Adopt Local Pets

App privacy

Last updated October 12, 2026

Chance Solutions LLC develops Adopt Local Pets. This policy covers the iOS app and the services we operate to support it. The public website has a separate website privacy notice.

Information on your device

No account is required. Saved pets and rescues, filters, search-area preferences, notification settings, and listing-update history are stored on your device. The app also caches listing information and media, and keeps local activity information to manage features such as review prompts. The photo widget reads a shared snapshot prepared by the app. We do not provide an account-based cloud-sync service; your operating system’s backup settings may apply to device data.

Search and location

You can choose a search area by entering a ZIP code or by allowing a one-time device location request. Apple services help resolve ZIP codes and location names. Device coordinates may be precise, depending on your device settings. The chosen search location can be saved locally and included in later searches or background refreshes. You can change or remove the search area in the app and manage location permission in iOS Settings. The app does not continuously track your device’s location.

Requests for listings

To find and refresh listings, the app sends search criteria, location coordinates or postal codes when applicable, and requested pet or rescue identifiers through our Cloudflare-hosted API to RescueGroups.org. This includes requests for saved-pet updates and information used by the widget. Network services receive technical information such as IP addresses, requested URLs, request times, and response details. Our service uses rate limiting, short-lived response caching, and operational logs for delivery, security, and troubleshooting. Providers may process and retain information under their own practices.

Pet-detail view reporting

Opening a pet’s detail in app versions integrating the RescueGroups.org Pet Adoption Tracker sends a request directly to tracker.rescuegroups.org using the animal-specific tracker URL supplied with the listing. RescueGroups.org uses this reporting to tell rescues and shelters where their pets are viewed. This request contains the pet identifier and provider-supplied reporting parameters. RescueGroups.org also receives your IP address and basic connection and app request information. We do not add device or search location, advertising identifiers, or Saved-list contents. The app’s tracker request does not use persistent cookies. This reporting is separate from Firebase analytics and crash reports: the provider learns which pet detail was viewed even though our custom Firebase events exclude pet identifiers. See RescueGroups.org’s privacy policy for its data practices.

Photos, videos, and external services

Photos and videos may load directly from the hosting services named in listings. YouTube listing videos open in YouTube or your browser outside the app; the app does not load YouTube thumbnails or an embedded YouTube player. Other photos and videos may connect directly to their hosting services, which receive connection and request information. External services handle playback and data under their own terms and privacy practices. See our service terms. Rescue, shelter, map, and other external links lead to services with their own privacy practices. See Cloudflare’s privacy policy, RescueGroups.org’s privacy policy, Google’s privacy policy, and Apple’s privacy information.

On-device assistance and notifications

On supported devices, Apple’s on-device Foundation Models interpret natural-language pet descriptions into search filters. The app does not send that description text to our server; the filters you apply are used in normal listing requests. Listing notifications are scheduled locally on your device, and you can disable them in the app or iOS Settings.

Usage analytics and crash reports

App versions integrating Firebase include Google Analytics for Firebase and Firebase Crashlytics. Usage analytics and crash reporting are enabled automatically, with no in-app opt-out controls. Settings & About → Privacy and the onboarding Privacy link explain this collection. Analytics helps us understand feature use and improve the app. Events describe actions such as opening a screen, applying filters, saving an item, or requesting an external handoff. They include fixed categories for the feature used, filter controls shown or applied, broad counts of active filter categories, result and recovery types, onboarding paths, and available or requested contact actions. Contact methods are recorded only as website, phone, or email categories. We also record fixed categories for widget and shared-link loading outcomes, explicit changes to New matches and Saved-pet update preferences, and the result of an explicit notification authorization request. We record when the app requests an App Store review, without recording whether Apple displayed the prompt or whether you submitted a rating. These events do not provide an inventory of your notification settings or transmit the local activity history used for review eligibility. Custom Firebase events do not include search text, coordinates, ZIP codes, selected filter values, breeds, pet or rescue identifiers, destination URLs, contact details, saved-filter names, or personal descriptions. These events do not tell us which pets or rescues you view or save, and a contact request does not confirm delivery, an application, or an adoption. We do not set a user ID. Google also processes app-instance identifiers, device and app information, session activity, and approximate geography derived from the connection. Firebase advertising identifier collection, IDFV collection, and advertising personalization are disabled. Google Signals and sharing of Analytics data for Google products and services are off, and we do not link Analytics to Google Ads or AdMob.

Crash reporting includes fixed-category nonfatal error reports as well as crash stacks, installation/session identifiers, device and app state, and technical diagnostics. Nonfatal reports exclude raw error messages, request URLs, and personal input. When analytics is active, reports may include recent usage events. Local crash diagnostics may be stored before upload. Our Analytics retention settings are 2 months for event data and 14 months for user data, with reset on new activity off. These settings do not limit most aggregated reports, and deletion follows Google’s processing schedule. Crashlytics retains crash reports and associated identifiers for 90 days before starting removal from live and backup systems. See Analytics retention information and Firebase’s privacy information.

Remote settings

Firebase Remote Config controls whether advertising and optional filter suggestions from an ideal-pet description or dog photo are available. It processes installation identifiers and technical app and device information to deliver these settings. We do not send photos, descriptions, selected filter values, animal records, saved items, searches, or search location as Remote Config inputs, and we do not configure personalized experiments or advertising audiences. Analytics and crash reporting use separate local defaults. These settings let us enable or disable features without an app update.

Support and beta testing

If you email support, we and our email provider receive the information you choose to send so we can respond. The app’s editable feedback draft includes app and iOS version information. Please avoid sending sensitive personal information. If you use TestFlight, Apple processes beta usage, diagnostics, and feedback under its terms and privacy practices and may make testing information available to us.

Your choices and retention

You can remove saved items and reset listing-update history in the app. To remove the saved search location, open Search area and choose Remove location. Revoking location permission in iOS Settings stops new device-location requests. When the app checks permission, including before background searches and widget refreshes, it also stops using the saved device-derived location for requests. The saved selection remains on your device and can be used again if you restore permission; choose Remove location to clear it. A manually entered search area does not depend on device-location permission. Free Up Space removes temporary photo copies and preserves saved information and settings. Removing the app deletes its local app data, subject to operating-system backups and shared widget storage. Operational records and support correspondence may be retained as needed to provide support, operate and secure services, and meet legal obligations. Third-party services and backups follow their own retention policies.

Advertising and privacy choices

App versions integrating Google AdMob may show a clearly labeled native image advertisement in the feed to support development. The app requests nonpersonalized ads. We do not pass provider records, animal information, saved pets or rescues, searches, filters, or device or search location to Google for ad targeting or personalization.

The Google Mobile Ads SDK may process technical information such as IP addresses, approximate location inferred from the connection, app and device information, device or app identifiers, ads displayed and interactions with them, and performance and crash diagnostics. Google uses this information to deliver and measure advertising, prevent fraud, and improve its services. Nonpersonalized advertising does not mean that no information is collected. See Google’s privacy policy and how Google uses information from apps that use its services.

Google’s User Messaging Platform (UMP) provides privacy messages and choices where required by region and applicable settings before the app requests ads. When Google requires a privacy-options entry point, Settings & About provides Advertising Privacy Choices so you can revisit those choices. The ad’s disclosure controls and Settings & About provide ways to report inappropriate ads. These advertising choices are separate from the automatic Firebase analytics and crash reporting described above. YouTube may display its own advertisements after you open an external video link.

Collection across apps and websites

Advertising partners and listing or media providers may collect information about your device and interactions over time and across other apps and websites under their own practices. Eligible advertising partners may receive information to bid for, deliver, or measure ads. We request nonpersonalized ads and restricted data processing from AdMob, but these settings do not stop all third-party processing, and Google’s restricted-processing commitments do not automatically extend to other advertising partners. We do not combine our Firebase usage analytics with other companies’ data for advertising. The app does not respond to browser Do Not Track signals; its available advertising choices are described above.

Security and international processing

We use HTTPS for our app service and restrict access to its credentials. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. Our providers may process information in the United States and other countries where they operate; protections can differ by country.

Requests and children’s information

To request access, correction, or deletion of personal information associated with your use of the app, or to submit a privacy objection or opt-out request, email support@adoptlocalpets.app. Depending on where you live and the processing involved, you may have additional rights, including objection, restriction, portability, withdrawal of consent, or appeal of a request decision. Describe your request or appeal in your email. We may need information to verify it and will respond as required by applicable law, including explaining any information we must retain and why. We cannot remotely access or delete information stored only on your device. Because the app has no account and we do not set a user ID, an email address alone may not let us identify installation-specific analytics or diagnostic records. We will explain any identification or deletion limits rather than claim that records were removed. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate steps under applicable law.

Changes and contact

We will update this policy when our practices change and post the revised date here. For material changes, we will provide additional notice and obtain consent where required before applying the new practices. Questions can be sent to support@adoptlocalpets.app.