Pause for Paws is an informational historical corridor analysis tool. It is not a live animal tracker and does not guarantee that wildlife is currently present on or near any road segment.
Effective October 2, 2026. This policy applies to the Pause for Paws app on iPhone and iPad (Apple App Store), on Android (Google Play), and to the website pauseforpawsusa.org.
Pause for Paws does not collect, store, sell, or share your personal information. There are no accounts, no advertising, and no analytics or tracking tools in the app.
If you allow it, the app uses your device's location for two things: to show the crash corridors nearest to you, and to play a voice alert when you approach a corridor while driving. If you choose "Always" access and leave corridor alerts switched on, this also works while the app is in the background.
Your location is processed on your device only. It is not sent to us, it is not stored on any server, and the app does not keep a history of where you have been. You can switch corridor alerts off in the app, or turn off location access at any time in your device settings; the map and corridor list will still work.
The app remembers one setting on your device: whether corridor alerts are on or off. A ZIP code typed into the search box is used on your device to find nearby corridors and is not sent to us.
When installed on a phone or tablet, the app checks pauseforpawsusa.org for updated Iowa crash-corridor data each time it is opened, so the map and driver alerts reflect current data without requiring a new app installation. This request does not include your location, device identifiers, or any personal information — it simply downloads the latest publicly available dataset. If there is no internet connection, or the site cannot be reached, the app uses the corridor data bundled with the install instead.
The map is provided by Google Maps. When the map loads, your device requests map images directly from Google, which means Google receives your device's IP address and the area of the map being viewed, as it would for any website that shows a Google map. Google's use of that information is covered by the Google Privacy Policy. Like any website, the service that hosts pauseforpawsusa.org may keep standard, short-lived server logs (such as IP address and time of request) for security and reliability.
The app is suitable for general audiences and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children.
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. Questions about privacy can be sent to tharanipathyster@gmail.com.
Corridors are built from publicly available Iowa Department of Transportation crash records. They describe where animal-related crashes were reported in the past. The app does not make claims about live wildlife detection or guaranteed safety outcomes.