Catlingo — Privacy Policy

Effective date: 19 September 2026

Catlingo (the “app”) interprets your cat. You point your phone’s camera at your cat and the app reads its body language and sounds, then writes a short, playful line in your cat’s voice together with the cues it was based on. This policy explains what data the app collects, where it goes, and your rights over it.

1. Who we are

The data controller is Adam Ayuda, an individual operator. Contact: yucat.app@gmail.com.

2. Data we collect

The app does not ask for your name, email address or phone number. You are signed in anonymously with a random identifier created on first launch. The data associated with that identifier is:

• Video and audio clips. While a listening session is running, the app records short clips (about three seconds each, for at most one minute per session) through the camera and microphone. Each clip is sent over an encrypted connection to our server and on to an AI model so that it can be read. Clips are not saved to your photo library, are deleted from your device as soon as they have been sent, and are not stored by us — see section 4. Whatever is in front of the camera or within earshot during a session, including people and voices, is part of the clip.
• Cat profile. What you tell us about your cat: name, sex, life stage, whether it is neutered, indoor/outdoor, how talkative it is, a personality type, and an optional short note about its quirks. These are sent with each clip so the reading and its wording fit your cat, along with the app’s language and the local hour of day.
• Cat photo. An optional profile photo, stored in your account and shown only to you. It is never sent to the AI model.
• Usage counter. How many readings your account has requested today, to enforce a daily limit.
• Subscription status, if you subscribe.
• Usage and diagnostic data. In-app events (screens viewed, buttons used, session length, errors), device model, OS and app version, tied to your anonymous identifier. Your cat’s name, its quirks note and its photo are never included in analytics events.
• Session replay. For some sessions, a reconstruction of what the app’s screens showed, to help us find usability problems. The camera view and images are masked and what you type is masked; on-screen text such as your cat’s name can be visible.

The app does not collect your location, contacts, calendar, browsing history or advertising identifiers, and contains no advertising.

3. How we use the data

• To read a clip and return your cat’s state, a caption and the evidence behind it.
• To store your cats’ profiles.
• To enforce fair-use limits and prevent abuse.
• To manage your subscription.
• To understand how the app is used, and to find and fix bugs.

We do not sell personal data, do not use it for advertising, and do not use your clips to train AI models.

4. Service providers

• Google LLC — Firebase Anonymous Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions and Remote Config host your anonymous account, cat profiles and photo and run our server. The Gemini API receives each clip and the cat profile described above and returns the reading. We request that the content is not stored; Google processes it under its API terms. Our own server keeps no copy of a clip. Server logs record technical details of each request and the resulting reading; they are kept for a limited period for debugging.
• Mixpanel, Inc. — product analytics and session replay, as described in section 2.
• RevenueCat, Inc. and Apple Inc. — manage and validate in-app subscriptions. Payment is handled by Apple through your App Store account; we never receive your payment-card details.

5. Legal basis

Where data-protection law applies, we process personal data on the basis of performance of a contract (providing the app to you), your consent (granting camera and microphone access and starting a session, entering your cat’s details), and our legitimate interest in operating, securing and improving the service. You can withdraw camera or microphone access at any time in your device’s Settings.

6. Retention

Clips are not retained by us. Cat profiles and photos are kept until you delete them or your data. Analytics data is kept for as long as needed for the purposes above.

7. Deleting your data and your rights

You can erase everything we hold for you from inside the app: Profile → Delete my data. This permanently deletes your cats, their photos, your usage counter and your anonymous account from our servers. Deleting the app alone does not do this. A subscription is managed by Apple and must be cancelled in your App Store account settings.

Subject to applicable law you also have the right to access, correct, restrict or object to the processing of your personal data, and to data portability. Because your account is anonymous, include enough detail for us to locate your data. Email yucat.app@gmail.com; we respond within 30 days.

8. Children

Catlingo is not directed to children and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children.

9. Security

Data is transmitted over TLS. Your data is stored in Google’s managed Firebase infrastructure with access rules so that an account can only reach its own data. The AI service key is held on our server, never in the app.

10. International transfers

Our processors (Google, Mixpanel, RevenueCat, Apple) may process data outside your country, including in the United States. Each operates under its own data-protection terms and standard contractual clauses.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. The current version is always at this URL, with the effective date at the top.

12. Contact

Questions or requests: yucat.app@gmail.com.