What we collect (and don’t)
Obeagle works without accounts. When you first visit, your browser generates a random session ID and keeps it in localStorage — that’s how we tell one anonymous visitor from the next. Your acceptance of the house rules is stored the same way, on your device. Friend invite links carry a short one-time code (the ?join=CODE part of the URL), nothing personal.
We don’t collect names, email addresses, phone numbers, or payment details, because we never ask for them. And we never see, store, or upload your camera feed.
Camera & microphone
We ask for your camera and microphone for two reasons: to check that a real pet is on screen before you join the queue, and for the call itself. Pet verification runs entirely on your device, using MediaPipe inside your browser — verification frames are analyzed locally and are never uploaded, stored, or seen by us. If you deny permission, nothing is captured; you just can’t join the queue.
Video calls & relays
Calls are peer-to-peer WebRTC whenever the network allows, meaning your audio and video travel directly between you and your match rather than through our servers. (One side effect of peer-to-peer: your IP address is visible to the device on the other end — that’s how WebRTC works.) When a direct connection fails, media is relayed through Cloudflare’s TURN service, and if that doesn’t work either, the call falls back to a Daily.co room. In every mode, Obeagle does not record calls.
Location
We turn your IP address into an approximate location — city, region, country — using MaxMind’s GeoLite2 database. It serves one purpose: matching you with nearby people first. We never ask for GPS and never see anything street-level.
Analytics
We use PostHog to count explicit product events: clicks, queue joins, call starts and ends, and whether camera permission was granted. That’s how we learn what’s working. There is no session replay, no keystroke logging, and no webcam frame ever ends up in analytics.
Reports & safety
If you report someone, we store the report: your session ID, theirs, the reason, and when it happened. Reports are how we apply temporary or permanent bans, and rate limits run in the background to slow abuse down. This is the main record we keep about specific sessions.
Data retention
Sessions are ephemeral. The random ID lives in your browser until you clear it, and our matching state is short-lived — once you leave, the queue forgets you. Reports are the exception: we keep them as long as they’re needed to enforce bans and keep Obeagle safe.
Third parties
A short list of who helps run Obeagle:
- Render — hosts our servers, in the United States.
- Cloudflare — DNS, CDN, the TURN relay for calls, and storage for DoggiTV clips.
- Daily.co — fallback video rooms when a direct connection isn’t possible.
- PostHog — product analytics, as described above.
- MaxMind — the GeoLite2 database we use to turn IPs into approximate locations.
These providers process data only as needed to run the service.
Your choices
- Deny camera and microphone permission — nothing is captured, though you can’t join the queue without them.
- Clear your browser’s localStorage for obeagle.com — your session ID and rules acceptance disappear, and you become a brand-new stranger to us.
- Email davidaspiegs@gmail.com with any question or request about your data.
Children
Obeagle is for adults: you must be 18 or older to use it. The service is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe someone under 18 has used Obeagle, contact us and we’ll act on it.
Changes
If we change this policy, we’ll update the date at the top. For meaningful changes, we’ll say so on the site rather than hope you re-read legal pages for fun.
Contact
Questions, requests, concerns: davidaspiegs@gmail.com. A human reads it.