Whisker Hollow lives entirely on your phone. There is no account, no server, and nothing about you or your sanctuary is ever sent anywhere.
What the app stores, and where
Everything the game remembers (your cats, the sanctuary you built, the journal, your Super Tuna, and your settings) is stored locally on your device using Apple's on-device storage. None of it is uploaded to us or to any third party. We have no servers and no database of our players.
Photos
Photo mode can save a picture to your Photos library. When you first save one, the app asks for add-only permission, which lets it add that photo and nothing else. It cannot see, read, or change anything already in your library. Nothing is saved unless you tap Save.
Cat check-ins
Settings has a switch called Cat check-ins. It is off by default. Turning it on asks your permission to show notifications and play their sound. Check-ins are local notifications: your device schedules them itself from the sanctuary it already has saved, so there is no push token, no server, and nothing is sent anywhere. Each one invites you back to one of your cats by name, and you get at most one a day. Coming back to the game, turning the switch off, or starting over clears them, and you can turn notifications off in iOS Settings at any time.
The Little Companion widget
The Home Screen widget shows a cat you choose in Settings. To draw it, the app saves a small snapshot on your device: the cat's name, your Bond level with that cat, two small portraits, and the ids that let a tap open the right cat. The snapshot sits in storage that only Whisker Hollow and its own widget can read, and starting over deletes it. The widget has no networking code either. If you use iPhone widgets on your Mac, Apple carries the widget between your own devices; it never passes through us.
Purchases
The app offers optional purchases through Apple's in-app purchase system: The Full Hollow, a one-time unlock, and packs of Super Tuna to spend in the game. Apple handles every transaction. We never see your payment details, your name, or your Apple Account. Super Tuna you buy is added to a balance kept on your device. Restore Purchases asks the App Store which purchases your Apple Account holds and nothing more. The purchases themselves are covered by Apple's privacy policy.
The playtest switch
Settings has a switch called Record playtest events. It is off by default. When it is on, the app keeps a log of game events on your phone: sessions, the walkthrough, building, and what the cats did. The log holds no names, no location, no advertising or device identifiers, and no free text. The only identity in it is a random id created the moment you turn the switch on. The log is never uploaded; the app has no code that could. It leaves your phone only if you export it yourself through the share sheet. Turning the switch off deletes the log and the id together.
No accounts, no analytics, no ads
The app does not require sign-up, does not use analytics or tracking SDKs, does not show ads, and asks for only two permissions, both optional and both described above: add-only Photos access, and notifications if you turn on Cat check-ins. There is nothing to link your play to your identity because we never receive your play in the first place.
Children's privacy
The app does not knowingly collect any information from anyone, including children, because it does not collect information at all.
Changes to this policy
If this policy ever changes, the update will be posted on this page with a new "Last updated" date.
Contact
Questions about this policy or the app can be sent to hello@playwhiskerhollow.com.
Whisker Hollow. A sanctuary for cats nobody else would take.