Acceptable Use Policy

1. Purpose

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") governs your use of the FosterFlow platform and services. It is incorporated into our Terms of Service and applies to all users, including account administrators, staff, volunteers, and any individuals who interact with a FosterFlow-powered rescue site.

FosterFlow is built specifically for legitimate animal rescue organizations. Use of the platform for any other purpose is not permitted.

2. Permitted Uses

You may use FosterFlow to:

• Manage records for animals in the care of a legitimate animal rescue or shelter organization
• Process adoption, foster, volunteer, and surrender applications
• Accept and track donations for your rescue's operational expenses
• Communicate with fosters, volunteers, and adopters in connection with rescue activities
• Publish public-facing content about your rescue, available animals, events, and how to help
• Generate reports and manage financial records for your rescue organization

3. Prohibited Uses

You may not use FosterFlow to:

3.1 Illegal Activities

• Violate any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation
• Facilitate animal cruelty, trafficking, or any activities harmful to animals
• Engage in fraudulent fundraising or misrepresentation of your organization
• Collect or process personal data in violation of applicable privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)
• Engage in money laundering, tax fraud, or other financial crimes

3.2 Harmful Content

• Upload, store, or transmit content that is defamatory, harassing, abusive, threatening, or discriminatory
• Distribute malware, spyware, ransomware, or other malicious code
• Store content that violates a third party's intellectual property rights
• Publish graphic or disturbing content without appropriate content warnings

3.3 Service Abuse

• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service or another user's account
• Use automated bots, scrapers, or scripts to access the Service in ways that damage or overload it
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code (note: FosterFlow is open source — the code is publicly available on our Gitea)
• Resell or sublicense access to the Service without written permission
• Use the Service to operate as a competing SaaS platform

3.4 Misrepresentation

• Impersonate any person or organization
• Misrepresent your organization's nonprofit status, EIN, or legitimacy
• Use the Service for purposes materially different from rescue management without prior written consent

4. Content Guidelines

All content uploaded to or published through FosterFlow must:

• Be truthful and not misleading to adopters, donors, or the public
• Respect the privacy of individuals whose information appears in applications or records
• Comply with applicable laws regarding photography of minors, personal data, and animal welfare
• Not include spam, bulk commercial advertising, or unsolicited marketing unrelated to your rescue

We reserve the right to remove content that violates this policy without prior notice.

5. Data Responsibilities

As a Tenant, you are responsible for all data uploaded to your FosterFlow instance. This includes:

• Obtaining appropriate consent from applicants, donors, and volunteers to collect and process their personal information
• Maintaining accurate records and not submitting false information to your own applicants
• Ensuring that anyone with admin access to your account understands and complies with this AUP
• Notifying us promptly of any suspected unauthorized access to your account

6. Enforcement and Account Termination

We reserve the right to investigate suspected violations of this AUP. If we determine that a violation has occurred, we may take any of the following actions at our sole discretion:

• Issue a warning to the account administrator
• Remove or restrict specific content
• Suspend account access temporarily
• Terminate the account immediately and permanently
• Report illegal activity to law enforcement

In cases of egregious violations (including illegal activity or content harmful to animals), we will terminate accounts immediately without warning and without refund.

7. Reporting Abuse

If you become aware of a FosterFlow account being used in violation of this AUP — including any activity that harms animals, engages in fraud, or otherwise violates these guidelines — please report it immediately to abuse@fosterflow.app.

We take all reports seriously and will investigate promptly. Reports can be made anonymously.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this AUP from time to time with notice. Material changes will be communicated via email to account administrators at least 14 days before taking effect.

9. Contact

Questions about this policy? Contact us at hello@fosterflow.app.