Questions & answers
Who can see a record, how lineage links work, what a lost-pet alert does, and how to reach us.
Who can see my profile, pets, and posts?
You control this separately for each. In Settings → Privacy you can set your profile, your pets, and your posts to Public (anyone), Followers (only people who follow you), or Private (only you). Changing a setting applies immediately, everywhere — search, the feed, and direct links all respect it.
How do I create my Petsmate account?
Petsmate uses your phone number as your identity. Enter your mobile number, confirm the 6-digit code we send by SMS, then pick a handle and display name. You can optionally link a Google or Apple account for faster sign-in later, but your phone number stays your primary way in.
How do I book a service like a vet, groomer, or trainer?
Open the listing, choose a date to see available slots, and confirm. A small booking fee is paid at checkout to hold the slot. You can cancel from My bookings; cancelling at least 6 hours before the appointment is refunded, and a provider who cancels always refunds you in full.
Are direct messages private? Do they show up in notifications?
Direct messages are only visible to the people in the conversation. They have their own unread badge and do not appear in your main notifications feed. If you block someone, the conversation becomes read-only for both of you.
I found a lost pet, or I've lost mine. What do I do?
Open the pet's profile and use the lost-pet alert to notify people nearby. If you've found a pet, check its profile for owner contact options, or post in your neighbourhood feed so the community can help reunite them.
How do I add a pet?
From your profile or the Pets tab, tap Add a pet. Fill in the name, species, and breed, and add a birth date if you know it. You can add photos, health records, and family (lineage) links afterwards. The species can't be changed once the pet is created, so pick carefully.
How does the home feed decide what to show me?
Following shows posts from people you follow, newest first. For You blends recency, engagement, and how often you interact with an author. Nearby shows public posts close to your location, and Species shows public posts about the kinds of animals you have. Nothing you're not allowed to see is ever shown, on any tab.
How do I block someone?
Open their profile, tap the menu, and choose Block. Blocking is mutual and complete: you and the blocked person can no longer see each other's profiles, pets, posts, or comments, follow each other, or send messages. Any existing follows and contact connections between you are removed. You can unblock later from Settings → Privacy → Blocked accounts.
How do I control which notifications I receive?
Settings → Notifications has a grid of categories (social activity, lineage, marketplace, pet health, and so on) against channels (in-app, push, email, SMS/WhatsApp). Turn off any cell you don't want. In-app notifications for account and security matters are always on.
What is a handle and can I change it later?
Your handle is your unique @name on Petsmate (for example @arjun). People use it to find and mention you. You can change it from Settings → Account → Handle, but only once every 14 days, and your old handle is reserved for 14 days so nobody can immediately impersonate you.
How do I list my own pet-care business?
Go to Marketplace → List your service and complete the application — business details, category, contact info, and ID verification. Listings are reviewed by our team before they go live. You can have one listing per category.
What are lineage links and how do they work?
Lineage links record a pet's family — parents, offspring, and siblings. If both pets are yours, the link is added instantly. If the other pet belongs to someone else, you send a lineage request by their phone number; the link is created only after they accept. Links are validated (species must match, chronology must make sense, no cycles) before they're saved.
What happens to my posts and comments if I delete a post?
Deleting a post removes it and its comments and reactions. If you delete a comment that has replies, the comment becomes a “deleted” placeholder so the replies underneath still make sense; a comment with no replies is removed outright.
How do I report a post, comment, profile, or listing?
Tap the menu on the content and choose Report, then pick the reason that fits best. Reports go to our moderation team — you'll get a notification when yours has been reviewed, and you can see the status of everything you've reported under Settings → Support → My reports. Reporting is private; the other person is never told who reported them.
How do I delete my account?
Settings → Account → Delete account. We send an SMS code to confirm it's you, then ask you to type a confirmation phrase. Your account enters a 14-day grace period — sign in again during that time to cancel. After 14 days your personal data is permanently scrubbed; content that others rely on, like lineage links, is kept in an anonymised form.
Can someone else help manage my pet's records?
Yes — open the pet, go to Care circle, and invite a co-owner by their handle. Household members get full editing access, Sitters get time-limited access to add health entries, and Vets are like sitters but their vet-visit entries show as verified. You always stay the primary owner and can remove access at any time.
Who can see my pet's health records?
Health records follow the pet's own visibility setting, and each record can additionally be marked private to you. Vets and sitters you've added to the pet's care circle can see and add records regardless of the public setting.