Privacy Policy
Effective July 23, 2026
Puppy Pals is a location-sharing app for dog owners that lets you check into dog parks, see which friends are nearby, and coordinate meetups. This privacy policy describes how we collect, use, and protect your information in the Puppy Pals mobile app.
Who we are. Puppy Pals is operated by Fehr Play Labs LLC ("Puppy Pals," "we," "us," or "our"), located at 5441 S Macadam Ave STE N, Portland, OR 97239. If you have any questions about this policy or your data, you can reach us at the contact details in Section 11.
1. Information We Collect
| Category | Data | How Collected | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account | Email address, display name, password (email signup) OR Google account email, display name, profile photo (Google Sign-In) | User-provided at signup or via Google OAuth | Yes |
| Dog Profiles | Dog name, breed, birthday, size, energy level, bio, play style tags (up to 5) | User-provided | Yes (core profile) |
| Photos | Profile photo per dog, gallery photos (up to 10 per dog) | User-uploaded via camera or gallery | Optional |
| Location | GPS coordinates, associated park, session duration | Device GPS, only during active check-ins | Yes (for check-in feature) |
| Social | Friend connections, friend requests, PuppyTags (DogName#1234) | User-initiated actions | Optional |
| Activity History | Check-in history (parks, walks, timestamps, duration), visited parks, and derived statistics (streaks, favorite park, totals) | Generated automatically from your check-ins | Automatic (core feature) |
| Custom Parks | Park name and GPS location for parks you create | User-created | Optional |
| Push Notifications | Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) device token and platform (iOS/Android) | Automatic when you enable notifications | Optional |
| Local Preferences | Onboarding completion flags | Stored on-device only (never sent to servers) | Automatic |
2. How We Use Your Information
- Core functionality: Check-ins, friend discovery, dog profiles, and park occupancy.
- Friend visibility: Display your dog's profile and check-in status to your friends.
- Park discovery: Show your dog's profile (name, photo, breed, approximate age, and a mutual-friend count) to other checked-in users at the same park (park check-ins only). Your precise coordinates are not shared with non-friends.
- Activity statistics: Track your check-in history and visited parks to power personal statistics such as streaks and your favorite park.
- Push notifications: Send friend check-in alerts when you opt in per friend.
- In-app notifications: Deliver "Heading your way!" alerts between friends.
- Account security: Protect the app against abuse and automated access (see Section 9).
3. Location Data
Your location privacy is central to how Puppy Pals works:
- Active only. Location is collected only during check-ins that you explicitly start. There is no background location tracking and no passive location sharing — the app requests only "while in use" (foreground) location access.
- Timed sessions. Every check-in automatically expires. Park check-ins also end automatically when you leave the park area.
- Friend visibility. During park check-ins, your precise location is visible to your friends, and a limited profile summary is visible to other users checked into the same park. During walk check-ins, your location is visible to friends only.
- Auto check-out. If you disable GPS or sign out, your check-in ends automatically.
- Ephemeral data. Check-in location data is deleted from the server when you check out or your session expires.
- Stale data cleanup. A heartbeat system detects and removes ghost check-ins from apps that were force-closed, typically within 10 minutes.
We do not track your location in the background, sell location data, or build location histories. (We do retain a record of which parks you have visited and when, to power your personal statistics — see Section 1. This is park-level, not continuous location tracking.)
4. Data Sharing and Third Parties
Services We Use
| Service | Provider | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Firebase Authentication | Account creation and sign-in (email/password and Google Sign-In) | |
| Google Sign-In | OAuth authentication when you choose "Continue with Google" | |
| Cloud Firestore | Database for profiles, friends, and check-ins | |
| Firebase Storage | Profile and gallery photo hosting | |
| Firebase Cloud Messaging | Push notifications | |
| Firebase Cloud Functions | Server-side notification delivery and park discovery | |
| Firebase App Check | App integrity / anti-abuse verification | |
| Mapbox | Mapbox, Inc. | Map rendering |
| CartoDB / OpenStreetMap | CARTO / OpenStreetMap contributors | Map tile rendering (fallback) |
Your data processed by Firebase is governed by Google's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Maps are rendered using Mapbox. When the map is displayed, your device contacts Mapbox's servers to load map data, and your IP address and the approximate map area you are viewing are visible to Mapbox as part of that request. Mapbox's handling of this data is governed by the Mapbox Privacy Policy. In some configurations, map tiles may instead be loaded from CartoDB's CDN; in that case your IP address is visible to the tile server during map use. No account or profile data is sent to map providers.
What We Do Not Do
- No analytics SDKs. We do not use Google Analytics, Firebase Analytics, Firebase Crashlytics, or any third-party analytics or tracking tools.
- No advertising. The app contains no ads and no advertising SDKs. If advertising is introduced in the future, this policy will be updated and users will be notified.
- No data sales. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to anyone, ever.
5. Data Retention
- Account and profile data is retained until you request deletion.
- Check-in location data is ephemeral and deleted when you check out or your session expires.
- Check-in history, visited parks, and statistics are retained until you delete your account.
- Photos are stored until you delete them or request account deletion.
- FCM tokens are refreshed automatically by the device. Stale tokens are cleaned up by the server.
- Friend connections are retained until you remove them or request account deletion.
6. Data Deletion and Your Rights
You can delete your account directly in the app: Profile → Delete Account. This immediately and permanently removes your personal data, including:
- Your Firebase Authentication account (email, display name, profile photo)
- All profile data and dog profiles in Cloud Firestore, including your private contact record
- All photos in Firebase Storage
- Any PuppyTag records, notification subscriptions, and FCM device tokens
- Your check-in history, visited-park records, and personal statistics
- All friend records (both sides), friend requests, and "heading here" notifications
- Any active check-in location data and the salted email hash used to prevent duplicate accounts
Deletion is instant and cannot be undone.
One exception: if you have created any custom parks, those parks remain on the map for other users after your account is deleted, but they are anonymized — your identity as the creator is removed. This preserves shared map data for the community. No personal information about you remains attached to them.
You can also request deletion by emailing the contact address in Section 11. Email requests will be fulfilled within 30 days.
7. Age Requirement
Puppy Pals is intended for users 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we become aware that a person under 18 has provided us with personal information, we will promptly delete it. If you believe someone under 18 is using the app, please contact us at the email in Section 11.
8. Friend Discovery and Email
When you create an account, we store your email address privately in a record that only you can access, and we keep a one-way, salted SHA-256 hash of your email. The hash lets the system recognize an email that is already registered (to prevent duplicate or fraudulent accounts) without storing your email in a searchable, plain-text form. Your email address is never exposed to other users, and other users cannot look you up by email. Friends are added by PuppyTag (a shareable handle like DogName#1234) or by tapping "Add" on someone checked into the same park as you.
9. Data Security
- All data is transmitted over HTTPS/TLS encryption. The app is configured to reject non-encrypted (cleartext) connections.
- Firebase Security Rules restrict database and storage access to authenticated users and enforce ownership — you can only read and modify your own data, and your live location is readable only by you and your confirmed friends.
- Discovery of other users at your park runs through a secure server function that verifies you are actually checked into that same park and never returns other users' precise coordinates.
- Firebase App Check (Play Integrity on Android, App Attest on iOS) is used to help verify that requests come from a genuine, untampered copy of the app.
- Passwords are handled entirely by Firebase Authentication and are never stored in our database.
- Your email address is stored in an owner-only record and indexed only as a salted hash, so it is never held in a plain-text, searchable form.
- On-device backups are disabled so your app data is not copied into device or cloud backups.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated policy with a new effective date. Your continued use of the app after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
Material changes — such as introducing advertising or new categories of data collection — will be communicated with a prominent notice.
This policy and any dispute relating to it are governed by the laws of the State of Oregon, United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.
11. Contact Us
If you have questions about this privacy policy or your data, contact us at:
Fehr Play Labs LLC
5441 S Macadam Ave STE N, Portland, OR 97239
info.puppypals.app@gmail.com