Last updated: 17 October 2026
The short version: Dote has no accounts and no servers of its own. Everything you record about your pet stays on your iPhone. Camera video and sound are analysed on the iPhone and never uploaded. Reminders are scheduled on the iPhone itself, and a memorial for a pet who has died is kept only on the iPhone. We collect no personal data and use no tracking, analytics or ads. If Dote crashes, an anonymous crash report is sent so we can fix it (section 10).
We do not collect or store on any server:
Breathing estimates, body measurements (LiDAR), walk checks, sound detection, sticker cut-outs, photo suggestions, translation and Apple Intelligence features all run on your iPhone using Apple frameworks (Vision, ARKit, SoundAnalysis, Foundation Models, Image Playground, Apple's Translation). Apple Intelligence features use the on-device model. No external AI service or cloud processing is used.
When you pick a photo, iOS shows only the photos you choose. Dote can add portraits and cards you choose to save to your photo library. Photos you add to Dote stay in the app on your iPhone.
Location is used only when you tap "Find an emergency vet near me", to find nearby vets with Apple Maps, and, if you turn on Walk weather for a dog, to get the local weather from Apple Weather (WeatherKit). Your location is sent to Apple to perform that search or forecast, as with any Apple Maps or Apple Weather request, and is not stored or shared by Dote. Walk weather is off until you turn it on, and you can hide it at any time. See Apple's privacy policy.
Some features download public information. Nothing that identifies you or your pet is sent, and Dote has no server of its own:
As with any website, these services see your internet address when your iPhone connects. See the FDA's website policies.
Purchases are handled by Apple through StoreKit. We never see your payment details or Apple Account information. Subscription status is checked on your device.
Dote uses local notifications only. There is no push server, and no notification content is sent to us. Notifications are scheduled on your iPhone for:
Dote asks for permission before sending notifications, and you can change this at any time in Settings → Notifications → Dote. Widgets and Siri / Shortcuts features share data with the app through Apple's on-device App Group storage only.
When you give a pet a memorial date, checks stop and the pet gets a memorial space in the app: their sticker breathing at their last recorded rate, a daily candle, their photos, a memory book (PDF) and a keepsake card. All of this is made from data already on your iPhone, and the candles you light are stored only on your iPhone. Nothing is uploaded. The memory book and keepsake card leave your iPhone only if you share or save them yourself.
Your iPhone's own backups (iCloud or computer) include Dote's data, under Apple's privacy terms. When you export a backup, share a pet with family, or share a card or report, a file is created on your iPhone and goes only where you choose to send it.
Backup and family-share files (.dote) are encrypted on your iPhone with AES-256-GCM, using a key derived from a password you choose (PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256), with Apple's built-in cryptography. Without the password the file can't be read, and any change to it stops it from opening. The password is never stored or sent anywhere, so we can't recover it. Files you import are checked before anything is saved.
Apple Watch. Pet names, stickers and medicines sync only to your paired Apple Watch, directly from your iPhone through Apple's Watch Connectivity.
Dote contains no analytics or advertising SDKs and shows no ads.
Crash reports. Dote uses Sentry only to learn about crashes. A report is sent only after a real crash, the next time you open the app. It contains the error and where in the code it happened, the app version, the iPhone model and iOS version, the technical state of the device at the crash (for example free memory and storage), and the names of the screens and buttons used just before (screen titles that contain a pet's name are removed). It contains no name, email, IP address, location, photos, recordings or pet records, and no install or user identifier (these are removed before sending). It isn't linked to you and isn't used for tracking. Nothing is sent when Dote works normally: no usage data, screenshots, session replays, performance data or client reports.
Crash reports are processed by Sentry (Functional Software, Inc., USA), which keeps them for a limited time (up to 90 days under Sentry's standard data retention) and then deletes them. You can turn crash reports off at any time in Dote: Settings → Privacy → Send crash reports (on by default).
If you have chosen to share analytics with app developers in iOS settings, Apple may also provide us with aggregated, anonymous crash reports through App Store Connect.
All data stays on your iPhone until you delete it. You can delete a pet (and all its records, reminders and memorial) inside the app, or delete Dote to remove everything. We hold none of your data on servers of our own. The only copies kept elsewhere are crash reports, if Dote has crashed: Sentry keeps them for a limited time and then deletes them, and they can't be linked to you.
Dote collects no personal data from anyone, including children.
Dote is not a medical device and does not diagnose. Readings are observations to discuss with your vet.
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new "Last updated" date.
Questions about privacy?
Email us at hello@escapethematrix.app