Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Sniffari (“Sniffari”, “we”, “us”, “our”) provides the Sniffari mobile app and this website. We are the “data controller” for the personal data described in this policy, which means we decide how and why it is processed. This policy is written to meet the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you have any questions about this policy or your data, contact us at support@sniffariapp.uk.

2. The information we collect

Account and profile

• Sign-in details. When you sign in with Apple or with an email address, we receive an identifier for your account and, if you choose to share it, your name and email address. Sign in with Apple lets you hide your email using Apple’s private relay.
• Profile. A nickname/handle and, optionally, a profile photo you upload.

Your dogs

• Details you add about your dogs — name, breed, date of birth and photos.
• Optional care records you choose to keep — weight entries, medication reminders and vet appointments.

Walks and location

• Location data. With your permission, we use your device’s precise location to record your walk route, distance, duration and pace, and to show nearby routes and dog-friendly places. If you enable background location, we can keep recording a walk while the app is not on screen. You can turn location access off at any time in your iPhone Settings.
• Walk history you save in the app, including routes, times and any notes or photos.

Health data

If you connect Sniffari to Apple Health, we read and/or write walk-related activity data (such as walking workouts and distance) only with your explicit permission, to reflect your walks in your health record. Health data is never used for advertising and is never sold or shared with third parties for their own purposes. You can revoke access at any time in the Health app.

Content you create and share

• Posts, photos, comments, likes, follows, blocks and saved/favourite items you create in the community and social feeds.
• Dog-friendly places and hazard reports you submit, and routes you tag — these help other users and appear on the shared map.

Device and technical data

• A push-notification token so we can send notifications you’ve enabled (for example when someone interacts with your posts).
• Your in-app settings and preferences.
• Basic technical information needed to operate the app reliably, such as app version and error/diagnostic information.

Advertising

Sniffari is free and may show ads. On first launch, iOS asks whether you allow tracking (Apple’s App Tracking Transparency). If you allow it, advertising partners may use your device’s advertising identifier to show more relevant ads and measure them. If you decline, you’ll still see ads, just less personalised. You can change this any time in iPhone Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.

3. How we use your information

• To provide and operate the app — recording walks, the map, and the community feeds.
• To sync your data across your devices and back it up so you don’t lose it.
• To send notifications and reminders you have turned on.
• To keep Sniffari safe — moderating content, handling reports, and preventing abuse.
• To understand how the app is used so we can fix problems and improve it.
• To show ads that keep the app free (see “Advertising” above).
• To meet our legal obligations and enforce our terms.

4. Our legal bases (UK GDPR)

• Contract — to provide the app and features you ask for, such as an account and walk tracking.
• Consent — for precise location, Apple Health access, push notifications and personalised advertising. You can withdraw consent at any time.
• Legitimate interests — to keep the service secure, prevent abuse, and improve the app, balanced against your rights.
• Legal obligation — where we must retain or disclose information by law.

5. Public content and the community map

Some things you do in Sniffari are public by design. Posts, comments, profile handle, dog-friendly places and hazard reports can be seen by other users. Completed walk routes that you share to the community map are shared anonymously — they are not linked to your profile or identity. Please don’t share anything you wouldn’t want others to see, and be mindful of revealing sensitive locations such as your home.

6. Who we share data with

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with service providers who process it on our behalf, and only as needed to run Sniffari:

• Supabase — our hosting, database and file-storage provider, which stores your account, content and app data.
• Apple — for Sign in with Apple, push notifications, Apple Health, iCloud/CloudKit backup and App Store services.
• Mapbox — to display maps and power place/route search; searches and the map area you view are sent to Mapbox to return results.
• Advertising partners — if you allow tracking, to show and measure ads.

We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect our rights or users’ safety, or as part of a business transfer (for example a merger or acquisition).

7. International transfers

Some of our providers may store or process data outside the UK. Where that happens, we rely on appropriate safeguards — such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or an adequacy decision — so your data stays protected.

8. How long we keep it

We keep your personal data for as long as your account is active and as long as we need it for the purposes above. If you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal data within a reasonable period, except where we must keep some information to comply with the law or resolve disputes. Anonymised community-map routes may remain, as they are not linked to you.

9. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• access a copy of your personal data;
• correct inaccurate data;
• delete your data (“right to be forgotten”);
• restrict or object to certain processing;
• portability — receive your data in a usable format;
• withdraw consent at any time, without affecting earlier processing.

You can delete your account and data from within the app, or email support@sniffariapp.uk and we’ll help. If you’re unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk, though we’d appreciate the chance to put things right first.

10. Security

We use technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit and access controls on our backend. No system is completely secure, but we work to keep your information safe and to respond quickly to any issues.

11. Children

Sniffari is not intended for children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect data from them. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us and we’ll remove it.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we’ll update the date above and, where appropriate, let you know in the app. Continuing to use Sniffari after an update means you accept the revised policy.

13. Contact us

Questions about privacy or your data? Email support@sniffariapp.uk.