Terms of use

Last updated 7 November 2026

1. Who we are

Handler is run by Alisdair Jones, trading as Handler K9, a sole trader based in England ("we" and "us"). You can contact us at handlerapp.noreply@gmail.com. The inbox is read, despite the name.

By creating an account you agree to these terms, including the community rules. Our privacy policy explains what we do with your information.

2. Who can join

• You must be 18 or over. If we find out an account belongs to someone under 18, we close it.
• One account per person. Your account is yours alone. Don't share it or let anyone else use it.
• Keep your password safe. Tell us straight away if you think someone else has got into your account.
• Give us true information, especially if you apply for verified access.

3. Open and verified channels

Everyone starts on the open side. Verified channels are for working handlers: police, military, federal, corrections, private security, search and rescue and detection.

• To get verified access, you apply in the app and give evidence: a vouch from a verified member, a photo of your ID or warrant card for us to check, or (when it's available) a code sent to your work email. A person decides every application. We can say no, and we don't always give a detailed reason.
• Verified access lasts 12 months. You can renew in the last 30 days.
• We can remove verified access at any time: for example if your evidence turns out to be wrong, you leave the role, or you break these terms.
• Vouching means putting your name to someone. Only vouch for people you have actually worked with. If someone you vouched for is removed for misconduct, we may take away your ability to vouch.
• Being verified on Handler is not an endorsement by us or by anyone else. Handler is independent. It is not connected to any police force, military, government body or agency, and you must not suggest that it is.

4. Community rules

Do not post, share or link to any of the following.

Safety and opsec

• Locations. Addresses, training grounds, kennels, or anything that pins down where a handler or dog lives, works or will be. A region (a state, county or city) is fine.
• Operational details. Deployments, call-outs, case details, schedules, tactics, or anything that could put an operation, a handler or a dog at risk.
• Anything from a verified channel, outside that channel. That includes screenshots, copies and summaries.
• Other people's personal details without their permission.

Respect

• Harassment, bullying, threats or abuse.
• Hate against people because of their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
• Pretending to be someone else, to be from an agency, or to be a working handler when you're not.

Illegal or dangerous content

• Animal cruelty. Discussing lawful training methods, including corrections and bitework, is fine. Showing, encouraging or explaining how to cause an animal unnecessary suffering isn't.
• Drugs. Buying, selling or sourcing controlled drugs, including real drugs to use as training aids.
• Weapons and explosives. Buying, selling or sourcing firearms, ammunition, weapons or explosives, or instructions for making them. Talking about detection work and training aids in general terms is fine.
• Terrorism and violent extremism, or anything that supports it.
• Any sexual content involving anyone under 18. We remove it and report it to the authorities.
• Sexual images, including sending them to people who haven't asked for them, and sharing intimate images of anyone without their consent.
• Encouraging or helping anyone to harm or kill themselves.
• Scams, fraud or spam.
• Anything else that's illegal in the UK or where you live.

Buying, selling and adverts

• No adverts, and no buying or selling (dogs, puppies, gear or services), unless we've said it's OK. We may open a proper space for this later.

Training advice

• Advice on Handler comes from other members. Use your own judgement and put your dog's welfare first. Nothing on Handler is professional, legal or veterinary advice.

5. Your posts

• You keep ownership of what you post. You give us permission to store it and show it to the members who can see that channel or log. That permission ends when the post is deleted, apart from records we need to keep for safety or legal reasons (see the privacy policy).
• You're responsible for what you post, including having the right to share any photos.
• You can delete your own messages at any time.

6. Reporting, and how we deal with harmful content

How to report

• In the app: press and hold the message, tap Report, and choose a reason.
• By email: write to handlerapp.noreply@gmail.com with what you saw and where. You don't need an account to report something by email.

What happens next

• A person reads every report. Nothing is decided by a computer.
• We aim to review reports within 48 hours. Anything illegal, any threat, and anything that puts a person or dog at risk comes first.
• If something is illegal or breaks these terms, we remove it. Depending on how serious it is, we may also warn the person who posted it, remove their verified access, or close their account.
• We report child sexual abuse material, and threats to someone's life or safety, to the police or the right authority.
• We don't use automated tools to scan or filter posts. Moderation is done by people, based on reports and on what our moderators see.

Complaints and appeals

If you think we've got something wrong, tell us. That includes us removing your post or account, not acting on your report, or anything else about how we handle these rules. Email handlerapp.noreply@gmail.com with Complaint in the subject and say what happened.

• We'll acknowledge it, look at it again properly, and tell you what we decided and why.
• If we got it wrong, we'll put it right: for example by restoring your post, your account or your verified access.
• We may ignore complaints that are clearly abusive or repeat one we've already answered.

7. Leaving, and closing accounts

• You can delete your account at any time from the app: Profile → Delete account. See how to delete your account.
• We can suspend or close accounts that break these terms, or when we have to for legal reasons. We'll normally tell you why, unless that would be unsafe or against the law.
• We may change Handler, or stop running it. If we close it, we'll give at least 30 days' notice where we can.

8. The legal bit

• Handler is free, and it's provided as it is. We work to keep it running and secure, but we can't promise it will always be available or free of errors.
• We're not responsible for what members post, or for what you decide to do based on it, including training advice.
• We're not liable for losses that weren't foreseeable, or for business losses.
• Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else the law doesn't allow us to limit. If you're a consumer, you keep all your legal rights.
• These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you live somewhere else, you keep the protections your local law gives you, and you can bring a claim in your local courts where that law allows.

9. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. If a change is significant, we'll tell you in the app before it takes effect. If you keep using Handler after that, you're accepting the new terms. If you don't agree, you can delete your account.

10. Contact

Alisdair Jones, trading as Handler K9. Email handlerapp.noreply@gmail.com.