Soot & Summer privacy policy

Last updated: 19 October 2026

Soot & Summer puts little cats on your phone's screen, on top of your other apps. It has no accounts, no ads and no analytics.

What stays on your phone

Your settings (which cats are out, their names, looks and hats, the size, the app you picked for a double-tap, and the city you typed for weather outfits) are saved only on your phone. Android may include them in your own phone backup to your Google account if you have backup turned on. We (the developer) never receive them.

Cats from your photos

If you make a cat from a photo, you pick one photo with Android's photo picker, and the app can see only that photo. It looks at it on your phone (to suggest a coat, and while you tap it) and keeps just the colours you pick. The photo itself is never saved, copied or sent anywhere.

Permissions

Display over other apps: so the cats can walk on top of the apps you use. The cats only see where your finger touches them, and notice when a keyboard is open so they can turn Tiny; they don't read what's on your screen or what you type.
Notifications and a foreground service: Android requires a notification while the cats are on screen. It has buttons for Touch, the bed and hiding your pets, and tapping it opens the app.
List of installed apps: only so you can pick an app that opens when you double-tap a cat. The list never leaves your phone.
Internet: see below.

Photo booth pictures are only saved or shared when you tap Save or Share.

What leaves your phone, and why

City search (Weather outfits, off unless you turn it on). When you type a city, the name you type is sent to your phone's built-in location lookup (Android's Geocoder, usually run by Google) to find it on the map. See Google's privacy policy.
Weather (Weather outfits). If you turn on Weather outfits, the city's approximate coordinates (rounded to about 10 km) are sent to our small forecast relay (run on Cloudflare), which passes them on to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET Norway, api.met.no) and keeps the forecast for that area for a while so it can answer other phones nearby. It asks at most about every 6 hours, while the app is running. Nothing else about you is sent (the request names only the app), and we don't keep a record of who asked; like any web server, the relay sees your IP address. See Cloudflare's privacy policy and MET Norway's privacy statement. Forecasts: MET Norway, under CC BY 4.0.
Launch-gift check. For a few weeks around launch, the app asks a Google server for today's date, to see whether you get the launch gifts. Nothing about you or your phone is sent; like any web server, Google's sees your IP address. See Google's privacy policy.
Update check. When you open the app, it asks Google Play whether a newer version of Soot & Summer is ready, and Google Play downloads it if you tap Update. This is handled by Google Play on your phone; we never receive anything from it. See Google's privacy policy.
Pack purchases. Buying a pack (such as the Cat Pack or the Dog Pack) is handled entirely by Google Play. We never see your payment details. See Google's privacy policy.

The only data that leaves your phone for us is the rounded city spot above, and only if you turn on Weather outfits (off by default). It is used just to fetch the forecast and is not kept, sold or shared for anything else. We don't use your device location (GPS); the weather follows the city you type.

Children

Soot & Summer has no accounts and keeps no personal information about anyone, including children. The optional weather forecast sends only a rounded city spot, as described above.

Deleting your data

Uninstall the app and everything it saved on the phone is gone, except pictures you saved from the Photo booth (in Pictures › Soot & Summer) and any Android backup of its settings in your Google account.

Changes and contact

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new date. Questions: email vachiek@gmail.com.