Privacy Policy — Pet Health IQ
Last Updated: February 23, 2026
Arka AI (“we,” “our,” or “us”) operates the Pet Health IQ mobile application (“the App”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information when you use our App.
1. Overview
Pet Health IQ is an AI-powered pet health triage tool. You can submit photos, symptoms, and descriptions of your pet's health concerns to receive risk assessments, severity ratings, and guidance on whether to monitor at home or visit a veterinarian. The App also offers medication checking, toxicity screening, behavior analysis, healing progress tracking, emergency triage, vet visit preparation, and a vet translator feature. To deliver these services, the App sends certain data to our backend server and third-party AI services. This policy explains what data is collected, who receives it, and how it is used.
2. Data We Collect
2.1 Data You Provide Directly
- •Pet profile data: Pet name, species, breed, age, and weight that you enter when creating a pet profile.
- •Photos: Images you capture or upload for visual health scans, healing progress tracking, and other analysis features.
- •Symptoms and descriptions: Text you enter describing your pet's symptoms, health concerns, behaviors, medications, or emergency situations.
- •Health timeline entries: Vet visits, medications, vaccinations, and notes you add to your pet's health timeline.
- •Vet information: Veterinary clinic name, phone number, and address you optionally provide.
2.2 Data Collected Automatically
- Location: With your permission, we access your approximate location solely to provide local weather-based pet safety tips (e.g., heat advisories, cold warnings). Location is not stored on our servers.
- •We do not use cookies or third-party analytics SDKs.
- •We do not collect contacts, calendar data, or browsing history.
- •We do not collect device identifiers for advertising purposes.
3. How Your Data Is Used
3.1 AI-Powered Health Analysis
When you request a health scan, symptom check, medication lookup, toxicity screen, behavior analysis, or any other AI feature, the App sends your pet's data (profile information, photos, and descriptions) to our backend server hosted on Vercel. Our backend forwards the data to third-party AI services for processing.
Specifically:
- •The AI processes your pet's data solely to generate health assessments, risk ratings, and guidance.
- •We do not store your pet's data on our servers after processing is complete.
- •Your data is not used to train AI models.
- •Photos are transmitted securely and are not retained after analysis.
3.2 Local Storage
- Pet profiles, scan history, health timelines, and assessment results are stored locally on your device.
- •Pet photos are stored on-device only.
- •You can delete all your data at any time by removing your pet profiles or deleting the App.
3.3 Weather Safety Tips
With your permission, the App uses your approximate location to fetch local weather data and generate pet-specific safety tips (e.g., “Keep walks short — extreme heat today”). Weather data is fetched from Apple's WeatherKit service. Your location is not stored on our servers.
3.4 Subscriptions
Subscription purchases are processed entirely by Apple through StoreKit. We do not collect or have access to your payment information, Apple ID, or billing details.
4. Third-Party Services
The App uses the following third-party services:
| Service | Provider | Purpose | Data Received |
|---|---|---|---|
| PetIQ Backend | Arka AI (hosted on Vercel) | Routes AI requests and processes health analyses | Pet profiles, photos, symptom descriptions |
| OpenRouter | OpenRouter, Inc. | API routing proxy for AI model access | Pet data, photos, health descriptions |
| Anthropic Claude | Anthropic, PBC | AI-powered health assessment and triage analysis | Pet data, photos, health descriptions |
| Apple WeatherKit | Apple Inc. | Local weather data for pet safety tips | Approximate location (latitude/longitude) |
These services receive your data only when you actively request an analysis or feature. Data is transmitted securely over HTTPS. AI providers do not retain your data after processing.
5. Data Retention
- •On our servers: Pet data, photos, and health descriptions are processed in memory and are not stored after processing is complete.
- •On your device: Pet profiles, scan results, health timelines, and photos are stored locally on your device. This data is cleared when you delete your pet profiles or uninstall the App.
- •Third-party services: AI providers (Anthropic) do not retain your data after processing the request, as we use API configurations with data retention disabled.
6. Data Security
- •Encryption in transit: All data transmitted between the App, our backend, and third-party services is encrypted using HTTPS (TLS 1.2 or later).
- •Device encryption: Data stored on your device is protected by iOS device-level encryption.
- •Photo security: Photos submitted for analysis are transmitted securely and are not stored on our servers after processing.
- •No persistent storage: Pet health data is processed in memory on our servers and discarded after the AI response is returned.
7. Your Rights and Choices
AI Data Consent
The App requires your explicit consent before sending any data to third-party AI services. You are shown a Data Privacy Consent screen during onboarding that explains exactly what data is collected and how it is used. You can review this information at any time from Profile > Data & AI Privacy.
Location permission
Location access is optional and only used for weather-based pet safety tips. You can revoke location permission at any time in iOS Settings without affecting other App features.
Delete your data
You can delete all your locally stored data (pet profiles, scan history, health timelines) at any time by removing your pet profiles in the App or by uninstalling the App from your device.
Camera and photo access
The App requests camera access only when you initiate a photo scan. Photo library access is requested only when you choose to upload an existing photo. You can revoke these permissions at any time in iOS Settings.
8. Children's Privacy
The App is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child has used the App, please contact us and we will delete any associated data.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected by the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
10. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:
Arka AI
privacy@arka-ai.com