Privacy Policy
For Puddle Patrol. Last updated: on release.
This policy explains what Puddle Patrol does with your information. It is written to be read, not to be survived. If anything here is unclear, ask us at harfredlabs@gmail.com.
The short version
Puddle Patrol has no accounts. There is nothing to sign up for, we never ask for your email address or your name, and we do not know who you are. We do not sell your personal information, we do not share it with advertisers, and we do not build advertising profiles about you. There are no ads and no trackers in this app.
The only information the app holds about you is a dog's name, its breed, its date of birth, and a list of times it went to the toilet.
Specifically, in this app
Two switches in Settings control everything that leaves your device. Both can be turned off, and the app works completely with both off.
- Back up my data. On by default. Your dog's profile and your logs are copied to our server so that a lost or replaced phone is not a lost history. They are stored against a random identifier that this app generated on your device the first time it ran. That identifier is not linked to your name, your email, your phone, or any account, because none of those exist. It is protected by a secret that your device also generated and has never shown to anybody, including us.
- Help improve predictions for everyone. On by default, and independent of the switch above — you can back up without contributing, or contribute without backing up. When it is on, the app periodically sends three things: the breed you selected, your dog's age rounded down to a four-week band, and the typical gap between events. That is all. It does not send timestamps, your dog's name, your logs, or anything that could be used to reconstruct a day in your household. Breeds you typed in yourself are never sent at all.
If you turn backup off, nothing further is uploaded. To remove what has already been stored, use Delete everything in the app's Settings screen: it erases your logs from the device and deletes the backup from our server in the same action. We cannot do this on your behalf by email, because we have no way to work out which stored copy is yours — which is the same property that keeps it anonymous.
What stays on your device
The content you create in Puddle Patrol — your entries, settings and preferences — is stored locally on your device by default. When you delete the app, local data goes with it. We cannot read data that never leaves your device, and we cannot recover it for you if you lose the device.
What we collect
We collect the minimum needed to run the app and keep it working:
- Technical information sent by your device when the app contacts our servers — IP address, device and operating-system type, and the time of the request. Web servers record these automatically. We use them to serve the app, to diagnose faults and to prevent abuse, and we do not use them to identify you personally.
- App version information, so the app can check whether an update is available.
- Anything you send us directly, such as the contents of a support email. We keep it for as long as it takes to help you, and no longer.
Features that send data off your device
Some features only work by sending data to a server. Each applies only if that feature is present in this app and you use it:
- Accounts and sign-in. If you create an account, we store the identifier you sign in with (such as an email address) so we can recognise you on your next visit and on other devices.
- Cloud sync and backup. If you turn on sync, the content you choose to sync is stored on our servers so it can be restored to your other devices. It is transmitted over an encrypted connection and stored encrypted at rest.
- Sharing and collaboration. If you share something, the content you share is stored so the person you share it with can open it. Anyone holding the link can open it, so treat a share link as public.
- Purchases. Payments are handled entirely by Apple or Google. We receive confirmation that a purchase happened; we never receive or store your card details.
Service providers
We use a small number of providers to run Puddle Patrol, and they process data only on our instructions:
- Google Cloud — hosting, storage and content delivery.
- Apple and Google — app distribution, and payment processing where the app offers purchases.
These providers operate internationally, so your information may be processed in a country other than your own. We rely on the safeguards those providers offer for transfers of that kind.
Children
Puddle Patrol is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has given us personal information, write to harfredlabs@gmail.com and we will delete it.
How long we keep things
Data you store locally lasts until you delete it or remove the app. Data held on our servers for a feature you enabled is kept while your account is active, and removed within 30 days of your asking us to delete it. Server logs are kept for a short period for security and diagnostics, then discarded.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to see the personal information we hold about you, to correct it, to have it deleted, to object to how we use it, or to receive a copy in a portable form. Ask us at harfredlabs@gmail.com and we will respond within the time your local law requires — and in any case within 30 days.
Much of this you can do yourself: deleting the app removes local data, and where the app offers an account you can delete it from within the app.
Security
Data sent between the app and our servers travels over an encrypted connection (HTTPS), and data we store on your behalf is encrypted at rest. No system is perfectly secure, so we do not claim otherwise — but we keep the amount of information we hold small, which is the most effective protection available.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy we will update this page and the date at the top. If a change materially affects how we use your information, we will tell you in the app before it takes effect.
Contact
Puddle Patrol is published by Jeremy Marks. For any privacy question, or to exercise any right above, write to harfredlabs@gmail.com.