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.
Nobody else can read your answers. We do not read them, they are not used to train anything, and they are not shared with any other company. If you use the share button, only the question and the artwork are shared: your answers are never included unless you type them yourself.
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. When you delete your account, we remove it from our live systems promptly, and it falls out of routine backups within 30 days.
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.