Terms of Use

1. Purpose

These Terms of Use govern access to and use of the animou-app.com website, the Animou mobile app and related services operated by ANIMOU SAS.

Animou helps individuals and local organisations report lost, found or seen animals, view nearby listings, exchange messages and receive proximity alerts.

Animou does not replace official, veterinary, administrative or emergency procedures. In case of immediate danger, an injured animal or a situation involving a public authority, the user must contact the competent services.

2. Acceptance of the terms

Using Animou means accepting these Terms and the Privacy Policy. When creating or completing an account, the user confirms that they have read these documents.

3. User account

To access the main features, the user must create an account and provide accurate information.

Animou may require verification of the email address and phone number. These two contact channels are important for reliable reports, account recovery, exchange security, support and moderation.

The user is responsible for keeping their account secure and for any activity carried out from it. They must inform Animou in case of unauthorised use or suspected compromise.

4. Listings and published content

The user agrees to publish only sincere, useful and proportionate information for reporting a lost, found or seen animal.

It is prohibited to publish:

• deliberately false or misleading information;
• photos or content for which the user does not have the necessary rights;
• personal data of third parties without a legitimate reason;
• insulting, discriminatory, defamatory, threatening or harassing statements;
• spam, unsolicited advertising, scams or abusive money requests;
• any content that violates the law or the rights of third parties.

The user retains their rights in the content they publish. However, they grant Animou the rights necessary to host, display, technically adapt, distribute and moderate that content as part of the service.

5. Location

Some features use location: creating a listing, displaying nearby listings, maps, points of interest, proximity alerts and voluntary location sharing in a conversation.

The user should avoid publishing sensitive or unnecessary addresses. Animou may display an approximate area where relevant to protect privacy.

Device geolocation depends on the permissions granted by the user in the app or in system settings.

6. Messaging and community behaviour

Animou messaging must be used only to support the search, identification, care or return of an animal.

The user agrees to remain respectful, careful and transparent. Harassment, intimidation, scams, impersonation and abusive collection of information are prohibited.

Reporting and blocking tools are available in the app. Animou may access reported elements when necessary for moderation, security or support.

7. Moderation and illegal content reports

Animou may review, hide, edit, demote, suspend or delete content or an account when necessary to:

• enforce these Terms;
• protect users, animals or third parties;
• prevent abuse, fraud, spam or illegal content;
• respond to a report, legal request or security obligation.

Users can report content, a listing, a message or an account through the tools available in the app, or by email at Email protected — enable JavaScript. This address is also Animou's single point of contact, both for users and for the authorities of EU member states, the European Commission and the Board established under Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 on digital services (DSA); communications may be made in French or English.

Animou acknowledges receipt of reports and informs the reporter, as well as, where applicable, the affected user, of the decision taken, of any use of automated means of moderation, and of the redress options available.

To allow effective processing, the report should include, where possible:

• the URL, listing ID, message ID or account concerned;
• the reason for the report;
• a clear explanation of the issue;
• contact details allowing Animou to respond if necessary.

Animou may suspend or close an account in case of a serious or repeated breach. Where possible and appropriate, the user will be informed of the main reason for the decision and available appeal options.

8. Appealing a moderation decision

A user may appeal a moderation decision by writing to Email protected — enable JavaScript, with the subject line Animou moderation appeal.

The request should include the account email address, the identifier or link of the relevant content if known, the decision being appealed and the reasons why it should be reviewed.

Animou reviews the request within a reasonable period. The review may result in the original decision being upheld, changed or reversed.

9. Ranking and display of listings

Animou may display, filter or rank listings based on criteria useful to the service: geographic proximity, date or freshness of the report, listing status, animal species or category, search area, filters selected by the user and relevance for proximity alerts.

Animou does not offer paid ranking for listings at launch. If such a mechanism is introduced, relevant information will be provided to users.

10. Notifications

Animou may send push notifications or emails related to service operation: proximity alerts, messages, listing updates, account verification, data export, account deletion or security information.

Push notifications can be refused or disabled in the app or in device settings. Some transactional or security communications may remain necessary for account operation.

11. Account deletion and data export

The user may request a data export from Profile > My data, and start account deletion via the Delete account button at the bottom of the Profile screen.

Account deletion follows a 30-day grace period. During this period, the user may cancel deletion by signing back in or through the flow provided in the app. After expiry, the account is deleted and associated data is deleted or anonymised, except where retention is necessary for legal, security, abuse-prevention or rights-defence purposes.

A public deletion request page is available here: /en/account-deletion.

12. Minors

Signing up for and using Animou is reserved to people aged 15 or over. By creating an account, the user declares that they are at least 15 years old. A minor’s legal representative may contact Animou to request review or deletion of personal data published without appropriate authorisation.

13. Personal data

Personal data processing is described in the Privacy Policy.

The user may exercise their GDPR rights by contacting Animou at Email protected — enable JavaScript.

14. Service availability and changes

Animou strives to provide an available, reliable and secure service. However, interruptions may occur for maintenance, updates, technical incidents, service changes or external causes.

Animou may change features, interfaces, publication rules or access conditions to improve the service or comply with legal requirements.

15. Liability

Animou provides a tool for connecting people and sharing community information. Animou does not guarantee that an animal will be found, identified, returned or cared for.

The user remains responsible for the information they publish, the exchanges they initiate and the decisions they make outside the app. Animou cannot be held liable for indirect damage, loss of opportunity, inaccurate information provided by users or third-party behaviour.

16. Intellectual property

The Animou brand, logo, interface, texts, graphics, components, databases and technical elements of the service are protected by intellectual property law.

Any unauthorised reproduction, extraction, modification or reuse is prohibited, unless prior written authorisation or an applicable legal exception applies.

17. Changes to the terms

Animou may modify these Terms to reflect changes to the service, the law or security requirements. In case of a substantial change, users will be informed through an appropriate channel.

18. Applicable law

These Terms are governed by French law, without prejudice to the more protective mandatory provisions applicable in the country where the consumer user resides. In case of dispute, the parties will seek an amicable solution before any legal action. Failing that, the dispute will be brought before the competent courts according to the applicable rules; in particular, a consumer user may bring proceedings before the courts of their own place of domicile.

Last updated: June 27, 2026.