Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy describes how Virada LLC ("Company," "we," "us," or "our") handles your information when you use the BarkWatch mobile application (the "Service"). By using the Service, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

The short version: BarkWatch has no accounts, no servers of ours, and no analytics. Your bark events and audio clips sync between your own devices through your personal, private iCloud database. We never see, hear, store, or have any way to access them.

2. How BarkWatch Works With Your Data

BarkWatch uses two devices signed into the same Apple Account: a Recorder that listens for barking at home, and a Monitor that shows what happened. The following data is created on your devices and synced only through your private iCloud database:

• Bark events: timestamps, durations, loudness, and confidence scores
• Short audio clips of detected barking (a few seconds before the bark through the end of the event, capped at 30 seconds)
• Alert and retention preferences

All bark detection runs on-device. The microphone signal is analyzed in real time, and audio is only kept when the on-device classifier detects barking; the rest is discarded immediately and never written to storage. BarkWatch does not stream, upload, or transmit audio anywhere except your own private iCloud database, which Apple secures under your Apple Account. Your private iCloud database is not readable by us, by other users, or by anyone not signed into your Apple Account.

3. Information We Do Not Collect

BarkWatch does not collect:

• Names, email addresses, or any account information
• Audio, either raw or recorded clips
• Location or GPS data
• Contacts or address book information
• Advertising identifiers or device fingerprints
• Usage analytics of any kind

We do not use analytics services, tracking pixels, cookies, or any third-party SDKs that collect data. The app communicates only with Apple's iCloud and App Store services, never with servers of ours, because we have none.

4. Alerts and Notifications

When the Recorder detects barking, the Monitor is notified through Apple's iCloud push infrastructure. The notification travels between your own devices under your Apple Account. No third-party notification service is involved, and we cannot see when your dog barks or that an alert was sent.

5. Purchases

The one-time unlock is processed entirely by Apple through the App Store. We receive only an on-device entitlement confirming the purchase, never your name, payment details, or billing information. The free trial is measured from the app's install date as signed by Apple; no trial information is sent to us. Purchases can be restored on any device signed into the same Apple Account.

6. Permissions

The Service requests permissions only when you turn on the feature that needs them:

• Microphone: bark detection and clip recording on the Recorder device. Requested when you start listening, used only while listening is on.
• Notifications: bark alerts on the Monitor device.

7. Data Retention and Deletion

• Automatic: Clips and events are deleted automatically after the retention window you choose in Settings
• In the app: You can delete any event and its clip at any time; the deletion syncs to both devices
• In iCloud: BarkWatch data can be removed entirely in iOS Settings under iCloud storage management
• Everything: Deleting the app removes all local app data from that device

Because we hold no copy of your data, there is nothing for us to retain or delete on any server.

8. Recording and Other People

The Recorder listens to the room it is in, and a clip triggered by barking may incidentally capture other household sounds, including voices. Those clips stay within your private iCloud database, but you are responsible for using the Service in compliance with the recording and wiretap laws of your jurisdiction and for informing people in your home that audio may be recorded.

9. Children's Privacy

The Service does not collect personal information from anyone, including children. If you are under the age required to consent to this policy in your jurisdiction, please use the Service with a parent or guardian's involvement.

10. Your Rights

Privacy laws such as the GDPR and CCPA grant rights over personal data that organizations collect about you. BarkWatch collects none, so there is nothing for us to access, export, correct, or erase; your data lives on your devices and in your private iCloud database under your control. If you have questions about these rights, contact us at jeremiah@virada.net. We do not sell personal information, and we do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time by posting the updated policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. If the app ever changes how it handles data, for example by adding an online feature, we will update this policy before that change ships. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

12. Contact Us

For questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, contact us at jeremiah@virada.net.