FurSense

Effective date: 23 September 2026

Last updated: 23 September 2026

Privacy Policy

1. Scope and who is responsible

This Privacy Policy covers:

1. FurSense, the iOS app for dog owners (“Owner App”); and

2. FurSense Vet, the invitation-only iOS app for contracted veterinary professionals (“Vet App”).

In this policy, “FurSense,” “we,” “us,” or “our” means the operator of the FurSense apps. Email contact@fursense.tech for the legal name and postal address. Apple, Google, weather, map, and external-content providers may act as independent controllers or processors for their own services under their terms.

The Owner App is an informational pet-care, record-keeping, and communication tool. It is not a medical device or emergency service. The Vet App supports an asynchronous professional review workflow for eligible cases; availability and scope depend on partner, jurisdiction, capacity, and professional judgment.

2. Information processed in the Owner App

Depending on the features you use, the Owner App may process:

  • account identifiers from Firebase Authentication and, when chosen, Sign in with Apple;
  • the name and email Apple makes available, including an Apple private-relay address;
  • dog profiles, photographs, breed, age, sex, weight, microchip and care details;
  • owner-entered observations, symptoms, medications, vaccinations, nutrition, stool, grooming, behaviour, goals, vet visits, documents, reminders, and notes;
  • walk routes, distance, duration, movement-support signals, weather snapshots, and owner observations;
  • scanner inputs and results, learning progress, external-video history and preferences, Calm Lab records, Sound Guard measurements, and generated reports;
  • StoreKit subscription product and entitlement status, transaction evidence used for verification, and account-level free-use counts;
  • support communications and optional crash diagnostics; and
  • notification installation identifiers and push tokens when notifications are enabled.

Most owner records are held in the app using Apple SwiftData. Eligible records may sync through the device user’s private iCloud CloudKit container when iCloud is available. CloudKit sync is separate from the FurSense Firebase account.

3. Accounts, Firebase, and cloud services

The Owner App supports Sign in with Apple and a more limited anonymous Firebase guest session. Apple-linked identity is required for workflows that need a durable verified account, including Veterinary Review submission.

FurSense uses Firebase services in the barklense-prod project, including:

  • Firebase Authentication for owner and professional sessions;
  • Cloud Functions for authenticated backend operations, StoreKit verification, cloud-AI requests, external search, account export/deletion, notifications, and the veterinary workflow;
  • Cloud Firestore for account projections, entitlements, request counters, notification-device records, and veterinary-case records;
  • Cloud Storage for selected Veterinary Review evidence and response PDFs;
  • Firebase App Check / App Attest to help distinguish authorized app requests;
  • Firebase Cloud Messaging and APNs for enabled notifications; and
  • Firebase Crashlytics, only when the relevant app user has opted in.

The Vet App has a separate Firebase iOS app registration and uses professional email/password authentication, mandatory authenticator-based multi-factor handling, server-issued roles, clinic membership, licence, contract, jurisdiction, and assignment checks. There is no public professional registration in the Vet App.

4. Cloud AI and just-in-time choice

FurSense uses managed Google Gemini services through authenticated Firebase Cloud Functions for specific features. The applicable in-app disclosure identifies the provider, payload, purpose, limitations, and retention before a request is sent where versioned just-in-time consent is used.

Toxin barcode fallback: Barcodes are sent to Open Food Facts and, when needed, UPC Item DB and Open Beauty Facts. If there is no usable product match, separate versioned consent permits sending only the barcode and a fixed product-identification instruction to Gemini. No camera image, dog profile, weight, health record, or location is included. Gemini returns only an unverified product-name suggestion or unknown, not verified ingredients or a safety assessment. FurSense does not intentionally persist barcode content or the response after the request; Firebase retains account-linked rate-limit counters and operational logs. Google processing and retention follow the applicable service terms. Owners can decline without losing local ingredient lookup and revoke barcode AI consent in Settings. Revocation prevents future requests but cannot recall completed processing.

Examples include:

  • Toxin photo lookup: one compressed item photo is sent to obtain an unconfirmed item hypothesis. FurSense then checks the proposed name against a bundled reference. The model does not establish exposure, amount, dose, or safety.
  • Plant photo lookup: one compressed plant photo and a fixed identification instruction are sent to obtain an unconfirmed botanical hypothesis. Toxicity details are shown only after a separate exact-name lookup in the bundled reference.
  • Breed Intelligence: one to three selected compressed photographs are used to return visual breed candidates, not DNA, ancestry, certification, or health screening.
  • Ask FurSense: the question and, when available, selected-dog breed, age, and weight are sent after its processing confirmation. Dog name and local profile identifier are omitted.
  • Veterinary Review: minimized photographs and case context are processed to create private decision support for the assigned verified veterinarian.

For ordinary scanner requests, FurSense does not intentionally persist the submitted photo or model response on its server after the callable request completes. Provider processing and any provider-side retention are governed by the applicable Google service terms and FurSense’s processor arrangements. Locally saved scanner records remain in the Owner App until deleted and may be included in iCloud sync and portable export.

Scanner consent is optional, versioned, can be declined with Not Now, and can be revoked in Owner App Settings. Revocation prevents a new scanner upload until the current disclosure is accepted again; it cannot undo processing already completed.

AI output may be incomplete or wrong. Owner-facing cloud AI is limited to informational text or unconfirmed hypotheses and does not diagnose, prescribe, calculate medication doses, or replace veterinary care.

5. Veterinary cases, evidence, and the private-AI boundary

Veterinary Review is a separate, asynchronous workflow:

  • the owner selects an eligible verified veterinary destination;
  • the owner reviews the case fields and photographs and gives per-case, versioned consent;
  • selected case data and original evidence are stored in Firebase and made available only through the authorized case workflow;
  • Google Gemini processes a minimized copy to create private decision support;
  • the private AI report is available only to the assigned professional after authorization checks;
  • it is not returned through the owner API, owner export, owner notification, or owner PDF; and
  • the owner receives only the veterinarian’s independently authored response and separately generated versioned PDF.

Veterinary responses and corrections use an append-only version history. A professional may request more information or photographs. The service may conclude that evidence is insufficient or that an in-person examination or urgent care is needed.

For new submissions accepted under vet-review-privacy-2, source photographs, reply photographs, and the private AI report remain while the case is under review, awaiting owner information, or finalizing a correction. Once no review is pending, content is scheduled for deletion after 30 days without case updates, unless a different period was displayed before consent. Active cases may therefore retain content longer than 30 days. Case detail shows the current availability and, when applicable, the earliest scheduled removal date.

Earlier consent is not silently upgraded. Cases accepted under the earlier policy keep their original evidence deadline unless the owner explicitly accepts the new policy when rerouting the case. At an earlier-policy deadline, an unfinished review ends before source content is removed; the owner and assigned professional are notified. Previously deleted photographs cannot be restored.

Cleanup removes photograph content and the private AI report, but retains non-image provenance such as capture date, image dimensions, and identifiers. Case metadata, consent evidence, audit history, and veterinarian-authored responses may be retained longer where needed to provide the service, resolve disputes, protect safety, or meet professional or legal record obligations. Failed cleanup remains marked as pending and is retried; no response or source image is represented as available solely because a record exists.

Downloaded owner response PDFs use temporary app storage and are cleaned up by the Owner App. A recipient or another app may keep a copy after the user shares it.

6. Location, maps, weather, and motion

Location is requested only for features that need it:

  • Active Walk Tracker: continuous GPS may run in the background only while an owner has an active walk in progress. Route and walk records are stored in the app and may sync through private CloudKit. Ordinary walk routes are not uploaded to FurSense servers.
  • Weather: coordinates are sent to Open-Meteo when local conditions are requested. FurSense stores a coordinate-free, time-limited weather snapshot in the app rather than the request coordinates.
  • Nearby Vets and maps: coordinates or a selected area may be sent to the applicable Apple mapping or configured place provider to return requested map, route, or nearby-clinic results.

Owner-phone motion and pedometer signals may support active-walk distance, stationary events, and auto-pause and may also support visual effects. They do not measure the dog’s gait. Raw motion samples are processed on device.

7. Camera, microphone, and Sound Guard

The camera supports selected photographs, document capture, barcode scanning, AR or pose-based observation tools, and optional cloud-AI requests. An image remains local unless the user invokes a feature whose disclosure says it will be uploaded or explicitly submits Veterinary Review evidence.

Sound Guard uses live microphone samples on device to measure high-frequency acoustic evidence relative to a room baseline. Sound Guard does not save or upload raw audio. Its saved records contain measurements and owner observations, not the source audio.

FurSense does not offer a Bark Translator and does not claim to measure breathing through the camera.

8. External websites and Safari

Websites the user chooses to open through Safari process data under their own policies.

9. StoreKit and payments

Auto-renewable subscriptions are offered through Apple StoreKit as a monthly plan and a 6-month plan. In the United States the reference prices are $9.99 per month and $39.99 every six months. Apple supplies the localized price for other storefronts, plus the billing period, purchase confirmation, renewal, cancellation, and refund handling. FurSense receives entitlement and signed transaction information needed to verify access but does not receive full payment-card details. The app displays a monetary price only when supplied by StoreKit.

Veterinary professional availability is separate from digital subscription entitlement. A digital subscription does not guarantee case acceptance, a response time, or unlimited professional reviews.

10. Optional diagnostics

Crashlytics collection is off until the user separately opts in in the relevant app. When enabled, diagnostics may include app/build version, device and OS model, crash stack, technical component, redacted error text, a pseudonymous grouping identifier, and subscription tier.

FurSense does not intentionally attach photographs, raw audio, precise location, owner health-record content, case text, or case images to Crashlytics reports. Diagnostic collection can be disabled in Settings; the apps then disable collection and request deletion of unsent reports. Reports already transmitted are subject to Firebase retention and deletion controls.

11. Notifications and device records

When notifications are enabled, FurSense may store an installation identifier, push token, app/environment label, app version, and locale so APNs/FCM can route notifications. Notification content is designed to be generic and not contain pet names, photographs, symptoms, diagnoses, private AI, or veterinarian response text.

Disabling notifications unregisters the installation when the backend is reachable. The configured server cleanup removes stale notification-device records after 180 days. Apple and Firebase also process push-routing data under their terms.

12. Purposes and legal bases

We process data as needed to provide requested app functions, authenticate and secure accounts, maintain subscriptions, route notifications, respond to support, prevent abuse, meet legal obligations, and pursue legitimate security and service-reliability interests. Optional cloud-AI uploads and diagnostics use the choices described in the app.

The legal basis depends on the activity and where you live. Email contact@fursense.tech if you want the basis for a particular request.

13. Sharing

Information may be shared:

  • with Apple for authentication, StoreKit, CloudKit, maps, and platform services;
  • with Google/Firebase for authentication, backend hosting, storage, messaging, Crashlytics, and Gemini processing;
  • with Open-Meteo for requested weather;
  • with configured map/place providers for requested results;
  • with the veterinary clinic and professional the owner selects for a case;
  • with service providers supporting operation, security, or support; or
  • where disclosure is required by applicable law or is reasonably necessary to protect users, animals, rights, or service security.

FurSense is not designed for advertising or cross-app tracking, and NSPrivacyTracking is declared false. We do not currently sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising.

14. Retention, export, and deletion

  • Local and CloudKit-backed records remain until deleted through the app, iCloud controls, account/local-data cleanup, or applicable platform retention.
  • Ordinary scanner requests are not intentionally persisted by FurSense after completion; saved local results remain until deleted.
  • Breed candidate-response receipts may remain for up to seven days for retry and quota integrity; submitted breed photographs are not stored in those receipts.
  • Veterinary evidence and private AI follow the case-retention process in Section 5.
  • Stale notification-device records are configured for cleanup after 180 days.
  • Crash diagnostics follow Firebase retention when the user opts in.

The Owner App provides a portable export containing supported local records and available server data. The ordinary owner export excludes private veterinary AI. Temporary or security credentials, such as push tokens and Apple refresh tokens, are not disclosed in the export.

Owner account deletion invokes the Firebase account-deletion flow, attempts to revoke the Sign in with Apple authorization where the required token is available, removes the Firebase Auth account and owner data tree, deletes or de-identifies veterinary data according to workflow and legal requirements, and clears supported local app data. CloudKit or copies already exported/shared may require separate user action or may remain where legally required.

Vet App users can request professional-account deletion in the app. Login and professional-profile data are deleted through the backend; open cases are returned for owner-controlled reassignment. Completed professional records may be retained or de-identified where professional or legal duties require.

15. Your choices and rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, portability, or withdrawal of consent. These rights may be subject to lawful exceptions, identity verification, and professional-record obligations.

Available controls include:

  • view, edit, or delete supported owner records;
  • export supported owner app and server data;
  • revoke scanner cloud-AI consent;
  • disable optional crash diagnostics;
  • disable notifications and location/camera/microphone access in iOS Settings;
  • manage iCloud and Sign in with Apple through Apple settings;
  • cancel subscriptions through Apple; and
  • request account deletion in the relevant app.

Contact contact@fursense.tech to make a privacy request.

16. Children

The Owner App is not intended for unsupervised use by children under 13. A parent or guardian should contact us if they believe a child provided personal information without appropriate authorization. The Vet App is for verified adult professionals.

17. Security and international processing

FurSense uses HTTPS, Firebase authorization rules, authenticated callable functions, App Check, short-lived signed URLs, professional role/MFA checks, device data protection, and data minimization. No security measure can guarantee absolute protection.

Apple, Google, and other providers may process information in countries outside the user’s country. Their processing may therefore happen outside your country.

18. Changes and contact

We may update this policy as services, providers, or legal requirements change. Material changes may require a new in-app acceptance or feature-specific consent rather than relying only on continued use.

Legal name and postal address: email contact@fursense.tech

Email: contact@fursense.tech

Website: https://fursense.tech/contact

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