1. Information We Collect

When you use Bark Dating, we collect the following information:

• Account information: Your name, email address, and password when you sign up, or profile data from Google if you use OAuth.
• Dog photos and details: Photos you upload of your dog, along with breed, size, age, and name.
• Profile information: Your bio, location, and discovery preferences (age range, distance, preferred dog sizes).
• Usage data: Interactions with the discovery feed, messages sent, and hint session progress.
• Payment information: Subscription and payment data processed through Stripe. We do not store your full card details.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Operate the dog assignment and discovery mechanics.
• Generate AI personality blurbs for dogs using third-party AI services.
• Facilitate chat between dog owners and current holders.
• Process payments and manage subscriptions.
• Provide progressive hints to help you find your dog in the feed.
• Improve the app experience and fix issues.

3. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate the app:

• Cloudinary: Stores and serves dog photos you upload.
• Stripe: Processes subscription payments securely.
• Google OAuth: Provides sign-in authentication if you choose to log in with Google.
• Anthropic (Claude): Generates AI personality blurbs for dog profiles.

Each service has its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review them.

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We share data only as necessary to operate the service (with the third-party providers listed above) or when required by law.

Other users can see your dog's photos, name, and AI-generated personality blurb in the discovery feed. Your personal profile photo is only revealed after meaningful chat exchange, in line with our privacy-first design.

5. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will remove your personal data and dog photos within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal or operational purposes.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Request deletion of your account and data.
• Withdraw consent for data processing at any time.

7. Security

We use industry-standard security measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections, secure password hashing, and access controls. However, no system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting a notice in the app.

9. Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at privacy@bark.dating