Privacy notice

Animal Symbols is run by Tyler Simms. This notice explains what we collect and your choices. We follow the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and aim to meet GDPR-style standards for visitors elsewhere.

Without an account

• Your discovery conversation is sent to our AI provider (Groq) to generate replies. We don't store it on our servers; a copy is kept only in your browser so you can return to it.
• If you create a share link, a trimmed copy of your result card (no name or email) is stored and can be viewed by anyone with the link.

With an account

• Email address — to sign you in and send account emails.
• Saved symbol cards — the result cards you choose to save.
• Groups — groups you create or join and the name you choose to show in each. Other members of a group see that name and your latest saved animal symbol, never your email. You can leave any group at any time, and invite links only show a group's name, type and animals.
• Connections — who you're connected with, the name you show them, the relationship type and optional details (how long, how often). Your private note and your connection analysis are visible only to you. The other person sees your chosen name and latest saved symbol, never your email.
• Settings — your time zone (to time the Weekly Thought), notification choices, and when you last used the app (so we only write thoughts for active members).
• Weekly Thoughts and notifications — the thoughts written for you and in-app notices. Free members see the latest thought; past ones are kept and shown with Premium.
• Topic labels — when you tap a suggested topic (e.g. “Under pressure”), we store that short label and a count, to show what you've been exploring. We never store what you type or your conversations on our servers.
• Your choices — when you accepted these terms, whether you appear on the Symbol Map, and an optional broad region.

We don't collect your name, location, payment details or quiz answers into your account, and we don't sell or share data for advertising.

The Symbol Map

Off by default. If you opt in, your latest animal, its top traits, the month it was saved and your chosen broad region are shown publicly, without anything linking them to you. You can switch it off anytime in your account.

Your own AI key

If you bring your own AI key for Explore or Compare, it stays in your browser. It passes through our server only to forward each question to the provider you chose, and is never stored or logged by us. That provider's own terms and charges apply.

Who processes data

• Supabase — hosts accounts and saved cards.
• Groq — generates replies during discovery and Weekly Thoughts.
• Wikipedia — supplies animal photos (your browser loads them directly).

Keeping and deleting

Explore, Compare, Connection and Group chats are stored only in your browser on your device, capped in size, and are lost if you clear browser data. We keep account data until you delete your account. From Settings you can download all your data or delete your account, which removes your saved cards and map entry straight away.

Age

Accounts are for people aged 16 and over.

Contact

For privacy questions or requests, contact Tyler Simms, the creator of Animal Symbols. You can also complain to the NZ Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

This notice is a plain-language starting point, not legal advice.