Web Integration Introduction

Introduces Web Integration, which provides pet biometric recognition through a Petnow-hosted web capture page — no app install or SDK integration required.

What is Web Integration?

Web Integration delivers pet biometric recognition through a Petnow-hosted mobile web capture page. All you hand your end user is a single capture URL. The user opens the link in their smartphone browser, captures their pet's nose, and when processing finishes the browser automatically returns to the Redirect URL you configured.

The capture UI, real-time guidance, quality checks, uploads, and processing state are all handled by the Petnow-hosted web app. The only things you implement are delivering the link and receiving the result.

When should you choose Web Integration?

You run a web-based service without a mobile app
You want a quick PoC/pilot before integrating the mobile SDK
You deliver capture links through SMS, messengers, or QR codes

To embed the capture UI directly in your app, see the iOS · Android · React Native SDKs.

Supported functions

Function	Action	Description
Register	`REGISTER`	Registers a new pet's biometric profile
Verify	`VERIFY`	Checks whether the pet matches a registered pet (1:1)
Identify	`IDENTIFY`	Finds candidate matches for the captured pet (1:N)

Both dogs (DOG) and cats (CAT) are supported. Register and Identify take a target species when the link (session) is created; Verify automatically follows the species of the target pet.
The Identify (IDENTIFY) function may be restricted depending on your plan. See Pricing for details.

Two integration methods

Web Integration comes in two methods, depending on who issues the capture session. End users get the same capture page either way.

	Link Integration	Server Integration
Session issuance	Create a link up front in the Petify Console	Your server issues a session per user via API
Development needed	Little to none (deliver a link + a return page)	Server-side integration (API Key required)
Pet identification	Passed as an `externalPetId` query on the link URL — not vouched for by your server	Set by your server at issuance — a trusted value
Result delivery	View in the Console + (Verify/Identify) a display-only code	One-time result code consumed by your server + session polling
Best for	Pilots, small-scale operation, manual result handling	Automated services that act on results

Link Integration — create a reusable link in the Console and distribute it. You can start with no development.
Server Integration — your server issues a one-time session URL via POST /v2/hosted-sessions and receives the completion result in a trusted form.

If you need to make business decisions based on the result (granting points, insurance screening, and so on), use Server Integration. Link Integration's result delivery path is display-only.

The end-user flow

Opening the capture link creates a session. Sessions expire after 30 minutes by default.
The user reviews the capture guide and captures the pet's nose with the camera.
After a quality check, the submission is processed as a registration, verification, or identification.
When processing finishes, the browser automatically navigates to your Redirect URL with the result status attached as query parameters. See Redirect URLs & Result Delivery for the full rules.

Capture environment requirements

Mobile only: capture cannot proceed in desktop browsers; users are asked to reopen the link on a mobile device.
Camera permission: the browser's camera access permission is requested when capture starts.
The flow works regardless of how the link is opened — new tab, same tab, or in-app webview.

Next steps

To adopt Web Integration, see the following guides:

Getting Started - From console setup to your first capture and result
Link Integration - Issue and manage links in the Console
Server Integration - Issue sessions and receive results via API
Redirect URLs & Result Delivery - The allow-list and redirect parameters