Privacy
Every permission the app asks for, what leaves your device, and what stays on it.
No account#
Jelifriend doesn't ask for an email address, a password or a name. On first launch it generates a random identifier for your device, and that is your account. There's nothing to sign in to and nothing to reset.
Permissions#
Everything the app asks for, and what it's for. Nothing else is requested.
| Permission | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Internet, network state | phone | Visiting, chat, and your Jeli's page. Everything else works with no network at all. |
| Notifications | both | Hearts earned, and illness warnings. |
| Activity recognition | watch | Counting steps, which is how treats are earned. |
| Display over other apps | phone | Letting your Jeli appear over other apps. Off until you turn it on. |
| Foreground service | phone | Holds your Jeli on screen during a visit, with a notification to send it home. |
| Run at startup | both | Re-schedules the background checks after a restart. |
Not asked for, and worth saying plainly: no location, no contacts, no camera, no microphone, no files, no usage access, and no advertising ID.
What leaves your device#
Nothing, by default. A Jeli that never visits a friend, never chats and has no page never sends anything anywhere.
Visiting sends the care record to your friend's device through the server, because that is the feature. They're looking after your creature.
Chat sends the message you type. Neither side of the conversation is stored on the server. When a message fails, the server keeps the status code and a short reason, and no message text.
Your Jeli's page, if you switch it on, sends a snapshot: name, species, coat, age, hearts, mood band, build, what it's wearing, one plain line about how it's doing, and a picture your phone drew. The care record never goes with it, and nothing on the page identifies you beyond the code you chose to share.
The watch and the phone talk to each other directly, with no server in between.
What's kept on your device#
The whole care record, in the app's own storage.
Android's automatic backup is on, so that record is part of your Google backup and comes back when you reinstall or move to a new phone. That's why reinstalling doesn't give you a fresh egg. Let it go and start a new egg in the Log tab is the deliberate way to clear it.
Steps#
Step counts are read on the watch to turn walking into treats. They stay on the watch.
The beta programme#
The beta signup and the tester lounge are part of this website, not the app. The app has no accounts at all, and nothing you do here is attached to your Jeli or synced to your devices.
If you sign up as a tester we store the first name, email address, device type and password you gave us. The password is stored hashed, never in readable form. We use the email to send your invite and, at launch, the code for the tester rewards. We don't use it for anything else and we don't pass it on.
Anything you post on the tester wall or send as a problem report is stored with your first name against it, and other testers can see wall posts. Problem reports are only seen by us.
Our emails to you, meaning the confirmation, your invite and password resets, are sent through Postmark, who handle delivery. Your name and email address pass through them for that.
Ask us and we'll delete your account, your posts and your reports.