1. Who we are
SyncPaws (the “App”) is operated by HiveDevOps Technology Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (“HiveDevOps,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), a company organized under the laws of the Republic of Costa Rica. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, share, and protect personal information when you use the App and related services (together, the “Services”).
By using the Services, you agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the App. This Policy should be read together with our Terms & Conditions.
2. Information we collect
We collect the following categories of information:
- Account & identity. When you first open the App, an anonymous account is created for you automatically. If you choose to link Sign in with Apple or Google, we receive a user identifier and, depending on your choices, your email address and display name.
- Pet & gameplay data.Your pet’s name, traits, growth stage, mood and care state, scenes, coin balance, daily streaks, rewards, memories, and similar in-app data.
- Co-parenting / shared data. If you pair with a partner, we process the invitation, the shared session, and activity exchanged within it — care actions, nudges, gifts, and sticky notes. Your display name and care activity are visible to the partner you pair with.
- Content you create. AI-generated pet portraits and any images you add to your scrapbook, memories, or avatar.
- Device & technical data. Device type and operating system, app version, language, a push-notification token, approximate region/IP address, and diagnostic or crash data.
- Usage & analytics. Events and feature usage within the App (for example, which screens you open), collected to understand and improve the Services.
- Purchase data. Your subscription status and transaction identifiers for in-app purchases. Payments are processed by Apple and Google; we do not receive or store your full payment-card details.
- Advertising data. When rewarded ads are shown, our advertising provider (Google AdMob) may collect device and advertising identifiers as described in its own policy.
Heart-to-Heart chat is processed on your device.The in-app chat that lets you “talk” to your pet runs locally on your device; the messages you type there are not sent to us or to any third-party AI service.
3. How we use your information
We use the information above to:
- Provide, sync, and maintain the shared virtual-pet experience across devices.
- Create and manage your account and partner pairing.
- Generate AI pet portraits (see Section 5).
- Send push notifications you have enabled (care reminders, partner nudges, gifts).
- Process subscriptions and unlock premium entitlements.
- Show rewarded advertisements in the free tier.
- Analyze usage to fix bugs, improve features, and develop new ones.
- Maintain security, prevent fraud and abuse, and enforce our terms.
- Comply with legal obligations and respond to your support requests.
4. Legal bases (EEA/UK users)
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we rely on the following legal bases: performance of a contract (to provide the Services you request), your consent (for example, push notifications and personalized ads, where required), our legitimate interests (to secure and improve the Services), and compliance with legal obligations.
5. AI-generated pet portraits
Each pet’s appearance is generated by an AI image model (Google’s Gemini API) from a procedurally generated “trait seed.” This seed describes visual traits only; we do not send your name, email, contacts, or other directly identifying personal information to the model to generate your pet. Generated images are stored in our cloud storage so they can be shown to you and your partner across devices.
7. Third-party services we use
We rely on the following providers. Each processes data under its own privacy policy; we encourage you to review them:
- Google Firebase & Google Cloud (Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Storage, Cloud Messaging, Analytics, Cloud Functions) — Google LLC. Firebase privacy.
- Google Gemini API — AI generation of pet portraits. Google privacy.
- RevenueCat — subscription management and purchase validation. RevenueCat privacy.
- Google AdMob — rewarded advertising. AdMob & privacy.
- Apple App Store / Google Play — purchase processing and delivery. Apple · Google.
8. Advertising & your choices
The free tier of the App shows rewarded ads through Google AdMob. Depending on your settings and applicable law, you or our ad partner may be asked for permission — for example, through Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt — before your device’s advertising identifier is used for personalized ads. You can limit ad personalization and reset your advertising identifier in your device settings, and you can remove ads entirely by subscribing to SyncPaws Premium.
9. Push notifications
With your permission, we send push notifications (such as care reminders and partner nudges) via Firebase Cloud Messaging. You can turn notifications off at any time in the App’s settings or in your device’s system settings.
10. Data retention
We keep your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Services. When you delete your account, we delete or de-identify the personal data associated with it, except where we must retain it to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements. Backups are purged on a rolling schedule.
11. Your rights and choices
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your personal data, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to withdraw consent.
- Costa Rica. We process personal data in accordance with Law No. 8968 on the Protection of the Person against the Processing of their Personal Data, overseen by the Agency for the Protection of Data of Inhabitants (PRODHAB).
- EEA / UK (GDPR). You may exercise the rights described above and lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
- California (CCPA/CPRA).You may request access to and deletion of your personal information and are entitled to non-discrimination for exercising your rights. We do not sell or “share” personal information as those terms are defined under California law.
To exercise any of these rights, email info@hivedevops.com. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.
12. Account & data deletion
You can request deletion of your account and the personal data associated with it at any time by emailing info@hivedevops.com, and, where available, through an account-deletion option in the App. When your account is deleted, we remove your user record, deactivate any shared session you participated in, and remove pending invitations you created.
13. Children’s privacy
The App is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country, if higher), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
14. International data transfers
We and our providers may process and store your information on servers located outside your country of residence, including in the United States. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses) for these transfers.
15. Security
We use technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including encryption in transit and access controls enforced by server-side security rules. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
16. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above and, for material changes, provide additional notice within the App or by other appropriate means.
17. Contact us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, contact us at:
HiveDevOps Technology S.R.L.
San José, Costa Rica
Email: info@hivedevops.com