← besstfriend

Privacy policy

Effective July 13, 2026

besstfriend turns photos of your pet into an animated pixel character. This page explains what we collect, why, how long we keep it, who else touches it, and the choices and legal rights you have. The short version: we collect the minimum needed to make your pet and get it to you, we don't sell any of it, and we never use your photos to train AI models.

The service is operated by Already There LLC ("besstfriend", "we", "us"), the data controller for the personal information described here. You can reach us any time at hello@besstfriend.com.

What we collect

• Pet photos — the 1–3 photos you upload. They're sent to Google's Gemini API to generate your pet's pixel character, and stored with your generation job so we can rebuild or fix it. Please upload photos of pets, not people. We don't ask for and don't want photos of human faces, we don't run facial recognition, and we never use any photo — even one that incidentally includes a person — to identify, authenticate, or profile anyone, or to create anything that could be considered biometric data.
• Your email address — used to confirm you're a real person before we generate, to send your pet's link, and (if you buy the full version) to send your claim code and receipt. No account or password is created.
• The pet's name and any text you enter — stored with the generation so we can show it on your pet's page and in the app.
• Payment details — handled entirely by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number; we keep only the purchase reference, amount, and status Stripe gives us so we can deliver your purchase and handle refunds or support.
• Usage & device data — basic product events (pages viewed, funnel steps, whether a generation succeeded) via PostHog, plus technical data your browser sends automatically, such as IP address, approximate location derived from it, browser/OS type, and timestamps. We use these to run the product, fix bugs, and measure what's working.
• Anti-abuse signals — IP-based rate-limit counters and a Cloudflare Turnstile bot-check token, used to keep automated abuse and fraud off the service.

Cookies, localStorage & analytics

besstfriend doesn't use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. We use a small number of strictly necessary and analytics technologies:

• Local storage in your browser — to remember your in-progress generation and preferences on the device you're using, so a refresh doesn't lose your work.
• PostHog analytics — sets a first-party identifier so we can understand product usage in aggregate (which steps people complete, where they drop off). We don't use it to build advertising profiles or sell audiences.
• Cloudflare — may set strictly-necessary tokens to route traffic, cache pages, and run the Turnstile bot check.

Most browsers let you clear or block local storage and cookies. Doing so is fine; it may just mean an in-progress pet isn't remembered.

Why we're allowed to use your data (legal bases)

If you're in the UK, EU, or another region with similar law, we rely on these lawful bases under the GDPR:

• Performance of a contract — to generate your pet, deliver your preview, and fulfil a purchase you asked for (photos, email, name, payment reference).
• Legitimate interests — to keep the service secure and free of abuse, understand aggregate usage, and provide support. We balance these against your rights.
• Consent — where required, for example when you choose to upload photos and submit your email to start a generation. You can withdraw consent by asking us to delete your data (below).
• Legal obligation — to keep limited records (like tax and transaction records) where the law requires it.

Who processes it (subprocessors)

We don't run everything ourselves. These vetted providers process data on our behalf, only to provide their service to us, under their own security and privacy commitments:

• Cloudflare — hosting, content delivery, object storage (R2) for photos and artwork, database (D1), and Turnstile bot checks.
• Google (Gemini API) — generates your pet's pixel character from your uploaded photos. Google processes the images to return the generated result.
• Resend — sends transactional email (your pet's link, claim codes, receipts).
• Stripe — processes payments and stores card details as an independent controller under its own privacy policy.
• PostHog — product analytics and anti-abuse metrics.

We may add or change providers as the product evolves; if we do, we'll keep them held to comparable standards and update this list.

What we don't do

• We don't sell or rent your personal information. Ever.
• We don't use your photos, your pet's artwork, or your email to train AI models — ours or anyone else's.
• We don't send marketing email. You get transactional email about your own pet, and that's it.
• We don't share your data with advertisers or data brokers.

The Mac app

The besstfriend desktop app runs locally on your Mac and needs no account. It talks to the internet for three things only:

• Claiming your pet — redeeming your claim code downloads your character from our servers.
• Update checks — the app checks for new versions so it keeps working as macOS changes.
• Optional analytics — a small set of product events (app started, pet installed, errors) via PostHog, and only if you turn analytics on in the app's settings. Consent is off means nothing is sent.

Your photos never pass through the app, and it doesn't read anything else on your Mac.

Sharing your pet

Every generated pet gets a public share link (like besstfriend.com/p/…) showing the pixel character and the name you gave it. The link is long and unguessable, and it's only findable if you share it. Your uploaded photos are never shown on it. If you'd rather a share page didn't exist, ask us to remove it.

How long we keep it (retention)

• Generation jobs (uploaded photos, generated artwork, the pet's name, the email tied to it) are kept while your pet is active so it keeps working and so support and rebuilds are possible.
• Purchase records (Stripe reference, amount, date) are kept as long as needed for support, refunds, and legal/tax obligations — typically several years.
• Analytics & anti-abuse data is kept in aggregate or short-lived form and is not tied to your identity beyond what's described above.
• When you ask us to delete your data, we remove your photos, email, and pet from active systems promptly, and from backups as they rotate out. We may retain the minimum needed to meet a legal obligation or resolve a dispute.

How we protect it (security)

We use encryption in transit (HTTPS) and rely on our infrastructure providers' encryption at rest, access controls, and network security. Access to stored data is limited to what's needed to run the service. No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure, so we can't promise absolute security — but we work to keep the amount of data we hold small and the paths to it few.

Where your data is processed (international transfers)

besstfriend is operated from the United States, and our providers may process and store data in the United States and other countries. If you're in the UK, EU, or another region with data-transfer rules, this means your information may be transferred outside your home country. Where required, we and our providers rely on appropriate safeguards (such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses) for those transfers.

Your rights & choices

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of these rights over your personal information:

• Access & portability — ask what we hold about you and get a copy.
• Correction — ask us to fix inaccurate data.
• Deletion — ask us to delete your photos, email, pet, and associated data.
• Objection & restriction — ask us to stop or limit certain processing.
• Withdraw consent — where we rely on consent, withdraw it at any time.
• Non-discrimination — we won't treat you differently for exercising these rights.

To use any of these, email hello@besstfriend.com from the address you used. Because we have no accounts, we verify requests by the email tied to your pet or purchase. You can also authorize an agent to make a request on your behalf. If you're in the EU/UK and think we've got it wrong, you have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

California privacy rights (CCPA/CPRA)

If you're a California resident, you have the rights to know, delete, and correct your personal information, and to not be discriminated against for exercising them, using the same contact above. We collect the categories described in "What we collect" for the business purposes described here. We do not sell or share your personal information as those terms are defined under California law, and we have not done so in the past 12 months. Because we don't sell or share, there's no need for a "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" opt-out — the answer is already no.

Children's privacy

besstfriend isn't directed at children. You must be at least 13 (and at least 16 in the EU/UK, or the age of digital consent in your country) to use it. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under those ages. If you believe a child has provided us information, email us and we'll delete it.

Retention & deletion, the easy way

Want something deleted — photos, email, your pet, everything? Write to hello@besstfriend.com from the email you used and we'll take care of it.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes materially, we'll update this page and the effective date at the top, and — for significant changes affecting how we use existing data — we'll make a reasonable effort to note it. Your continued use after an update means you accept the revised policy.

Questions? hello@besstfriend.com · See also our terms of service. besstfriend is built on OpenPets, an open-source engine (MIT).