Terms of Use

Who can use BarkAtlas

You must be at least 13 years old to use BarkAtlas. If you are under 18, you need a parent or guardian’s permission to create an account or buy BarkAtlas Plus.

In some countries the minimum age to agree to these terms or to use online services is higher than 13. Where that applies to you, you must be at least that age.

Keep your account details private. You are responsible for what happens on your account.

You can try BarkAtlas as a guest for 3 days without an email address. Scanning dogs, the map and purchases need a free account, and after the 3 days you need a free account to keep playing. Your dog and progress on your phone carry over when you sign up.

Playing safely in the real world

BarkAtlas is played outdoors. Always watch where you are going, follow road rules, and never play while driving or riding.

Field challenges appear in public parks. Only visit places that are safe and open to the public, respect park rules and private property, and don’t go out alone at night.

You are responsible for your own safety while playing.

Respecting dogs and their people

Always ask the owner before you approach, touch or photograph someone’s dog, and accept a “no”.

Give dogs space. Never approach a dog that is eating, sleeping, tied up, working (such as an assistance dog) or showing signs of stress.

Don’t photograph people without their permission.

Breed identification and dog information

Breed results are best guesses from a photo. They can be wrong and are not proof of a dog’s ancestry. Only a DNA test can confirm a breed.

Breed information, field notes and stats in BarkAtlas describe general breed tendencies for learning and fun. Every dog is an individual. Nothing in the app is veterinary, behavioural or training advice for a particular dog. For that, see a vet or a qualified behaviour professional.

BarkAtlas Plus

BarkAtlas Plus is an optional subscription. It currently lets you use any of the 30 map dogs, brings six dogs home to My Dog while you subscribe, and unlocks the Field Scanner voices and Friends & Packs. We may add, change or remove Plus features over time, and will tell you about significant changes.

Plus is billed through your Apple App Store or Google Play account at the price shown before you buy (US$2.99 a month at launch, or the local equivalent). New subscribers may get a 3-day free trial, shown before you buy.

Your subscription renews automatically at the end of each period unless you cancel at least 24 hours before it ends. Manage or cancel it in your App Store or Google Play account settings. Deleting the app or your BarkAtlas account does not cancel the subscription.

Refunds are handled by Apple or Google under their policies. Nothing in these terms limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

Gold bones in My Dog are consumable one-time purchases billed by Apple or Google. Everything in the shop is paid for with bones you earn or with gold bones. Bones and gold bones are virtual items with no cash value: they can’t be exchanged for money, sold or transferred. Spent gold bones, and items you have bought with them, are not refundable once used, and unspent gold bones are not refundable except as Apple or Google allow or the law requires. Gold bones and the things you buy stay on your account and phone; deleting your account or the app removes them. We may change prices in the shop at any time, but never for something you already own. Players aged 13 to 17 need a parent or guardian’s permission to buy them. Refunds are handled by Apple or Google under their policies.

XP, levels and rewards

XP, levels, relics, collectables and power-ups are part of the game. They have no cash value and can’t be sold, traded or exchanged for money.

We may rebalance the game, for example by changing how much XP an activity gives. We will try not to take away progress you have already earned.

Free daily and weekly bonuses (such as the Daily Bonus gift boxes) may give a different number of bones each time. You never pay to play them, and what you win is a virtual item with no cash value.

Cheating, such as faking your location or using someone else’s photos, may lead to progress being reset or the account being closed.

Level 50 reward: your CBA certification paid for

Explorers who reach Level 50 (Canine Expert, 500,000 XP) may claim the full cost of the Canine Behavior Associate (CBA) certification from the Board of Canine Behaviorists, paid by BarkAtlas (currently US$395: the US$100 application fee and the US$295 examination fee). You apply for and sit the examination yourself and must meet the Board’s own requirements (including being 18 or older, agreeing to its Code of Ethics and passing the examination). BarkAtlas pays the fees; it does not award CBA certification.

Who can claim: you must be 18 or older (the Board’s own rule), have a BarkAtlas account with your progress backed up, and have reached Level 50 (500,000 XP) on that account. Each person can claim the reward once, and each account once.

How to claim: email barkatlasapp@gmail.com from the email address on your BarkAtlas account, within 12 months of reaching Level 50, with the subject “Level 50 reward”. We check your level against our records and may ask you to confirm your identity and age. We aim to reply within 14 days.

If approved: you apply to the Board for the CBA yourself, and we pay the application fee and the examination fee to the Board directly on your behalf, up to US$500 in total (the fees are US$395 today). You must apply within 90 days of approval. There is no cash or other alternative, and the reward cannot be transferred to anyone else.

Not covered: re-sit and re-application fees, study materials, renewals and membership fees, travel, and any tax that may apply to you. The Board alone decides who passes and who is certified, under its own rules. BarkAtlas does not influence the result.

Fair play: we may refuse or withdraw the reward if progress was gained by cheating (for example faking your location, using someone else’s photos or sharing an account), or if you give us false information.

Changes and ending the offer: we may change or end this offer by giving at least 90 days’ notice in the app and on barkatlas.app. If you reach Level 50 before it ends, you can still claim within 12 months. We will not take back a reward we have already approved.

Disclosure: BarkAtlas is made by GoodBoy Animal Training. Its founder is also the CEO of the Board of Canine Behaviorists, which awards the CBA. Nothing here limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

Friends & Packs

Friends & Packs is a BarkAtlas Plus feature (including during the free trial) for players at or above the digital-consent age where they live. If Plus ends, your friends and Pack are kept but the feature is locked until Plus is active again.

Be kind. Don’t send unwanted paw-fives or add people you don’t know. You can remove, block or report any player. We may remove access to Friends & Packs, or close an account, for misuse.

Your content

You keep ownership of the photos you take. You give us permission to process them as described in the Privacy Policy, only to run BarkAtlas.

Things you must not do

Don’t misuse BarkAtlas: no hacking, reverse engineering, overloading our services, or using the app to harass anyone. Don’t use it for anything illegal.

Ending your account

You can delete your account at any time in Settings → Account. We may suspend or close an account that seriously or repeatedly breaks these terms.

Our responsibility

We work hard to keep BarkAtlas running and accurate, but we can’t promise it will always be available or error-free.

You have rights under the Australian Consumer Law that can’t be excluded, and nothing in these terms takes them away. Otherwise, to the extent the law allows, we are not responsible for loss or injury that happens while you play, including on outings to parks or while meeting dogs.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. If a change is significant, we will tell you in the app before it takes effect.

Apple App Store and Google Play

These terms are between you and us, not Apple or Google. Apple and Google are not responsible for BarkAtlas or its content, and have no duty to provide support or maintenance for it. We are responsible for support, for any claims about the app (including product, legal-compliance and consumer-protection claims) and for any claim that the app infringes someone’s intellectual property.

We give you a personal, non-transferable licence to use BarkAtlas on devices you own or control, under the rules of the store you got it from. If the app does not meet a warranty that applies by law, you may tell Apple, which may refund the purchase price of the app (if any); to the extent the law allows, Apple has no other warranty duty. You confirm you are not in a country under a US government embargo and are not on a US list of prohibited parties.

Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms for the Apple App Store and may enforce them against you. Google Play’s own terms of service also apply to purchases made there.

Law and contact

These terms are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia. If you are a consumer, this does not take away protections you have under the law of the country where you live that can’t be excluded by contract.

Questions? Email barkatlasapp@gmail.com.