Privacy Policy
Last updated: 23 August 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how BTechnology GmbH ("we", "us") handles information in connection with the DogWOW mobile app ("the App"). We designed DogWOW to collect as little personal data as possible.
1. Controller
2. Data we process
Data stored on your device
Your dog's profile (name, breed, age, size class, optional photo), your reaction history, your bark journal, your own recorded sounds, your videos, usage counters, app settings and language preference are stored locally on your device. Your dog's profile photo never leaves your device. Name, breed, age and size class are sent to our trainer server only when you use the AI trainer (see below).
AI trainer (our server and OpenAI)
When you use the in-app trainer, your question, your dog's profile (name, breed, age, size class) and the last few messages of the conversation are sent to our own server (api.dogwow.app, hosted by Hetzner Online GmbH in Falkenstein, Germany). Our server forwards the conversation to OpenAI, L.L.C. (USA) to generate the answer and to classify the topic of your question. If you attach a photo to a question, that photo is sent along for this one question only and is not stored by us. OpenAI does not use data sent via its API to train its models.
Our server keeps a topic label (for example "leash pulling") together with a pseudonymous hash for 12 months, so we learn which topics matter to DogWOW users. The full conversation is stored only if you switch on "Share chats anonymously" in Settings > AI & data; those conversations are kept under a pseudonymous hash for 90 days and used to improve the trainer. You can switch sharing off at any time. Daily usage counters (how many questions per day) are kept for 30 days. Please do not enter personal data about people in the trainer. Answers are generated by AI and do not replace a veterinarian.
Bark translator (microphone, our server and OpenAI)
The bark translator uses the microphone. Your phone first checks the recording locally and cuts it down to the loudest part, at most about 10 seconds. That clip, together with a few measurements the phone computed (pitch, tempo, loudness), your dog's profile (name, breed, age, size class) and your app language, is sent to our own server (api.dogwow.app, hosted by Hetzner Online GmbH in Falkenstein, Germany). Our server forwards the clip to OpenAI, L.L.C. (USA) to generate the translation. If you continue the conversation with your dog in the app, those messages are sent the same way. OpenAI does not use data sent via its API to train its models. Without an internet connection, a simpler analysis runs on your device instead.
We keep the clip, the measurements, the generated answer, the conversation and your thumbs-up or thumbs-down under a pseudonymous hash for 180 days to evaluate and improve the translator. No name and no account data are stored with it. The app tells you this before your first recording. Please avoid recording conversations of other people; the clip is meant to contain your dog. Deleting your account deletes your clips at once. Daily usage counters (how many translations per day) are kept for 30 days.
"Your voice" (microphone)
"Your voice" uses the microphone to record your own sounds. These recordings are processed on your device only and never leave your phone.
In-app feedback
Feedback you send from Settings > Feedback goes to our own server without any user identifier and is kept for 24 months. Please do not include personal data.
Purchases & subscriptions
Purchases are processed by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play). We never receive your payment details. We use a subscription management provider (RevenueCat) to verify whether you have an active trial or subscription, using a randomly generated, non-identifying app user ID.
Analytics & advertising
To improve the App and to measure and optimise our marketing campaigns, we use analytics and advertising measurement services:
- PostHog (EU cloud, Frankfurt) for product analytics (which features are used), under a pseudonymous identifier that is also used by our subscription provider RevenueCat, so we can understand which features lead to subscriptions. Free text you enter in the App and the content of trainer conversations are never sent to PostHog; for the trainer, PostHog only receives the topic label.
- Meta Platforms (Facebook SDK and Conversions API) for advertising attribution, to understand whether one of our ads led you to install the App and how our campaigns perform. The App reports events such as install, app launch, trial start and subscription to Meta; trial and subscription events are transmitted server-side via our subscription provider RevenueCat.
When you consent to tracking, Meta may receive your device's advertising identifier (the IDFA on iOS, the Advertising ID on Android) together with device and app information and the events listed above, in order to attribute and optimise campaigns. On iOS this identifier is only used if you allow it via the App Tracking Transparency prompt; we also use Apple's privacy-preserving SKAdNetwork, which works without identifying you. Without your consent, events are reported without the advertising identifier. You can decline tracking and change your choice anytime in your device settings (iOS: Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking; Android: Settings > Google > Ads, where you can also delete your Advertising ID). If we work with additional advertising partners (such as TikTok or Google) in the future, the same rules apply. We never sell your personal data.
Website analytics (dogwow.app)
Our website uses Google Analytics (provided by Google Ireland Ltd.) to measure how the site is used so we can improve it. Analytics cookies are set only after you accept them via the cookie banner; you can decline, and you can withdraw your consent anytime by clearing the site data in your browser. Some data may be transferred to Google. Legal basis: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).
Notifications
If you allow notifications, we may send optional reminders. You can turn them off anytime in your device settings.
Diagnostics
We may collect anonymous crash and performance diagnostics to keep the App stable.
3. Permissions
- Microphone: to record your dog's bark for the translator (a clip of up to about 10 seconds is sent to our server, see above), to record your own voice sounds, and for sound in your videos. Voice sounds and video audio stay on your device.
- Camera: only to record videos of your dog. Videos stay on your device unless you share them yourself.
- Photos: to let you choose a picture of your dog (stored locally) or to attach a photo to a trainer question (sent for that question only).
- Notifications: optional reminders.
- Tracking (iOS): optional, only with your consent.
4. How we share data
We share data only with service providers and partners that help us operate, measure and promote the App: Apple, Google, our subscription provider (RevenueCat), our analytics provider (PostHog), our hosting provider for the trainer server (Hetzner Online GmbH, Germany), OpenAI (USA) for generating trainer answers and bark translations, and our advertising partner (Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd.), which receives app events for campaign attribution as described above. Transfers to OpenAI in the USA rely on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. We do not sell your personal data.
5. Legal bases (GDPR)
We process data to perform our contract with you (providing the App, subscriptions, the AI trainer and the bark translator; Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR), based on your consent (tracking, notifications, storing full trainer conversations; Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), and based on our legitimate interest in a stable, improving product, which includes keeping bark clips for 180 days to evaluate and improve the translator (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
6. Your rights
You have the right to access, correct, delete and port your data, to withdraw consent at any time, and to object to or restrict processing. Because most data lives only on your device, deleting the App removes it. Data on our trainer server is stored under a pseudonymous hash and is deleted automatically after the retention periods below. To exercise any right, contact contact@dogwow.app. You may also lodge a complaint with a data protection authority.
7. Data retention
On-device data remains until you delete it or uninstall the App. Subscription status is kept for the duration of your subscription plus any legally required period. On our trainer server: topic labels 12 months, full conversations (only with your consent) 90 days, daily usage counters 30 days, in-app feedback 24 months.
8. Children
DogWOW is not directed at children and is intended for users aged 16 and over.
9. Changes
We may update this policy. Material changes will be posted here with a new "last updated" date.