Terms of Service

Version 1.0 · effective date: 25 August 2026

1. Who we are and what we do

AlpenSitter is an online service run by Valentina Gadaldi · [email protected], which lets families, sitters and facilities make themselves visible to each other and get in touch.

The Platform is not an employment agency, does not carry out intermediation or placement activity, is not the sitters' employer, and is not a party to the relationships established between users. It does not receive, hold or transfer payment for services: families and sitters agree and settle payment directly between themselves, and each remains responsible for their own tax, social-security and insurance obligations.

2. What's free and what you pay for

Browsing profiles is free. Replying to a message you receive is free. Sending the first message to another user requires an active subscription or a time-limited Pass. Signing up as a sitter is free and never expires; verification badges and visibility services are optional and paid.

3. Subscriptions, Passes and withdrawal

Subscriptions renew automatically at expiry unless cancelled; cancellation can be exercised at any time and takes effect from the following period. Time-limited Passes (7 and 14 days) do not renew.

Under the Italian Consumer Code, consumers have fourteen days to withdraw from distance contracts. By requesting immediate activation of the service, the user accepts that performance begins before that period expires; in that case the right of withdrawal ends once the service has been fully performed, and in the event of early withdrawal the amount proportional to the period used is due.

4. What we verify — and what that means

Each profile states the checks that were carried out and the date they were done. Checks may include: identity document verification, phone and email validation, a phone check of the references given, verification of certificates with the issuing body, an introduction video.

The checks relate exclusively to what is expressly listed, on the date indicated. The Platform does not select sitters on behalf of families, does not certify their suitability, does not assess their personal qualities, and does not guarantee the outcome of any engagement. The choice of person and the decision to entrust them with a child or an animal remain the user's own, and the user undertakes to meet them in person before the first engagement.

5. Criminal record certificate

The Platform does not request, receive or retain criminal record certificates, pending charges, or any statements about criminal convictions, since the processing of data on criminal convictions and offences by a private party is permitted only where authorised by a specific law.

Each sitter undertakes to show the family, before the first engagement and on the family's request, their criminal record certificate or, in Switzerland, the special extract for private individuals. Failure to honour this commitment results in removal from the service. The family is free to make the engagement conditional on seeing the document.

6. User obligations

Every user guarantees the accuracy of the data they enter and undertakes to keep it up to date. It is forbidden to: publish false data or data belonging to third parties without authorisation; publish images of minors; use the Platform for purposes other than its intended one; circumvent the paid contact features; transfer one's own account.

Anyone aged 16 or over may sign up as a sitter. 16- and 17-year-olds enter a parent or guardian's contact details at the time of application: the profile stays under review and is not published until the Platform has contacted that person and received confirmation of consent. Anyone who signs up giving false information about their age or about who holds parental responsibility for them is personally responsible for the consequences of that false statement; the Platform removes the profile as soon as it becomes aware, and is not liable for damages arising from untrue statements made by the user.

7. Reports, suspension and removal

Every profile has a report function. The Platform reviews reports it receives and, where a report concerns serious matters, may suspend the profile as a precaution before any investigation is complete. The Platform removes unlawful content it becomes actually aware of without delay, and keeps a record of reports received and actions taken. The user concerned may submit their own observations by writing to [email protected].

8. Liability

The Platform is liable for its own failures under applicable law. It is not liable for users' conduct, for the performance of arrangements agreed between them, or for the accuracy of the information users enter, without prejudice to what is stated in Article 4 regarding the checks actually carried out.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits the Platform's liability in cases where the law does not permit this, in particular in cases of wilful misconduct or gross negligence, and in cases of death or personal injury to a consumer.

9. Intellectual property

The Platform's content is protected. The user grants the Platform a non-exclusive right to publish the content they upload, limited to the purposes of the service and for as long as the profile remains active.

10. Changes

Any changes are communicated with at least thirty days' notice to users with an active subscription, who may withdraw at no cost if they do not accept them.

11. Governing law and jurisdiction

Italian law applies to these terms. For consumers, the competent court is that of their place of residence or chosen domicile. Mandatory provisions of the user's country of residence remain unaffected.

12. Contact

Valentina Gadaldi · [email protected]