Privacy Policy

Information you provide

We store account information such as your email, display name, timezone and optional profile photo. If you use Apple or Google to sign in, we receive the account information that provider shares for authentication; we do not receive your Apple or Google password.

We store dog profiles, photos, activities, routines, training progress, journal entries, comments, and care records that you enter. Care records can include medication schedules, vaccinations, veterinarian contact details, microchip numbers and insurance information. Only provide information you have permission to share.

Invitations include the recipient email you enter. Support and safety reports can include your description, the reported content, optional attachments and diagnostic details shown in the reporting flow.

Information collected during use

We handle account and request identifiers, access logs and technical information needed to authenticate requests, prevent abuse and operate the service. If you allow notifications, we store a device push token, your preferences and delivery records.

Android builds use Firebase Cloud Messaging, which automatically initializes its messaging service and can create and send a Firebase installation identifier and app/device technical information before you allow notifications. Notification permission controls visible notifications and PocketPup’s registration of your Expo push token; it does not disable every underlying Firebase identifier.

When enabled for a release, crash reporting processes technical errors and device/app details to diagnose problems. Advertising services may process the information described below. PocketPup does not access your address book. Optional walking features request location as described below. Our hosting provider Vercel derives approximate city and country from IP addresses for its services, and RevenueCat derives and stores the last-seen country associated with a purchase-service customer. These providers process connection metadata for service operation, security and analytics under their applicable privacy terms.

Optional walk recording and weather

When you start a walk with distance recording, PocketPup asks for location permission. With background permission, recording can continue while your screen is locked. Tracking stops when you pause or finish. You can choose Time only without location access, and you can revoke location permission in your device settings.

Location samples and an unfinished walk are stored on your device so you can recover interrupted progress. When you save, samples are sent securely to our backend to validate distance, then discarded by the service; we store the resulting time, distance, dog, recording account, notes, potty details and optional weather summary. Saved care details are available to authorized Doghouse members. Raw routes are not published in feeds, challenges or leaderboards. A local draft is removed after successful saving or when you discard it.

When weather is available, our backend sends coordinates rounded to approximately a local area to WeatherAPI.com to obtain conditions for your walk. Saved weather includes observation time, conditions and coarse latitude for seasonal scenery. You can record a walk even when weather information is unavailable.

Walking leaderboards are optional. When enabled, your community display name and aggregate walking scores can appear in the walking club. Nearby rankings use the broad region you enter, with a minimum group size; they do not show live or exact locations. Friend challenges share progress with the named participants only after explicit acceptance. Turn off leaderboard sharing in Walk club to leave rankings.

How we use information

We use information to provide your account, synchronize dog care, share records with your invited Doghouse, deliver reminders you enable, generate portraits you approve, respond to support requests, handle deletion requests, and investigate misuse. We use technical data to maintain reliability and security.

Your camera and photo permissions let you choose images for the app. Giving photo permission does not by itself authorize AI portrait processing.

Optional AI photo processing

AI portraits are optional. Before sending photos for AI processing, PocketPup identifies the current provider and asks for your permission. The processing can include the dog photo, dog name, breed, appearance instructions and previously generated portraits used to change expressions. Avoid photos containing people, addresses, documents or other information you do not want sent.

The default portrait provider is OpenAI. If a supported alternative is configured, its name and privacy link appear in the consent screen before use. Ordinary photos and preset illustrations remain available without AI consent.

You can withdraw permission in Account & privacy → AI photo privacy. Withdrawal prevents new AI processing; it cannot recall a request already sent or automatically erase files already processed by a provider. Contact us with provider deletion questions. Previously generated portraits remain until removed through the applicable deletion process. Provider retention is governed by the provider terms linked in the consent flow; we do not promise immediate third-party erasure.

Service providers

Supabase provides account authentication, databases and file storage. Vercel hosts our backend and handles service requests. Expo delivers notifications using device tokens and reminder content, with Firebase Cloud Messaging for Android delivery. Resend sends invitations, support and account-related emails. Apple and Google handle sign-in when selected and process purchases through their stores. RevenueCat helps verify and restore purchases as described below. Sentry can receive diagnostic reports when configured. Google AdMob provides the advertising services described below. AI providers receive only the inputs needed for the optional processing you authorize.

These providers process information needed to supply their services. We select providers with contractual privacy and security protections and require protection consistent with this policy. They may process data in countries other than yours. We use applicable safeguards for international transfers where required.

Purchases and payment processing

In native releases with purchases enabled, RevenueCat receives your PocketPup account identifier to connect store purchases to your account. Its purchase service can connect when you sign in, even before buying an item. RevenueCat processes purchase history, product and transaction identifiers, store receipts or purchase tokens, purchase and refund status, and basic technical information such as device type, operating system and last connection time. We use this information to verify access, restore items, prevent fraud, support purchase questions and understand purchase performance.

We store which items your account owns and when ownership was verified. Apple or Google handles the payment; PocketPup and RevenueCat do not receive your payment-card details for these store purchases. We do not send your account email, dog profiles, photos, care records or community content to RevenueCat. Other Doghouse members may see an accessory you have equipped, but do not receive your purchase history.

Our account deletion process requests deletion of your RevenueCat customer record and removes the purchase records associated with your PocketPup account. This does not delete Apple or Google transaction records or automatically request a refund. Those stores handle their records under their own policies. Contact contact@devicebytes.com for purchase-data and deletion questions.

Doghouse and public sharing

Accepted Doghouse members can see the dog information and shared care content available to their role. Owners can remove caregivers, and caregivers can leave. Reporting, blocking and moderation can limit the shared content members see.

When you create a public share card, anyone holding its link can view the card until it expires or is removed. The card contains the selected dog information and artwork, not your account email or private medical records. Link recipients can copy or save it. A health summary shared through your device share sheet can contain the care and contact information you selected.

Some dog photos and generated artwork use public file URLs. They are not a place to store confidential images. Other content uses access controls or temporary signed URLs. Reported content may be reviewed by authorized staff and retained while a safety concern is investigated.

Community posts and connections

Community participation is optional. An enabled social profile shows the display name, handle, avatar and bio you choose to other signed-in PocketPup users. Your account email, timezone and private dog records are not included in that profile. Existing accounts are not automatically enrolled in discovery.

You choose Global, Friends or a Doghouse before posting. Global posts can be seen by signed-in PocketPup users. Friends posts are available to their author and currently accepted friends. Doghouse posts are available to current members of that Doghouse. Following selects someone’s Global posts for your feed and does not grant access to friends-only posts or dog records. Routine logs and private memories are not automatically published to the community.

Friend requests, accepted friends, following, followers and blocks are stored to provide these choices. Removing a friend or Doghouse membership changes future access. Blocking limits social discovery and interactions in both directions without transferring or revoking care permissions. Your connection management lists are visible to you; they are not public relationship directories.

Community photos use private storage. After checking your access, we provide temporary image links that expire within 60 seconds. Anyone holding a still-valid image link can open it until it expires; recipients can also save copies. Disabling your social profile hides it from discovery and hides your social posts. Account deletion also removes your social contributions, connections and uploads through the deletion process.

When content is reported, authorized staff may retain a restricted copy of the reported text and references to its images for investigation. This evidence expires within 90 days of the report, or within 30 days after review if earlier, and is cleared by daily maintenance. Account and Doghouse deletion still remove the associated image files. A limited record of the report and decision can remain for safety and to keep reported content hidden from its reporter.

Advertising and privacy choices

When advertising is enabled in a release, clearly labeled Google AdMob ads may appear in Global and Following feeds. Friends-only feeds, Doghouse posts, care updates and journal views do not contain these ads. Ads help support PocketPup; an advertisement is not a recommendation from DeviceBytes LLC.

We request non-personalized ads by default. This does not mean that no information is collected. Google and the advertising services involved in delivering an ad may process your IP address and approximate location, device or app identifiers, ad views and interactions, app interactions, and diagnostic or performance information to deliver ads, limit repeated ads, measure results and prevent fraud. We do not send your account email, community profile, posts, photos, connections, dog profiles or care records to these services for ad targeting.

The initial advertising release does not request permission through Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt. This does not prevent all advertising-related data processing. Advertising identifiers and other identifiers may be handled according to your device permissions, applicable consent choices and the advertising SDK’s configuration. Google explains its processing at https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads.

Where required, we use Google’s consent and privacy forms before requesting ads. You can review or change the available regional choices in Account & privacy → Ad privacy choices. These may include withdrawing consent or opting out of advertising uses that local law treats as a sale or sharing of personal information. Non-personalized ads do not replace those choices. Core PocketPup features remain available if consent choices or other conditions prevent ads from loading.

Changing your choices affects future ad requests and cannot recall information already processed. Device advertising settings provide additional controls. Contact contact@devicebytes.com for privacy requests concerning PocketPup; Google’s privacy information describes its own controls and retention practices.

Retention and deletion

We retain account and care information while needed to provide the service. You can initiate deletion inside the app at Account & privacy → Delete account, including before finishing dog setup. The confirmation screen explains which Doghouses and data will be removed. Deletion is processed rather than instantaneous; the app shows the request status and an expected completion window of 7 days.

Deleting an owner account removes the Doghouses it owns and their associated records; other members lose access to those Doghouses. It removes your personal contributions and memberships in Doghouses owned by someone else without deleting those other owners’ Doghouses. Save needed records before confirming.

We remove associated account data and stored uploads through the deletion process. Limited request records, security records or information required by law may remain only as needed for that purpose. Backups and cached files may persist until their retention or cache period ends. Copies independently saved by other people are outside our control. We send confirmation when processing finishes.

Your choices and rights

You can edit account and dog information, adjust notification preferences, withdraw AI consent, manage available Ad privacy choices, remove your content where controls are available, and request account deletion. Your device settings control camera, photo and notification access.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, export or delete personal information, restrict or object to processing, withdraw consent, or complain to a privacy regulator. Send a request to contact@devicebytes.com. We may verify your identity before fulfilling it. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing already performed lawfully.

Where a legal basis is required, we rely on providing the service you request, your consent for optional processing, legitimate interests in safety and reliability where permitted, and compliance with legal obligations.

Children and updates

PocketPup is intended for people aged 13 or older, or the higher age required to consent to these services where they live. It is not designed for children under 13. If you believe a child provided information without appropriate permission, contact us so we can investigate and remove it.

We update this policy when our practices change. The date above identifies this version. Material changes will be communicated in the app or through an appropriate account notice.