End User Licence Agreement

By using HOWL you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set out herein.

We are The Bark Side Limited, the creators of HOWL (the ‘App’). All copyright in the App is owned by The Bark Side Limited.

IMPORTANT: Please read this carefully

By downloading the App, you are agreeing to the terms of this agreement which are legally binding. Please read it together with our Privacy Policy before you download and use the App.

Only download the App if you have read the rules and agree to them.

If you do not agree to these terms, we will not allow you to use the App and you should not download it. Whilst the App is intended to deter dog thieves we cannot guarantee that it will successfully prevent theft. The App is not a substitute for common sense and vigilance, and you should ensure that you are aware of your surroundings and the risks posed by different situations.

Where we provide tips on how to keep your dog safe, you must consider whether they are appropriate for your circumstances before implementing them.

We cannot accept responsibility for the theft of a dog or dogs, regardless of whether the App functions correctly or not.

You should be aware that the App operates in three ways:

In the event of an attempt to steal a dog or dogs the activation of the App aims to deter the thief by sounding an alarm, and recording evidence of the incident, whilst simultaneously alerting your chosen contact;
Enables you to act quickly to circulate details of your dog or dogs, and the incident itself, to relevant authorities such as the police, dog warden, etc, and to share details on social media. The capturing of important information during the set-up process means that you have easy access to essential information to report your dog or dogs as stolen. This information will remain on your phone and will not be publicly visible or available to any individual or organisation, including us, unless and until you choose to share it; and
Records evidence to assist the police to investigate and/or prosecute person(s) suspected of being involved in dog theft and/or other offences. The App is provided on a “best endeavours” basis; that is, we cannot guarantee that it will successfully deter a dog thief, but it is an aid to bolster your security.

1 This Agreement

1.1 We license you to download and use the App provided you follow all of the rules described in this agreement. The licence: 1.1.1 is only for your your use (and anyone else that the App Store lets you share the App with);

1.1.2 starts when you download the App; and

1.1.3 covers content, materials, or services accessible from, or bought in, the App including all of our support resources. It also covers updates to the App unless they come with separate terms, in which case we will give you an opportunity to review and accept the new terms.

1.2 In this Agreement, we refer to the site that you download the App from as the ‘App Store’ and we refer to their rules and policies as the ‘App Store rules’. You must comply with the App Store rules as well as this Agreement but, if there is any conflict between them, the App Store rules will prevail.

1.3 You do not own the App or any of its contents but you may use it on devices that you own or control, as permitted by the App Store rules.

1.4 If you sell or give away the device on which you have downloaded the App, you must first remove the App from the device.

1.5 You are not permitted to do any of the following with the App or any part of it:

1.5.1 use, copy, modify, adapt, correct errors in, or create similar works in whole or in part;

1.5.2 decode, reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile, or otherwise translate or convert;

1.5.3 assign, sub-license, lease, resell, distribute or pass it off as your own; and/or

1.5.4 attempt to circumvent or interfere with any security features.

2 Technical requirements

To use the App your device must comply with some minimum requirements. Please see the iOS App Store for detailed system requirements.

3 Support and contact

3.1 If you need to get in touch with us, please email howl@howlforhelp.com

3.2 If we need to get in touch with you, we will do so via an in-App notification.

4 Privacy and your personal information

Protecting your personal information is important to us. Our Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect from you, how and why we collect, store, use and share such information, your rights in relation to it and how to contact us and supervisory authorities if you have a query or complaint.

5 Collection of technical information

We may collect and use technical data that might include, for example, the specifications of your device and its software in order to help us provide software updates, product support, and other services related to the app. We may also use this information, as long as it is in a form that does not personally identify you, to improve products or to offer new services or technologies to you.

6 Location data

6.1 The App makes use of functionality on your device that can pinpoint your location. We do this in order to summon help from your chosen contact, and to record the date, time and location of any criminal offence.

6.2 When you open the App for the first time, you will be asked whether it can use your location and in what circumstances.

6.3 You can change your choices at any time in the App settings, and you can also turn the location services off at any time. You should be aware, however, that the use of your location whilst using the App is central to its functionality, and that if you turn off location services the App may fail to work as expected or at all.

7 Camera and Microphone Access

7.1 This App uses the camera and other sensors on your device to record incidents, the audio and video recordings of which will be stored in the App unless and until you choose to export them to another platform, or delete them.

7.2 You are responsible for your own safety, and the safety of others around you, while using the App. Never put yourself in danger, and never carry any item that is, or would be, illegal in the circumstances of an incident.

7.3 You understand that there is no guarantee that any video and/or audio recording taken by you of an incident will capture useful evidence, sufficient to:

7.3.1 prevent a dog theft;

7.3.2 recover a dog after an incident; and/or

7.3.3 prosecute a suspected offender.

8 Acceptable use

8.1 You must not use the App to do any of the following things:

8.1.1 break the law or encourage any unlawful activity;

8.1.2 send or upload anything that is (or might be considered to be) defamatory, offensive, obscene or discriminatory;

8.1.3 infringe our or anyone else’s intellectual property rights (for example, by using or uploading someone else’s content);

8.1.4 transmit any harmful software code such as viruses;

8.1.5 try to gain unauthorised access to computers, data, systems, accounts or networks; and/or

8.1.6 deliberately disrupt the operation of anyone’s website, app, server or business.

9 Updates to the App

9.1 We may update the App from time to time for reasons that include fixing bugs or enhancing functionality. We might also change or remove functionality but if we do that we will ensure that the App still meets the description of it that was provided to you at the time you downloaded the App.

9.2 Updates will either download automatically or you may need to trigger them yourself, depending on your device, its settings and the app store.

9.3 We strongly suggest that you download all updates as soon as they become available. Depending on the nature of the update, the app may not work properly (or at all), or you may be exposed to security vulnerabilities, if you do not keep the app updated to the latest version that we make available.

10 Changes to this Agreement

10.1 We may need to revise this Agreement from time to time to reflect changes in the App’s functionality, to deal with a security threat or if there is a change in the law or guidance.

10.2 You will be asked to agree to any material changes in advance by an in-App notification, usually when you download an update. If you do not accept the changes, you will no longer be able to use the App.

11 External services

11.1 If the App enables you to access services and websites that we do not own or operate (referred to below as ‘external services’) then we will not be responsible for examining or evaluating the content, accuracy, and/or security of these external services. Before using them, make sure you have read and agreed to the terms on which they are being offered to you, including the way in which they may use your personal information.

11.2 You must not use external services in any way that:

11.2.1 is inconsistent with these terms or with the terms of the external service; or

11.2.2 infringes our intellectual property rights, or the intellectual property rights of any third party.

11.3 From time to time, we may update or remove any external services that are made available through the App.

12 Our responsibility to you

12.1 If we breach this Agreement or are grossly negligent, we are liable to you for reasonably foreseeable loss or damage that you suffer as a result. By ‘reasonably foreseeable’ we mean that, at the time this Agreement was made, either it was clear that such loss or damage would occur or you and we both knew that it might reasonably occur, as a result of something we did (or failed to do). We will not be liable to you for any loss that is not directly linked to our act or omission.

12.2 We are not liable to you for any loss or damage that was not reasonably foreseeable, any loss or damage not caused by our breach or negligence, or any business loss or damage.

12.3 If the App damages your device or any software installed on it as a result of our failure to use reasonable care and skill, please let us know. If we can, we will repair the damage. If that is not possible, we will compensate you for losses actually incurred. We may ask you for information (including photographs) about what has happened so that we can understand the nature of the problem.

12.4 Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for any death or personal injury caused by our negligence, liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that the law does not allow us to exclude or limit.

13 Failures of networks or hardware

The App relies on a number of things working properly to enable you to enjoy all of its features. Many of these, such as your internet connection, your device and the App Store, are entirely outside of our control. Although we will do everything we reasonably can to resolve issues, we are not responsible to you if you are unable to use all or any part of the App due to a poor internet connection, faulty components in your device (such as a faulty camera), App Store failure or anything else that it would not be reasonable to expect us to control.

14 Ending this agreement

14.1 You can end this Agreement at any time by uninstalling the App, which will delete all information you have entered into it.

14.2 We can end this Agreement if you do not comply with any part of it.

14.3 We will give you a reasonable amount of notice before the Agreement ends but if what you have done is serious then we may end this agreement immediately and without advance notice to you. ‘Serious’ means that you are causing harm (or attempting to cause harm) to other users, interfering with the operation of the App or doing anything else that we think presents a big enough risk to justify us ending the Agreement quickly.

14.4 The consequences of us ending the Agreement ending are as follows:

14.4.1 you are no longer allowed to use the App and we may remotely limit your access to it;

14.4.2 you must delete it from any devices that it has been installed on; and

14.4.3 we may delete or suspend access to any accounts that you hold with us.

14.5 You are not entitled to a refund following termination for any reason.

15 Third parties

No one other than us or you has any right to enforce any term of this Agreement.

16 Transferring this Agreement

16.1 We may transfer our rights under this Agreement to another business without your consent, but we will notify you of the transfer and make sure that you are not adversely affected as a result.

16.2 You are not allowed to transfer your rights under this agreement to anyone without our prior written consent.

17 Governing law and jurisdiction

17.1 The laws of England and Wales apply to this Agreement, regardless of the country you were in when you downloaded the App or when you use it. If you are downloaded or use the App outside of England and Wales you will retain the benefit of any mandatory protections given to you by the laws of that country.

17.2 Any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.