Privacy Policy

Last updated: 16 August 2026

1. Who we are

Hello Animals: Real Sounds (“Hello Animals”, the “App”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is operated by:

• Legal name: Dmitrii Dudchenko
• Trading name: Hello Animals
• Legal form: individual developer
• Country of establishment: Cyprus
• VAT number: Not VAT registered
• Email: support@helloanimals.app

For the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“EU GDPR”) and the UK GDPR, Dmitrii Dudchenko is the controller of the personal data described in this Privacy Policy.

EU representative, if required: Not required — the controller is located in Cyprus, an EU Member State
UK representative, if required: Not appointed — the App is offered to users in the United Kingdom, and the controller relies on the exemption in Article 27(2) UK GDPR: the processing is occasional, involves no special category data, and is unlikely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals

This Privacy Policy covers the Hello Animals iPhone application, the website at helloanimals.app, and communications with our support team.

2. Summary for parents and guardians

Hello Animals is designed for young children and is intended to be used under the supervision of a parent or guardian.

The App:

• does not create user accounts or child profiles;
• does not ask for a child’s name, age, birthday, email address, telephone number, photograph or voice;
• does not contain advertising or advertising SDKs;
• does not use IDFA, IDFV, cross-app tracking, advertising attribution, session replay or screen recording;
• does not request access to the camera, microphone, contacts, photos or iOS Location Services;
• does not allow a child to type, upload or publish content;
• stores animal photographs, sounds and spoken names inside the App, so the core animal experience works offline;
• uses Aptabase in the European Union for limited product analytics when analytics is permitted and enabled;
• allows an adult to turn product analytics off without reducing the child’s access to the App.

Aptabase analytics are not fully anonymous in the strict legal sense. They use limited pseudonymous technical data, described below, but are not connected by us to a name, account, Apple ID, advertising identifier or long-term profile.

3. Information that remains on the device

The App may keep the following information locally on the iPhone:

The Favorites list and ordinary App preferences are not sent to our own server. Individual Favorite changes may be included as limited product events when analytics is enabled, as explained below.

4. Privacy-preserving product analytics

4.1 Why analytics are used

When analytics are permitted and enabled, the App sends a limited set of product events to Aptabase so that we can understand, in aggregate:

• whether core features work as intended;
• which categories and animals are opened most often;
• how animal sounds and spoken names are used;
• whether Favorites is useful;
• how often the paywall is viewed;
• whether purchase and restore flows complete successfully;
• where product improvements are needed.

Analytics are used only to operate, evaluate and improve Hello Animals. They are not used for advertising, advertising measurement, personalised advertising, marketing audiences, behavioural profiling, content personalisation for a particular child, automated decisions about a child, cross-app tracking or sale to data brokers.

4.2 Events selected by Hello Animals

The App can send only events from a fixed allowlist, such as:

• app_open;
• category_open;
• animal_open;
• sound_play;
• favorite_add;
• favorite_remove;
• language_change;
• paywall_view.

Allowed event properties are restricted to low-cardinality product information, such as a static animal identifier, static category identifier, interface language, a closed-list source or action type, and the App or catalogue version.

The App does not permit arbitrary free text in analytics events.

4.3 Information that is never intentionally sent in event properties

We do not intentionally send any of the following to Aptabase:

• a child’s or adult’s name;
• email address or telephone number;
• date of birth or exact age;
• Apple ID, Apple Account data or another account identifier;
• IDFA or IDFV;
• a custom persistent user or device identifier;
• a stable device fingerprint created by Hello Animals;
• precise location or GPS coordinates;
• contacts, photographs, recordings or other user content;
• free-text input;
• parental-gate questions, answers or arithmetic results;
• payment-card information;
• App Store receipts;
• StoreKit transaction identifiers;
• purchase price or currency;
• the user’s App Store storefront country;
• raw error descriptions or URLs containing query parameters.

4.4 Technical information processed by Aptabase

Aptabase is provided by Technov Solutions SRL, Romania. We use the Aptabase EU region.

According to the current Aptabase Data Processing Agreement, Aptabase processes an event request as follows:

• the device IP address and User-Agent are processed transiently in memory when an event reaches Aptabase;
• the IP address and User-Agent are used to derive coarse country/region information and a pseudonymous daily identifier;
• the IP address and User-Agent are not stored with the analytics event;
• the daily identifier is created using an application-specific salt that changes every 24 hours and is then deleted, so Aptabase states that it cannot correlate that identifier across days or applications after deletion of the salt;
• stored telemetry can include the event name, event time, session identifier, App version, Aptabase SDK version, operating-system name and version, device locale, coarse country/region and the allowlisted event properties selected by Hello Animals;
• the current Aptabase Swift SDK can also add the device model and manages technical sessions when the App enters the foreground.

This processing is pseudonymous rather than directly identifying. We do not receive a child’s identity from Aptabase, do not attempt to identify a person or device from the telemetry, and do not combine the telemetry with other data to create a long-term profile.

Aptabase states that its SDKs do not collect advertising identifiers, hardware identifiers or persistent user identifiers. The current Aptabase Apple privacy manifest describes Product Interaction data used for Analytics, not linked to the user and not used for tracking. We verify the actual SDK version and network behaviour before every production release rather than relying only on provider documentation.

More information is available in the Aptabase Data Processing Agreement, Aptabase Privacy Policy, and Aptabase Apple App Privacy guidance.

4.5 Analytics region and service providers

Aptabase analytics data for Hello Animals is processed in the European Union. Aptabase’s current EU infrastructure sub-processors include Tinybird Data S.L. and Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL, as listed in the Aptabase Data Processing Agreement.

Aptabase acts as our processor for App analytics. We remain responsible for choosing the events, purposes, retention and legal basis.

4.6 Analytics retention

Event-level telemetry is retained for up to 5 years from collection, or until the Aptabase application or account holding it is deleted, whichever occurs first. This is the retention that is actually enforced, not a contractual ceiling above a shorter internal target: Hello Animals sets no shorter period, because Aptabase offers no setting that would enforce one.

The deletion mechanism is the one we control. Deleting the Aptabase application deletes the event-level telemetry held under it, and that is the step we take when the data is no longer required or when an adult asks us to remove it. We do not rely on a promise to delete data by hand event by event, because an event carries no identifier that would let us find one person’s events among everyone else’s — which is also why it cannot identify a child.

Aggregated reports that no longer allow separation of a session, daily pseudonym or device may be kept longer for historical product planning.

4.7 Turning analytics off

An adult can turn product analytics off through:

For Grown-Ups → Privacy Choices → Share privacy-preserving product analytics

Turning analytics off:

• stops the creation and transmission of new analytics events;
• deletes any unsent analytics queue stored by the App;
• does not remove access to any free or paid animal content;
• does not affect Favorites, sounds, spoken names, purchases or purchase restoration.

Where applicable law requires consent before analytics can start, analytics remains disabled until an adult enables it. Consent can be withdrawn at any time through the same control.

5. Purchases and purchase restoration

The optional full unlock is a non-consumable in-app purchase processed by Apple through the App Store.

We do not receive:

• payment-card information;
• Apple Account credentials;
• the purchaser’s name or email address;
• the StoreKit receipt;
• a transaction identifier in Aptabase analytics.

When analytics are enabled, the App may record only that the purchase or restore flow was opened or completed, together with limited product-source context. It does not send the price, currency, receipt, transaction identifier or Apple Account information to Aptabase.

Apple processes App Store transactions under Apple’s own terms and privacy policy. Apple may provide us with aggregated sales, financial and product-performance information through App Store Connect.

6. Parental gate

Buying, restoring a purchase and opening external adult links require completion of a parental gate.

The arithmetic question, the possible answers and the selected answer are not stored in analytics and are not sent to Aptabase or another third party.

The parental gate is an App Store child-safety control. It is not treated as parental consent for data processing where applicable law requires a separate consent process.

7. Apple diagnostic information

If the device owner has enabled Apple’s option to share diagnostics with app developers, Apple may provide crash and performance reports to us through Apple’s developer tools.

Those reports may contain technical information such as the App version, device model, operating-system version, crash stack and performance measurements. We use them only to diagnose errors, improve stability and maintain security.

Hello Animals does not use a separate third-party crash-reporting SDK in the MVP.

Any diagnostic report that we download and retain separately is normally deleted within 12 months, unless it is needed longer to investigate a continuing defect, security incident or legal claim.

8. Website data

The Hello Animals website does not use advertising cookies, behavioural advertising, session replay or third-party product analytics.

When a person visits the website, our hosting, content-delivery and security provider may process limited technical data necessary to deliver and protect the site, such as:

• IP address;
• browser and operating-system information;
• date and time of the request;
• requested page or URL;
• security, abuse-prevention and error information.

The website is hosted by Cloudflare, Inc. (Cloudflare Pages), which also provides the domain registration, DNS and TLS for helloanimals.app.

Website and security logs are normally retained for no more than 30 days. A specific log may be retained longer when reasonably necessary to investigate a security incident, prevent abuse, establish or defend a legal claim, or comply with law.

9. Support communications

Support is intended for parents, guardians and other adults. Children should not contact us directly.

When an adult emails support@helloanimals.app, we may receive:

• the sender’s name and email address;
• the message and attachments;
• device model, iOS version and App version if voluntarily provided;
• technical email metadata.

We use this information to answer the request, investigate a defect, help with a purchase or restore question, prevent abuse and maintain an appropriate support record.

Please do not send us a child’s name, photograph, voice, precise location, school information or other personal information about a child.

Support email is provided through Cloudflare Email Routing. Support correspondence is normally retained for no more than 24 months, unless it is required longer for an unresolved matter, legal obligation or legal claim.

10. Children’s privacy and COPPA

Hello Animals is directed to young children, but it is designed so that a child does not need to provide directly identifying information.

The App has no child registration, free-text form, social feature, user-generated content, advertising or direct messaging.

For users in the United States, where the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) applies, the limited technical and pseudonymous identifiers described in this Policy are used only to support the internal operations of the App, including statistical reporting, optimisation, security and debugging. They are not used to contact a child, advertise to a child, build a behavioural profile, track a child across services or make decisions about a particular child.

A parent or guardian may contact us to:

• ask what personal information relating to their child we maintain;
• request deletion where the information can be identified;
• object to further collection or use;
• ask a question about our practices.

We may take reasonable steps to verify that a requester is authorised to act for the child.

Because Hello Animals deliberately avoids names, accounts and stable identifiers, neither we nor Aptabase may be able to associate an analytics event with a particular child or device. We will not create additional identifying information solely to identify a requester. We will nevertheless consider any information the parent voluntarily provides that may reasonably help us locate relevant data.

11. Legal bases under EU and UK law

Where EU or UK data-protection law applies, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Contract: to provide the paid unlock, purchase restoration and support requested by an adult.
• Legitimate interests: to understand aggregate use of the App, improve features, detect product problems, secure the website, prevent abuse and maintain reliable services, where those interests are not overridden by the rights and interests of the child or adult.
• Consent: where applicable law requires consent for optional analytics or another optional activity. Consent may be withdrawn at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing that occurred before withdrawal.
• Legal obligation: where processing is required to comply with law, accounting duties, regulatory requests or valid legal process.

Before relying on legitimate interests for App analytics, we document a Legitimate Interests Assessment and a child-focused Data Protection Impact Assessment.

For UK storage-and-access rules, we rely on the statistical-purposes exception only where its conditions are met, including clear information, use solely to improve the service, aggregate statistical results and a simple, free means of objecting through Privacy Choices.

We do not use analytics for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

12. Who receives information

Depending on the relevant activity, limited information may be received by:

• Aptabase / Technov Solutions SRL, acting as our App-analytics processor;
• Aptabase’s authorised EU infrastructure sub-processors listed in its Data Processing Agreement;
• Apple, for App Store distribution, purchases, restoration, diagnostics and App Store Connect reporting;
• Cloudflare, Inc., for website hosting, delivery and security;
• Cloudflare Email Routing, for adult support communications;
• professional advisers bound by confidentiality;
• public authorities where disclosure is required by applicable law.

We do not sell personal information. We do not share personal information for targeted or cross-context behavioural advertising. We do not provide App analytics to advertisers or data brokers.

13. International transfers

Aptabase App analytics for Hello Animals is configured for the EU region, and Aptabase states that analytics data for that region is processed and stored within the European Union.

Other providers may process information outside the country in which the adult user lives. Where EU or UK personal data is transferred to a country without an applicable adequacy decision, we use a lawful transfer mechanism where required, such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses or the applicable UK transfer mechanism.

Information about applicable safeguards may be requested at support@helloanimals.app.

14. Retention summary

When information is no longer required, we delete it or irreversibly aggregate it where reasonably possible.

15. Your rights

Depending on applicable law, an adult user, parent or guardian may have the right to:

• request access to personal information;
• request correction of inaccurate information;
• request deletion;
• request restriction of processing;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• receive certain information in a portable format;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
• complain to a data-protection authority.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions.

EU residents may complain to the supervisory authority in the country where they live or work, or where the alleged infringement occurred. UK residents may complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

Requests may be sent to support@helloanimals.app. We normally respond within the period required by applicable law.

16. Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures appropriate to the limited nature of the information processed, including data minimisation, a fixed analytics allowlist, transport encryption, restricted access, dependency review and retention controls.

No system can be guaranteed completely secure. If we become aware of a personal-data breach, we will assess it and provide any notification required by applicable law.

17. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes to the App, the website, our providers or applicable law.

The “Last updated” date will change when the Policy is revised. We will provide additional notice before a material change where required.

We will not begin using analytics for advertising, long-term child profiling or cross-app tracking merely by changing this page. Any material change to the purpose or categories of data requires a separate product, privacy and legal review.

18. Contact

Privacy questions, parental requests and objections:

• Dmitrii Dudchenko
• Cyprus
• Email: support@helloanimals.app