Ottermates is a question game for two people. That means the app holds things you have written to your partner, so it matters that you know exactly what is stored, who can see it, and how to remove it. This page is written to be read, not to be survived.
Ottermates is made by Fabulous Apps LLC. If you want to ask anything about your data, or exercise any of the rights below, email hello@ottermates.app and a person will answer.
When you first open Ottermates the app creates an anonymous account for you automatically. You do not have to sign up, give an email address, or type a password to use it. That anonymous account is just an identifier so your otter, your settings and your answers can be kept together.
You are only asked to sign in when you pair with your partner, and only with Sign in with Apple or Sign in with Google. We receive the account identifier those services give us. If you use Sign in with Apple and choose to hide your email, we never see your real address. We do not use passwords, so we never store one.
Answers are kept rather than deleted after a reveal, because looking back at them later is part of the point of the app.
Your partner can see an answer once you have both answered that question. Before that, nobody can: not your partner, and not you in reverse. That rule is enforced by the app rather than being a matter of trust.
Your answers are stored by our service providers so the app can deliver them to your partner. We do not send answer text, comments, your partner's answers or your couple record to Firebase Analytics or Meta for analytics or advertising measurement. Your answers are not used to train AI. If you use the share button, only the question and the artwork are shared: your answers are never included unless you type them yourself.
Starting with iOS version 1.0.2, you can choose to allow app analytics using Google Analytics for Firebase and advertising measurement using Meta's Facebook SDK. These help us understand how the app is used and whether our ads lead to installs and useful activity. The version 1.0.3 changes described here apply when you install that update. Earlier versions and other platforms may not offer the same options.
Both options start off. During onboarding, after you choose your otter and reach the naming screen, iOS asks for tracking permission if you have not already made that choice and your device allows requests. In iOS version 1.0.2, allowing enables both options and declining leaves both off. The planned iOS version 1.0.3 keeps app analytics off after a new denial but enables limited Meta ad measurement without collecting your advertising identifier. Previously saved refusals are preserved. Declining tracking does not restrict questions, pairing, purchases or other app features.
You can change each option separately in Settings > Help & legal > Privacy choices. Changes save automatically. In iOS version 1.0.3, turning off Ad measurement also stops the limited app events sent after tracking is denied. That limited mode uses Meta's support for measurement of users who opt out of tracking; it does not give permission to link your activity across other companies' apps or websites. The SDK uses an app-scoped identifier, so we do not describe every event as fully anonymous. Access to the advertising identifier still requires Apple's permission. App analytics can be enabled separately without enabling advertising measurement.
When enabled, measurement can include installs, app activation, onboarding and feature milestones, purchase-flow events and purchase information such as product and price in permitted Firebase analytics, along with event times, app and device information and SDK-generated identifiers. Our server does not currently export subscription purchases or revenue to Meta. Meta may receive your device's advertising identifier when iOS permits it and use the data to match activity to ads across its services. Identifiers are not necessarily anonymous. We also store your consent choices and limited measurement records on our backend to enforce your choices and avoid duplicate events.
Turning an option off stops new app-controlled events for that purpose. It does not recall information already sent. Essential account storage, notifications and purchase processing still work. Website cookie choices are separate from these app choices.
We use a small number of providers to run the app. Each one only receives what it needs to do its job.
Notifications are about your partner: that they answered, that a reveal is ready, that they reacted to something you wrote. You are asked for permission at the moment it becomes useful, not on your first screen, and you can turn each type off individually in settings or switch them off entirely in your phone's settings.
The site uses Google Analytics to count visits and to see which pages lead people to download the app. Analytics cookies are set only after you accept them. If you are somewhere that requires consent, nothing is stored until you choose, and you can change your mind at any time using the Cookie settings link in the footer.
Our server also counts clicks on the download buttons. That count records which page the click came from and the country it came from, and is not tied to you as a person.
You can ask us for a copy of your data, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, and you can object to how we use it. If you are in the EU, the UK, California or anywhere with similar rules, those rights are yours by law, and we apply them to everyone regardless of where you live.
Deleting your account is built into the app, in settings, and you do not need to email anyone to do it. When you delete your account we remove your profile and the answers you wrote.
One thing to be clear about, because it surprises people: your partner keeps their own answers and their side of your shared history. Those are their words, not yours, and it would not be right for us to delete someone else's writing. Their copy of the conversation will show that you left.
We keep your data while your account exists, because the app is built around looking back at what you have both written. Account deletion removes your profile and answers from our live systems. Backup copies, consent records, purchase records and information already processed by measurement providers can have different retention periods. Turning tracking off is not an account-deletion request. Contact us for help with access or deletion requests, including information previously sent to a provider.
Ottermates is made for adults in relationships and is not intended for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect anything from children. If you believe a child has an account, email us and we will remove it.
Our providers operate servers in several countries, including the United States, so your data may be handled outside the country you live in. Where the law requires safeguards for those transfers, we rely on the standard contractual terms those providers offer.
If we change how the app handles your data in a way that matters, we will update the date at the top of this page and tell you in the app. We will not quietly broaden what we collect.
Anything here unclear, or something you want removed? Email hello@ottermates.app.