezon City SP-3417, Manila 8695 and Marikina 065). Providers may not refuse service to, harass or profile anyone on these grounds or word listings to exclude them, and confirm at their first listing that they follow local ordinances.
5. Fakes. No fake profiles or impersonation, including of our staff (Cybercrime Prevention Act, RA 10175).
6. Defamation and doxxing. Don't publicly accuse anyone of a crime, disease or fraud; report it to us. Don't post anyone's phone, address, location, plate, workplace, ID or photo without consent, private chat screenshots or sighting details that identify people (Revised Penal Code, Arts. 353–355; Cybercrime Prevention Act; Data Privacy Act, RA 10173).
7. Scams. Pay and get paid only inside Swipaw, where our payment partner Xendit collects payment for the provider and holds it until the service is done ("Payment Protection"). Never ask for off-app payment, one-time codes, e-wallet logins or "release" fees, and never lend, rent or sell a payout account or recruit others to (Cybercrime Prevention Act; Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act, RA 12010).
8. Rights and permits. No counterfeits, no photos, logos or text you have no right to use (Intellectual Property Code, RA 8293), and no prohibited goods or unpermitted regulated ones, like veterinary medicines (Internet Transactions Act, RA 11967).
9. Sex, spam and hacking. No pornography, nudity or sexual solicitation: Swipaw matches pets, not people. No spam, unsolicited promotion, fake engagement, Paw Points or referral abuse, scraping, bots, malware or unauthorised security testing (Electronic Commerce Act, RA 8792; Cybercrime Prevention Act).

4. Reviews — sariling karanasan lang#

1. First-hand only. Review only the other side of a booking you completed. Reviews stay hidden until both sides write or 14 days after payment release, so nobody can retaliate.
2. Facts, then opinions. Say what you experienced and mark opinions as yours. No accusations of crimes, disease or fake licences (report those to us), personal data (phones, addresses, plates, others' names, children), discrimination, profanity or links.
3. Fair play. No paid, swapped or pressured reviews, sham bookings, threats of a bad review to win a refund, or punishing anyone for an honest one.
4. Responsibility. Authors alone answer for their reviews (Revised Penal Code, Art. 360; Disini v. Secretary of Justice, 2014). We don't verify or rewrite them; we may hide one while investigating, and redact or remove it only for a Guidelines breach, a court or National Privacy Commission order, fraud or a factual claim shown false, telling the author why. Honest negative reviews stay up; erasure requests get personal data redacted first.
5. Replies and disputes. The reviewed party may reply once and tap Dispute this review; the review stays up while we look (Review Policy).

5. Lost & found, places, events and memorials (as they launch)#

1. Lost & found. Show the pet, not people: no faces, plates, names of suspected takers or accusations; theft goes to the police. Finders keep the pet safe, report it within five days to the barangay, city veterinary office, police or a registered shelter (Animal Welfare Act rules) and don't rehome it during the owner's 20-day claim period (Civil Code, Art. 716). Swipaw never holds or guarantees rewards: never pay a "transfer fee" first.
2. Places. Public venues only, never homes, with business contacts only; review or check in only where you have been.
3. Events and fund-raising. Organisers follow the Additional Services Terms and answer for truthful details, permits and pet safety. Raffles and contests need a DTI permit shown in the mechanics (Consumer Act, RA 7394); fund-raising goes only through a verified foundation's page, never personal GCash appeals (Solicitation Permit Law, PD 1564).
4. Memorials. Tributes only for a pet that was yours or in your care, or with its family's blessing, and kind words only: no selling, fund-raising, ads, arguments, graphic images or blame.

6. Reporting and emergencies#

1. In the app. Tap ⋯ then Report on any profile, pet, listing, message or review, adding details and screenshots, and block if you wish. Blocking quietly hides you from each other and closes chats; confirmed bookings continue unless support cancels them.
2. By e-mail. Anyone can write to [email protected]; "Child safety" in the subject goes straight to our designated child-safety contact.
3. Next steps. We aim to look at every report within 24 hours, taking child safety, intimate images, trafficking, threats, cruelty and scams first, and tell you the outcome. We never reveal who reported unless the law or a court requires it.
4. Emergencies. A person or animal in danger right now (a child at risk, a threat of violence, someone followed or hurt, an animal under attack) is an emergency: call 911, then report. Scams and online abuse: Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center hotline 1326, PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group or NBI Cybercrime Division. Cruelty: your barangay, city veterinary office or the Bureau of Animal Industry.

7. Enforcement and appeals#

1. Zero tolerance. Objectionable content and abusive users have no place here. We act on reports, automatic checks and listing reviews rather than pre-screening every post.
2. The ladder. Weighing harm, intent and history, we warn, remove Content, suspend for a set period or ban, which closes the account, removes its listings and holds payouts while bookings, refunds and disputes settle. Serious harm skips steps; dodging a suspension or ban with a new account is a breach.
3. Acting fast. While checking a serious report we may hide Content or pause an account at once, restoring it if the report fails. We remove illegal content within 24 hours of a valid notice.
4. Appeals. We tell you what we did and why unless law or safety prevents it. To appeal, reply to our notice or write to [email protected]: someone not involved in the decision reviews it, aiming to decide within 7 calendar days. Reporters may appeal too, and Complaints remedies stay open.

8. Working with the authorities#

1. We report child sexual abuse or exploitation, trafficking, animal cruelty and illegal animal trade to the DOJ Office of Cybercrime, PNP, NBI or Bureau of Animal Industry within the legal deadlines, preserve the evidence and work with deputised animal welfare officers.
2. We disclose messages, subscriber information or traffic data only under a court warrant or order (Rule on Cybercrime Warrants, A.M. No. 17-11-03-SC), a request a law allows without one, as in trafficking and child-exploitation cases, or the minimum needed to stop imminent serious harm (Law-Enforcement Guidelines).

9. Three laws to remember#

1. Animal Welfare Act: whoever cares for an animal, even for a day, must feed and shelter it and never hurt, neglect or abandon it.
2. Anti-Rabies Act: register and vaccinate your dog, leash it in public (1.5 metres maximum) and muzzle it if aggressive. Report a bite within 24 hours to the barangay or city veterinary office, have a vet watch the dog for 14 days and cover the victim's medical costs.
3. Data Privacy Act: other people's information is theirs; use it only for the match or booking it came from (Privacy Notice).

Thank you for keeping the pack kind. More tips: our safety page.