1. Who this policy covers
Shana is an on-demand homecare marketplace. We connect people who need non-medical care at home with licensed Certified Nursing Assistants ("Shana Caregivers"). This policy applies to three groups:
- Care recipients — people who receive care through Shana.
- Family members and account holders — people who create or manage an account on behalf of a care recipient.
- Shana Caregivers — licensed CNAs who provide care through the platform as independent contractors.
Shana is a technology platform. We are not a home health agency and we do not provide medical care.
2. Information we collect
Information you give us
| Who | What we collect |
|---|---|
| Care recipients & families | Name, phone number, email address, service address, the services you request, hours booked, notes you add to a booking, ratings and feedback you leave, and any trusted or emergency contact you choose to add. |
| Shana Caregivers | Name, phone number, email address, home address, date of birth, Social Security number (used only for identity verification and background screening), CNA license number and state, certification and expiration dates, profile photo, biography, languages spoken, and payout details. |
Information created through your use of Shana
- Booking and visit history, including dates, times, duration, and services performed
- Ratings and written feedback, in both directions between care recipients and Shana Caregivers
- Messages or support requests you send us
- For Shana Caregivers: completed visit counts, average rating, and tier status
Information collected automatically
- Device type, operating system, app version, and unique device identifiers
- IP address and general device settings
- App usage information, such as screens viewed and features used
- Push notification tokens, so we can send you booking and safety alerts
- Location information, described in detail in Section 5
Information about care needs
When you book a visit, you tell us which services you need — for example, light housekeeping, companionship, bathing, dressing, or toileting assistance. This tells us something about your circumstances, and we treat it carefully. We use it to match you with an appropriately licensed caregiver and to deliver the service you requested. We do not sell it, and we do not use it for advertising.
A note on health information. Shana provides non-medical care and does not bill health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. As a result, we are generally not a "covered entity" under HIPAA. That does not lower our standard — information about your care needs is treated as sensitive and handled accordingly.
3. How we use information
We use the information we collect to:
- Create and manage your account
- Match a care request with an available, appropriately licensed Shana Caregiver nearby
- Show a care recipient the name, photo, certification, rating, and visit history of the caregiver assigned to them
- Process payments and caregiver payouts
- Send booking confirmations, arrival notifications, and safety alerts
- Verify caregiver licenses and run required screening checks
- Monitor visit safety, including arrival and departure confirmation
- Respond to support requests and investigate incidents or complaints
- Detect and prevent fraud, misuse, or activity that threatens someone's safety
- Improve the reliability and quality of the platform
- Comply with legal obligations, including tax and recordkeeping requirements
We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your personal information with third parties for their own advertising purposes.
4. When we share information
Between users of the platform
- With your assigned caregiver: your first name, service address, phone number, the services booked, and any notes you added. Your address is released only after a caregiver accepts the visit.
- With the care recipient: the caregiver's first name, photo, certification, average rating, completed visit count, and languages spoken.
- With your trusted contact: if you add one, see Section 6.
With service providers who work on our behalf
We use a small number of vendors to operate the platform. They may only use the information we share for the purpose we hired them for:
| Purpose | What is shared |
|---|---|
| Payment processing and caregiver payouts | Name, contact details, payment or payout details, transaction amounts |
| Identity verification and background screening | Caregiver name, date of birth, Social Security number, license details |
| Text message and email delivery | Phone number or email address, and the content of the notification |
| Push notifications and app infrastructure | Device token, account identifier |
| Cloud hosting and file storage | Account data, uploaded documents and photos |
| Mapping and location services | Approximate or precise location, service address |
For legal and safety reasons
We may disclose information when we believe in good faith that it is necessary to comply with a law, regulation, subpoena, or government request; to enforce our terms; to investigate suspected fraud or misuse; or to protect the safety, rights, or property of a care recipient, a caregiver, Shana, or the public.
Shana Caregivers are mandatory reporters under state law. If a caregiver has reasonable cause to believe a person is being abused, neglected, or exploited, they are required to report it to the appropriate state authority, and Shana will cooperate with any resulting inquiry.
Business transfers
If Shana is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you before your information becomes subject to a materially different privacy policy.
5. Location and visit tracking
Location information is central to how Shana works, so it is worth explaining plainly.
For care recipients
We use your service address to find caregivers near you and to give your caregiver directions. We may use your device's approximate location to suggest an address when you book.
For Shana Caregivers
- We use your location to send you nearby visit requests.
- Once you accept a visit, your location is shared with the care recipient so they can see you on the way.
- We verify that you are physically at the service address before a visit timer can start, and we record arrival and departure times.
- Location is collected only while you are online and available, or actively on a visit. It is not collected when you are offline.
You can turn off location permissions at any time in your device settings. Doing so will prevent core parts of the app from working — caregivers will not receive visit requests, and visits cannot be verified or started.
6. Emergency and trusted contacts
Care recipients may add a trusted contact — often an adult child or family member. If you add one, we may send that person text messages about your visits, including when a visit is requested, when a caregiver arrives, and when a visit is complete.
Please only add someone who has agreed to receive these messages. You can remove or change a trusted contact at any time in the app. If you are a trusted contact and wish to stop receiving messages, reply STOP to any message or contact us.
7. Caregiver screening and background checks
Every Shana Caregiver is verified before their first visit and re-verified on an ongoing basis. With the caregiver's authorization, we check:
- The state Nurse Aide Registry, including certification status and any recorded findings
- The OIG List of Excluded Individuals and Entities
- The state sex offender registry
- The state employee misconduct or abuse and neglect registry
- Criminal background history
These checks are re-run automatically on a recurring basis, currently every 90 days. If a disqualifying result appears at any time, we may suspend or remove the caregiver from the platform.
Background check results are used solely to determine eligibility to provide care through Shana. Care recipients are shown a caregiver's certification status, but are not shown the underlying background check report.
8. Payments
Payments and caregiver payouts are handled by a third-party payment processor. Shana does not store your full card number or bank account number on our systems. The processor collects and stores that information directly, subject to its own privacy policy, and provides us with a token and limited details such as the card brand and last four digits.
9. How long we keep information
We keep information for as long as your account is active, and afterward only as long as we need it for the purposes described in this policy.
- Account and profile information: deleted or anonymized after account deletion, subject to the exceptions below.
- Visit and transaction records: retained as required for tax, accounting, and audit purposes, typically seven years.
- Caregiver screening records: retained as required by applicable state recordkeeping rules.
- Safety and incident records: retained as long as necessary to resolve the matter and meet legal obligations.
10. Your rights and choices
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- Know what personal information we hold about you
- Request a copy of that information
- Correct information that is inaccurate
- Request deletion of your information
- Opt out of certain uses of your information
- Not be discriminated against for exercising these rights
Texas residents have these rights under the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act. Residents of other states may have similar rights under their own laws.
To make a request, email admin@shanacare.com. We will verify your identity before acting on a request, and we will respond within the time period required by applicable law.
Communication preferences
- Push notifications: turn off in your device settings. Safety-critical alerts may still be sent by text.
- Text messages: reply STOP to opt out. Note that this may prevent you from receiving visit and arrival notifications.
- Marketing email: use the unsubscribe link in any marketing message. We will still send transactional messages about your bookings.
11. Deleting your account
You can permanently delete your Shana account and associated personal information at any time. Full instructions, including what is deleted and what we are required to retain, are on our account management page.
12. How we protect information
We use industry-standard safeguards to protect information, including encryption in transit, access controls that limit who on our team can view personal data, and secure, reputable infrastructure providers. Sensitive identifiers such as Social Security numbers are transmitted to our screening partner and are not retained in plain text on our systems.
No system is completely secure. If we become aware of a breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you as required by law.
13. Children's privacy
Shana is not directed to children. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account or to provide care through the platform. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have, we will delete it.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. If we make a material change, we will notify you in the app or by email before it takes effect. The "last updated" date at the top of this page always reflects the current version.
15. Contact us
If you have a question about this policy or about how your information is handled:
- Email: admin@shanacare.com
- Phone: (832) 844-0895
Shana Care, Inc. · Houston, Texas