petdock
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Privacy

What stays local and what the website can observe

Pet Dock is designed to run locally. The app and this public website have different data boundaries, so this guide describes them separately.

The Windows app

Normal operation is local

  • Pet Dock does not require an account, credentials, or an API key.
  • It does not read chat history, extract pet assets, send screenshots, or automatically upload telemetry or diagnostics.
  • Optional GPU collection uses a local subprocess. It does not install a sensor driver.
  • Metrics, colors, local backgrounds, fonts, and recovery state remain on the computer.

State locations

Where app data is kept

Installed mode
%LOCALAPPDATA%\PetDock stores settings, logs, recovery state, and imported assets. Program files live under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PetDock.
Portable mode
data/ beside the extracted app stores portable state.
Updates and uninstall
Personal state is retained. It is not automatically deleted with the application files.

Moving or sharing data

Keep recovery and diagnostics deliberate

To move portable settings to an installed copy, close both copies, restore any off-screen pet, then copy the contents of data/ into %LOCALAPPDATA%\PetDock, including assets/. Do not copy a live desktop-pet-restore.json.

When you choose to create or share diagnostics, review them first. A report can contain local paths, process names, window titles, USB serial or instance identifiers, and driver details. Redact what you do not intend to disclose.

Imported backgrounds are converted to metadata-free PNGs in the app’s private assets folder; the original file is not changed. Font and image references use relative hashed asset names rather than original filenames or absolute paths.

This public website

Website requests are separate from app telemetry

A normal web host may retain standard request logs such as IP address, user-agent, requested page, time, and response status for operations and security. That is different from the local app sending telemetry.

This website remembers a color-theme preference in browser localStorage. It has no account system, checkout, or contact form. It also loads Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity and Statcounter, in addition to hosting-platform analytics and operational or security logs. This is not a zero-tracking or cookie-free website.

The three third-party tracking services load automatically with the website. They may process page visits, browser and device information, online identifiers and on-page interactions, and use cookies or browser storage. Statcounter also includes a tracking image when JavaScript is disabled. Blocking scripts or trackers in your browser can limit collection; those tools do not affect the desktop app.

External requests

Links and browser resources

Following a GitHub download link or the retailer link sends your browser to that third party under its own policies. Fonts and illustrations on this site are self-hosted; your browser does not need to contact an external font service to display them.

The analytics scripts are different from outbound links: loading this website can contact Google, Microsoft and Statcounter without clicking a download or retailer link. Review the providers’ privacy terms and your browser’s tracking controls. The project does not operate the third-party analytics services, checkout or release host.

Open source

License and repository scope

The application source is licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later. Public source and release archives exclude local settings, logs, diagnostics, desktop captures, captured pet assets, account configuration, and development-session artifacts.

Read the GPL-3.0-or-later license