Overview
TapCat is a simple cat game. You do not need an account to play. If you choose to, you can sign in with Apple to keep your kitties safe and bring them back on a new phone.
Information kept on your device
TapCat keeps your kitties on your device: each kitty’s name, whether they are a boy or a girl, and an optional photo you add when you welcome them. It also remembers your settings, such as your chosen play button, and when a timed toy unlock from an ad runs out.
Sign in with Apple (optional)
If you sign in with Apple, the TapCat server stores the anonymous user identifier Apple gives us for TapCat, together with your kitties’ names, boy or girl, and their welcome photos, so they can come back when you reinstall or change phone. We do not ask Apple for your name or email address. Welcome photos are private to your account and are never shown publicly.
You can sign out, or delete your account and everything kept with it, at any time from TapCat’s settings. Deleting your account removes your kitties and photos from our server and asks Apple to revoke TapCat’s sign-in.
ScratchPost photos, comments and likes
If you use ScratchPost, you may choose to upload a cat photo, optional cat name, and optional country flag. TapCat stores the upload IP address and user agent for moderation and abuse prevention.
TapCat may use an approximate country code supplied by the network, with your device region as a fallback, to suggest a flag. You can choose a different flag or select no flag before uploading. TapCat does not request precise GPS location for this feature.
If you comment on a photo, the server stores your comment, the name you choose to comment under, and a random install identifier created by the app, so you can be told about replies and so comments can be moderated. Likes, reports and which comments you have read are stored against the same random install identifier. Comments are public to other TapCat players, and reported comments are reviewed and may be removed.
Analytics
TapCat uses Stackifo to log simple product events, such as opening the app, opening the toy selector, catching a toy, opening ScratchPost, tapping a ScratchPost photo, starting a photo submission, and whether a rewarded unlock or photo submission completed. These events may include the selected toy name, unlock status, public photo identifier, like or view counts, the app version, and upload details such as file size and image type. They do not include your Sign in with Apple identifier.
When you choose a play button in settings, TapCat sends your choice and the random install identifier to our server, so we can see which designs players like best.
Updates
When TapCat opens, it asks our server for the newest version number so it can let you know when an update is available. This request does not include any identifier.
Live play count
The TapCat server may register temporary play sessions so the app can show how many kitties are currently playing. This count is displayed in aggregate and is not tied to an account.
Notifications
If you turn on notifications, TapCat sends occasional play reminders when your kitty has not played for a while, and, if you choose them in settings, alerts about comments, replies, likes and new photos in ScratchPost. To do this, the TapCat server stores a random install identifier created by the app, the push token issued by Apple or Google, your notification choices, your device time zone and language, the app version, and when the app was last opened or played. This lets notifications arrive at a sensible local time.
Notifications are delivered through Apple Push Notification service on iPhone and iPad, and Firebase Cloud Messaging on Android. You can turn them off at any time in TapCat’s settings or your device notification settings. Tokens that Apple or Google report as no longer valid are marked inactive and no longer used.
Public photos
Photos are reviewed before they appear publicly. Do not upload photos that include people, addresses, private documents, or anything you do not want shown publicly. Public photos may show the selected country flag, view count, and like count. If you want a photo removed, contact support with enough detail for us to identify it.
Advertising
TapCat is paid for by ads. It uses Google AdMob to show banner ads on the home screen and rewarded ads that unlock toys for a while. Google may collect or receive device information, advertising identifiers, approximate location, ad interaction data, and diagnostics according to its own policies and the choices available on your device.
Where the law requires it, such as in the UK and the European Economic Area, TapCat asks for your consent through Google’s consent message before ads are personalised, and you can change your choice at any time from Ad privacy in TapCat’s settings. A one-time purchase removes ads; purchases are handled by Apple or Google, and TapCat never sees your payment details.
You can learn more at Google Advertising Policies.
Children
TapCat is intended for supervised use by adults with their cats. It is not designed to collect information from children.
Contact
Questions about this privacy policy can be sent to andy@andyfraser.online.