Privacy Policy

Overview

Herd The Cats is designed around a simple principle:

"Help people find time together without collecting more personal information than necessary."

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights you may have regarding your information.

Herd The Cats is currently operated by Steven Robbins ("Herd The Cats", "we", "us", or "our").

By using Herd The Cats, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

What Information We Collect

Information You Provide

When using Herd The Cats, you may provide information such as:

• Event titles
• Event descriptions
• Event locations
• Availability responses
• Recurring unavailability slots and notes you create
• Display names
• Catatar customisations
• Support requests or feedback
• Notification preferences and device push subscriptions, if you opt in
• Optional event-update email addresses, if you ask to be emailed about a specific event
• Feature access, testing cohort, and admin rollout information

This information is collected because it is necessary for the service to function.

Account Information

If you choose to create an account using a supported identity provider such as Google or Microsoft, we may receive:

• Name
• Email address
• Account identifier
• Profile image, if provided by the provider

We only receive information that you authorise the provider to share.

If you connect a third-party account or calendar, we may store the encrypted authorisation information needed to keep that connection working until you disconnect it.

Technical Information

When you use Herd The Cats, we may automatically collect:

• IP address
• Browser type
• Device information
• Operating system information
• Session information
• Error logs
• Security and abuse-prevention data

This information helps us operate, secure, and improve the service.

Event Privacy

Herd The Cats events are designed to be private.

Events are:

• Not publicly listed
• Not publicly indexed
• Not searchable through Herd The Cats

Access to an event generally requires:

• Possession of a valid event link
• Appropriate account permissions
• Event administrator access

You are responsible for deciding who receives your event links.

Anyone with access to a valid event link may be able to view information made available through that link.

Our Calendar Privacy Promise

Herd The Cats exists to help people find time together, not to collect calendar data.

If you choose to connect Google Calendar, Microsoft Calendar, or another supported calendar provider, Herd The Cats is designed to use calendar information to help identify suitable meeting times and explain your own clashes to you.

External Calendar Data

Herd The Cats may read event titles so that your own clash hints make sense to you, for example "Dentist" or "Band practice".

Google User Data

If you connect Google Calendar, Herd The Cats uses Google user data only to provide calendar features that are visible in the product, such as private clash hints while creating or responding to an event and suggestions for your own recurring no-go times.

Herd The Cats does not sell Google user data, use it for advertising, transfer it to advertising platforms or data brokers, or allow humans to read it except where necessary for security, legal compliance, or a user-requested support investigation.

Herd The Cats does not intentionally store external calendar contents, including:

• Calendar event titles
• Calendar descriptions
• Calendar attendee lists
• Calendar locations
• Calendar notes
• Calendar contents from external calendar providers

Your calendar remains your calendar.

Important Clarification

This promise applies only to external calendar providers.

Herd The Cats does store information that you intentionally create within Herd The Cats itself, including:

• Herd The Cats event titles
• Herd The Cats event descriptions
• Herd The Cats event locations
• Availability responses
• Recurring unavailability slots and notes you create
• Catatar customisations

Without storing this information, the service would not function.

Family Den: Households and Children

Family Den is an optional feature that lets an adult create a shared household ("den") for planning events, chores, and a shopping list, and add child participants ("kittens").

Our guiding principle for children is to store as little about them as possible.

Children are participants, not account holders. A child added to a den does not have a Herd The Cats account. For a kitten we store only:

• A nickname chosen by the adult
• A cartoon "catatar" avatar, never a photograph
• A coarse age band, such as "under 8", "8–12", or "teen", never a date of birth
• Arcade scores and fixed-template challenge state, if the adult enables arcade access
• Shopping-list suggestions they submit, together with whether an adult accepted or dismissed them

We do not collect a child's real name beyond any nickname an adult types, nor their email address, date of birth, phone number, postal address, location, or photograph.

The responsible adult. An adult who creates a den or adds a child confirms that they are the child's parent or guardian, or are adding the child with the parent or guardian's permission, and is responsible for that child's participation and for the information entered about them.

Age requirements. You must be at least 13 to hold any Herd The Cats account. Holding an owner or adult administrator role in a den additionally requires confirming that you are at least 18.

Child devices. An adult can create a private link or QR code so a child, or a shared family device such as a kitchen tablet, can see their own tasks and the household shopping list without an account or password. A child can suggest a shopping item when the responsible adult enables suggestions, but it does not join the active list until an adult accepts it. These links create a limited, revocable device session scoped to that child or board. An adult can revoke a device at any time, and removing a child revokes their devices automatically.

Calendar feeds. An adult can create a private calendar feed link to view household plans in another calendar app. Feed links can be limited to show only busy times or generic entries, and can be rotated or revoked at any time.

Alexa. An adult may optionally link their own recognised Alexa voice profile to Herd The Cats. Shared Amazon-account access is not accepted: Alexa requests must include the individually linked adult profile's access token, and Herd The Cats checks that the personal link remains active and that the linked account still has an adult role in the den. Amazon processes the spoken request and sends Herd The Cats structured information such as the recognised item, shop, date, or family-member name; Herd The Cats does not receive the raw audio. Herd The Cats returns the requested voice and screen response through Amazon and Amazon Web Services so Alexa can speak or display it.

An individually linked adult can add active shopping items. Reading the shopping list aloud is off by default and must be enabled separately by a den owner or adult administrator. Calendar and chore responses have their own off-by-default Den setting. If a den owner or adult administrator enables it, Alexa responses may include event and chore titles, timings, and family nicknames. Even with personal voice recognition, anyone nearby may hear a response or see it on an Echo screen, so avoid putting sensitive or identifying information in household titles. Unlinking a personal Alexa voice profile ends that profile's associated Herd The Cats OAuth grant; disabling the skill ends all of its associated profile grants.

Family arcade club. An adult can invite another adult to a household's private arcade leaderboard. Club guests can see participating cats' nicknames, Catatars, and scores, but never the household's calendar, chores, age bands, contact details, or private profiles.

Arcade challenges. Participating cats can send short-lived score challenges using a fixed game, recorded score, selected recipients, and an optional preset line or reaction. Challenges do not support typed messages or other free text. Den owners can switch off challenges involving Arcade Club guests. Challenges expire after 14 days and expired challenge records are removed when the Den arcade is next used.

Notifications to children. Reminders sent to a child's device are kept generic, for example a count of tasks rather than their titles, and are subject to quiet hours.

Protecting stored details. Free-text details entered for household events, chores, and shopping — including titles, descriptions, locations, notes, item names, quantities, custom shop-tag names, and child suggestions — are stored encrypted at rest. This protects them within our stored data; it is not end-to-end encryption, and Herd The Cats can access this content where necessary to operate the service, provide support, or comply with the law.

Retention. When an adult deletes a den, or removes a child or member, the associated data is scheduled for permanent deletion after a short grace period, currently 30 days, that allows an accidental removal to be undone. A den owner can also export or delete household data, including a child's data, from the household's settings.

How We Use Information

We use information to:

• Operate Herd The Cats
• Create and manage events
• Display responses and availability
• Coordinate household plans, chores, and shopping and remind the right people, where you use Family Den
• Authenticate users
• Provide customer support
• Improve the service
• Prevent abuse and fraud
• Maintain security
• Send optional notifications you have enabled
• Understand which features are used and where people get stuck
• Manage feature access, testing cohorts, support requests, and admin-only rollouts
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not sell personal information.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

Herd The Cats uses cookies and similar technologies for purposes such as:

• Authentication
• Session management
• Security protections
• Remembering preferences
• Maintaining access to event responses

For more information, see our Cookie Policy.

Legal Bases for Processing

Where GDPR or similar privacy laws apply, we generally process information on one or more of the following legal bases:

• Performance of a contract
• Legitimate interests
• Legal obligations
• Consent, where required

Service Providers and Processors

We use third-party services to help operate Herd The Cats.

Depending on the features you use, these may include:

Additional providers may be introduced as the service evolves.

Product Analytics

Herd The Cats may collect privacy-conscious product analytics to understand how the service is used and where the experience needs improvement.

Analytics events may include information such as:

• Whether an event was date-only or date-and-time
• How many options were proposed
• Whether a rich invite image was used
• Whether a response was submitted
• Which arcade game was played
• Approximate score and duration ranges for arcade play
• Whether a user was signed in or using the service anonymously

We do not intentionally send event titles, event descriptions, event locations, invite tokens, responder names, email addresses, free-text notes, raw invite URLs, or raw catatar recipes to analytics providers.

If you enable notifications, Herd The Cats stores the browser push subscription needed to reach that installed web app. Notification delivery may pass through browser or operating-system push services. Notification content is kept brief, but may include that someone responded to one of your events and a link back to Herd The Cats.

If you ask for email updates about a specific event, Herd The Cats stores your email address for that event only, along with the event link needed to take you back to your response. These emails are opt-in, require confirmation, include an unsubscribe link, and are not used for marketing or unrelated site messages.

Analytics events are first sent to Herd The Cats and may then be forwarded server-side to PostHog if analytics is enabled. This helps avoid exposing analytics provider keys in the browser and lets us limit the data that is shared.

Data Sharing

We do not sell personal information.

We may share information:

• With service providers that help operate Herd The Cats
• When required by law
• To protect the rights, safety, or security of users or the service
• During a business transfer or restructuring if ownership of the service changes

Data Retention

We retain information only for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• Provide the service
• Maintain security
• Resolve disputes
• Comply with legal obligations

Event Retention

Expired events may be automatically deleted after a reasonable retention period.

Event Update Email Retention

Optional event-update email subscriptions are deleted when you unsubscribe, when the event is locked and the final update email has been sent, or shortly after the event's RSVP deadline. They are stored only for event-specific update emails.

Account Retention

Account information may be retained while your account remains active and for a reasonable period afterwards where necessary for legal, operational, or security reasons.

Family Den Retention

Household ("den") data exists while the den is active. When a den is deleted, or a child or member is removed, the associated data — including a child's nickname, avatar, age band, scores, challenge participation, and shopping suggestions — is scheduled for permanent erasure after a short grace period, currently 30 days, so that an accidental removal can be undone. Arcade challenges expire after 14 days and are removed when the Den arcade is next used. A den owner can export or delete household data, including shopping-list and child-suggestion data, from the household's settings.

International Users

Herd The Cats is available globally.

Your information may be processed in countries other than the country where you live.

Where required by law, appropriate safeguards will be used to protect personal information during international transfers.

Your Rights

Depending on your location and applicable laws, you may have rights to:

• Access your personal information
• Correct inaccurate information
• Delete personal information
• Restrict processing
• Object to processing
• Receive a copy of your data
• Withdraw consent where consent is the legal basis

Not all rights apply in all circumstances.

Deletion Requests

You may delete your account from your profile where that option is available, or request deletion of your account and associated personal information.

We will review requests in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Some information may need to be retained where required for legal, operational, fraud-prevention, or security reasons.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect information.

However, no online service can guarantee absolute security.

You use Herd The Cats at your own risk.

Children's Privacy

Herd The Cats accounts are for people aged 13 and over. We do not knowingly allow a child under 13 to create an account, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from a child under 13 as an account holder. If we become aware that a child under 13 has created an account, we will take reasonable steps to remove it.

Children can take part in a household through the Family Den feature as participants rather than account holders, always under the control of a responsible adult who confirms they are the child's parent or guardian or have their permission. See "Family Den: Households and Children" above for exactly what we store about a child and how an adult can review, export, or delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

The latest version will always be published through Herd The Cats.

Continued use of the service after an updated policy becomes effective constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy, privacy rights, or data protection matters can be sent to the contact address published on herdthecats.club.

As the service evolves, a dedicated privacy contact address may be provided.