Profile Deactivation & Removal Policy | Howl

Howl is a curated community. Admission isn't automatic, and continued access depends on conduct. This page explains exactly when and why profiles are deactivated or removed — for both sitters and owners — and what happens to your data when they are.

Voluntary Deactivation (Sitters)

You can step away from Howl at any time, for any reason. Here's what happens:

Cancel your subscription anytime from your dashboard under Billing, or by emailing hello@usehowl.com.
Your profile is hidden from search immediately — no new booking requests will come in.
Your reviews, booking history, and care journals are preserved permanently. Your reputation is not lost.
If you resubscribe later, everything is restored exactly as you left it — your reviews, past clients, and profile content.
There is no cancellation fee and no minimum commitment period.

Voluntary deactivation is always reversible. Involuntary removal may not be.

Involuntary Removal

Howl may deactivate or permanently remove a sitter profile for any of the following reasons:

Repeated cancellations — 3 or more cancellations of accepted bookings within a 30-day period.
Consistent negative reviews — an average rating below 3.0 after 5 or more published reviews.
Safety incidents reported by owners or other sitters, whether or not a formal complaint is filed.
Failure to respond to booking requests for 30 or more consecutive days without setting your availability to unavailable.
Violation of Howl's Community Standards.
Dishonest profile information discovered during a review — including inflated experience claims or hidden disqualifying history.

Our process before removal:

In most cases, we'll reach out via email with the specific concern before any action is taken, and give you a reasonable window to respond.
Emergency removals — involving safety incidents or immediate risk to animals or people — take effect immediately without prior notice.
A removal decision may be appealed within 14 days (see Appeals section below).

Owner Removal

Owners are held to the same community standard. Owners may be removed for:

Consistent non-payment — repeatedly failing to pay sitters after completed bookings, as reported by sitters.
Dishonest behavioral disclosures — failing to accurately disclose bite history, aggression, or other safety-relevant information about their pet.
Harassment or disrespectful treatment of sitters, whether in-app, in-person, or via direct contact.
Violation of Howl's Community Standards.

Sitters build their livelihood on Howl. Owners who undermine that — through non-payment, dishonesty, or mistreatment — will not remain on the platform.

What Happens to Your Data

Voluntary deactivation: all profile data, reviews, booking history, and care journals are preserved and fully restored upon resubscription.
Involuntary removal: profile is hidden from public search immediately. Booking records and reviews are retained for platform integrity and may inform future admission decisions.
You may request a copy of your data at any time by emailing hello@usehowl.com.

Appeals

If you believe a removal was in error, you have the right to appeal.

Email hello@usehowl.com within 14 days of receiving your removal notice.
Include your account email, a brief summary of the situation, and any context or corrections you believe are relevant.
A real person — not an automated system — reviews every appeal.
We aim to respond to all appeals within 5 business days.
If your appeal is successful, your profile will be fully reinstated.

Appeals submitted after 14 days may still be reviewed at our discretion, but we cannot guarantee reinstatement after that window.

Related Policies

Community Standards →Terms of Service →Privacy Policy →

Questions? Email us at hello@usehowl.com