Privacy Policy
This policy explains what information the Pawdub: Funny Pet Translator app ("Pawdub", "the app") uses, why, and the choices you have. Pawdub is published on Google Play by Hartmann Studios ("we", "us"). If you have questions, open an issue on GitHub.
Camera, microphone and on-device processing
- When they are used: the camera and microphone are used only while the dub camera (or another screen that records or previews a dub) is open. The app asks for both permissions the first time you start dubbing, and you can turn them off at any time in Android Settings. The app does not listen in the background.
- On-device sound detection: while the dub screen is open, short slices of microphone audio are analyzed in memory by a sound-recognition model that ships inside the app, to recognize sounds such as barks, meows, growls and purrs. The audio is not sent anywhere for this.
- On-device image processing: camera frames are analyzed on your phone by Google ML Kit models (image labeling, object detection and tracking, and subject segmentation for cutouts) to notice whether a pet is in frame, read the scene, follow your pet with a speech bubble, and cut your pet out for stickers. No frames are sent to us, to Google or to anyone else for this.
- Videos you pick: if you dub an existing video, Android's system photo picker opens and the app receives only the video you select. Its audio and frames are processed on your phone in the same way.
- Not a translation: the subtitles are lines written in advance for each persona and chosen by the app; the app does not interpret what your pet means.
- Pet voice: lines read aloud use your phone's built-in text-to-speech engine.
Subtitle languages (Google ML Kit Translation)
Subtitles are translated on your phone with Google ML Kit's on-device translation. The first time you choose a language, the app downloads that language's model from Google's servers (once per language). This download is a normal network request, so Google receives standard technical information such as your IP address and which model is requested. The text being translated is not sent; translation happens on your phone and works offline once the model is downloaded. You can remove downloaded languages in the app's Settings.
What is stored on your phone
- Clips you record or export, their subtitles, your pet profiles (name, species, an optional photo), favourite lines, the bark diary and your settings are stored in the app's private storage on your phone. Exported videos and stickers you save go to your phone's gallery.
- Other apps cannot read the app's private storage.
- Sharing is up to you: a video, image or sticker leaves your phone only if you share or save it yourself. It then goes wherever you send it and is handled by that app or person.
Advertising (Google AdMob)
The free version shows ads from Google AdMob. Ads are never shown on the camera screen. To show and measure ads, the Google Mobile Ads SDK collects and shares with Google:
- your device's advertising ID and other device identifiers;
- IP address (which can indicate approximate location), device model, operating system and app information;
- ad interactions (for example, ad views and taps) and diagnostic data about ad performance.
Google uses this information as described in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services and the Google Privacy Policy. AdMob never receives your audio, video, clips or pet profiles.
Your choices: you can reset or delete your advertising ID, or opt out of personalized ads, in Android Settings → Privacy → Ads (on some devices: Settings → Google → Ads). You can also manage ad personalization at My Ad Center. If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, the app asks for your consent through Google's consent message (User Messaging Platform) before personalized ads are shown, and you can change your choice later in the app's Settings → Privacy choices. Pro removes ads.
Purchases (Google Play Billing)
Pro and add-on packs are sold through Google Play Billing. Google processes your payment; we never receive your card number or billing details. Google provides the app with the purchase status (such as which plan or pack is active and a purchase token) so the app can unlock it on your device. Google's handling of payment information is covered by the Google Privacy Policy and the Google Payments Privacy Notice.
What we do not collect
- We do not receive or store your audio, video, photos, clips, subtitles or pet profiles.
- We do not require or create an account, and we do not collect your name, email address, contacts or precise location through the app.
- The app contains no analytics SDK and we run no servers that receive data from it.
- We do not sell your personal information.
Support requests are handled through GitHub Issues. Issues are public and are hosted by GitHub under GitHub's privacy statement, so please don't include videos, personal information or purchase details in an issue. We use what you post only to answer it, and you can ask us to delete an issue you opened.
Security
Your clips and profiles stay in the app's private storage, which other apps cannot read. Communication between the app and Google's ad, billing and language-download services is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS). No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, so please keep your phone protected with a screen lock.
Data retention and deletion
- Clips, profiles and settings stay on your phone until you delete them.
- Delete a clip from your library, or everything at once in the app: Settings → Delete all data. Deleting removes it from your phone immediately.
- Uninstalling the app, or clearing its storage in Android Settings → Apps → Pawdub → Storage → Clear storage, deletes all of the app's data. Videos you exported to your gallery are your own files and stay until you delete them there.
- Because we never receive your audio, video or profiles, there is nothing on our side to delete. Data collected by Google AdMob is retained by Google under its own policies.
More detail is on our data deletion page.
Children
Pawdub is intended for users aged 13 and older. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us information (for example, in a support issue), open an issue on GitHub without including the information itself and we will delete it.
Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example, under the GDPR in Europe or state privacy laws in the United States such as California's CCPA/CPRA), you may have the right to access, correct or delete personal information, or to object to or limit certain processing. The audio, video and profiles the app uses never leave your phone and are under your control there. For anything else, open an issue on GitHub (please don't post personal data publicly; describe your request and we will follow up) and we will respond within 30 days. For data held by Google, use the tools linked above.
For fun
Pawdub is an entertainment app. It detects sounds and scenes, but it does not understand or translate what your pet means, and it makes no claims about your pet's emotions, health or behaviour.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will post the new version on this page and update the date above. Significant changes will also be noted in the app's release notes.
Contact
Hartmann Studios
Support and privacy requests: open an issue on GitHub (please don't post personal data publicly)
Website: https://chartmann1590.github.io/pawdub-site/