What happens to your photos
A photo you scan and a photo you save to your pet's profile are handled completely differently. Here's exactly what happens to each, in plain language — the legal version of all this lives in our privacy policy.
Scanning a dog: nothing leaves your phone
When you point the camera at a dog to identify its breed, the photo never leaves your device. The scan runs on-device, start to finish — the check that there's a dog in the frame, the model that reads the breed, the confidence score you see on screen. We never receive the photo, never see it, and never store a copy of it anywhere. Your scan history and your card collection live on your phone, not on a BreedQuest server, which also means we can't hand over, lose or leak a scan photo we were never sent in the first place.
We cover how the scan itself works — the steps, the confidence score, the honest limits — on how BreedQuest works.
The check before a scan
Before the breed model runs, the app checks the photo on-device: is there an animal in it, is there only one, is it clear enough to read. That check uses Apple's Vision framework directly on your phone — it doesn't send the photo or the result anywhere either. A photo that fails — no dog found, two dogs, too dark or blurry — gets turned back with Retake or Choose another, because a bad photo can only produce a bad guess.
The same check runs on a profile photo — the picture you might set for your pet or your own account — but it's softer there. A profile photo that looks unclear gets a warning, not a block, with a "use it anyway" option, because it's already your photo and your call, not a breed guess we're putting our name on.
If you add a pet, some photos do get stored
Scanning needs no account, but saving your own pet does — a free account that backs up your pet's records and makes them available on the web app. If you attach a photo to your pet's profile, or use a profile picture from Sign in with Apple or Google, that photo is uploaded and stored on our infrastructure (Cloudflare) so it shows up wherever you're signed in, on any device.
Every upload is checked before it's accepted — file type, size and the file's actual content, not just its name — the same gate any file you send us goes through. This is the one point where a photo leaves your phone, and it only happens because you chose to add it to an account you created.
What we never do
We don't sell photos, and we don't use them — yours or your pet's — to target ads. A scan photo can't be used for anything past the scan itself, because it's never sent to us. An uploaded pet or profile photo is used for exactly what you added it for: showing up on your pet's profile, wherever you're signed in. Nothing more.
Your controls
Export everything you've stored with us, as JSON, any time — Profile → Export all data. Delete your account and we erase your data from our active systems within 30 days, per our privacy policy. Your scan history and card collection were never on our servers to begin with, so deleting an account doesn't touch them — they're still on your phone.
FAQ
Does a scan photo ever get uploaded?
No. Breed scanning, and the on-device check that runs before it, both happen entirely on your phone. The photo is never sent to BreedQuest's servers, so we never receive it, see it, or store it.
What photos does BreedQuest actually store?
Only the ones you deliberately attach to an account you created — a photo on your pet's profile, or a profile picture from Sign in with Apple or Google. Photos used for breed scanning are never stored anywhere, because they're never uploaded.
Do I need an account for my photos to be private?
You don't need an account at all to scan. Without one, scanning and your collection stay entirely on your phone. An account is only for people who want their pet's records backed up and available on the web, and it's free for one pet.
Are uploaded photos checked for anything before they're stored?
Yes. Every upload is checked for its file type, its size, and its actual file content before it's accepted, whether it's a pet photo, a document, or anything else you send us.
Does BreedQuest use my photos to train AI models?
No, and it can't for scan photos — they're processed on your device and never reach us. Photos you upload to a pet's profile are stored for that profile alone; we don't use pet photos to train models or for advertising.
Can I delete my photos?
Yes. Delete a pet or your whole account from Profile, and any photos you uploaded are erased from our active systems within 30 days. Your on-device scan history and card collection were never on our servers, so there's nothing to delete there beyond your own phone.
Curious how the scan itself works? How BreedQuest works →