Trust & safety
Safety is our favourite treat 🛡️
How Swipaw keeps pets and people safe — verified members, escrow payments, careful chat and quick help — plus what you can do too.
Built in, not bolted on
Six ways we look after you
Verified members
- Anyone who posts a paid service, accepts bookings or receives payouts passes KYC first: a government ID and a selfie holding it.
- A real person on our team reviews every submission — usually within 48 hours.
- ID images are encrypted, watermarked for reviewers and shown through links that expire after 2 minutes.
- Badges tell you who is a Verified Owner, Stud, Business or Shelter.
Escrow-protected payments
- Pay with GCash, Maya, cards or bank transfer through our payment partner, Xendit.
- Your money waits in escrow until the service is done — the provider is paid only after that.
- Something wrong? Open a dispute before the payout is released (bookings auto-confirm 48 hours after completion) and the payout is frozen while we review.
- Payments made outside Swipaw are not protected — never send money directly.
Vaccinations & responsible breeding
- Stud owners upload vaccination cards for every stud pet — including anti-rabies shots required by the Anti-Rabies Act (RA 9482).
- Only healthy, fully grown pets with a vet’s go-signal; never too young, too old or too often.
- We follow the Animal Welfare Act (RA 8485, as amended by RA 10631): listings that put animals at risk are removed and reported.
Chat that stays safe
- Chat opens only after a mutual match or a confirmed booking — rejected requests never open a chat.
- Messages are encrypted at rest, and the app warns you before contact or payment details are shared too early.
- Our team can open a conversation only when a report or dispute points to it, and every access is logged.
Report & block, anytime
- Tap the ⋯ menu on any profile, pet, listing, post, review or chat to report or block.
- Every report is reviewed by our team; animal-welfare and scam reports go first.
- Blocking hides you from each other everywhere and closes open chats — the other person is not notified.
Your privacy, respected
- Public profiles show your city only. Your exact address is shared just with the other side of a confirmed booking.
- Location data is stripped from the photos you post.
- Export or delete your data whenever you like — we follow the Data Privacy Act (RA 10173).
Playdates & meetups
Stay safe, have fun
Simple habits that make every meetup a good one — for you and your buddy.
- Meet in public, pet-friendly places in daylight — bring a friend if you can.
- Bring vaccination cards and ask to see the other pet’s records.
- Keep pets leashed or carried until both are calm and happy.
- Look for verified badges and read reviews before you go.
- Keep payments and chat on Swipaw. “Cash na lang” is a red flag.
- Tell someone where you are going, and trust your gut — you can leave anytime.
- Report anything that feels off. It helps keep the whole pack safe.
- Block anyone who makes you uncomfortable — no explanation needed.
Lost pet or an emergency?
Post a Lost & Found report right away — Swipaw alerts members within 5 km of the last-seen spot, and neighbours can send sightings even without an account.
If a person or an animal is in immediate danger, call 911 first. For suspected animal cruelty, also alert your barangay and report it to us so we can act on the account.
See something off? Tell us.
Report it in the app from the ⋯ menu, or send our team a message. We read every report, act fast on scams and animal-welfare cases, and let you know the outcome.
Our rules are in the Terms of Service and how we handle data in the Privacy Notice.