Last updated: 11/2/26
CRITTER DOCK (“the game”) is made by Squid Shock Studios (“we”, “us”). This page explains what the game sends us, why, and how to turn it off.
The short version
- The game counts your keystrokes and mouse clicks so your critter can react. It never records which keys you press or what you type.
- The game can send us anonymous play data (how long you play, which rooms you visit, how your critter is doing) so we can balance the game. You can turn this off at any time.
- We never sell your data, and we do not use it for advertising.
What the game sends us
When SHARE PLAY DATA is on, the game sends small batches of play data to us roughly every ten minutes of active play, and when you leave, go away or quit. Each batch can contain:
- A random install ID the game makes once (it is not tied to your name, Steam account or PC).
- Your critter’s seed, life stage and name (the name you typed for it).
- Counts: total keystrokes and clicks, steps walked, flowers grown, books read, items bought, and similar totals.
- How many minutes you spent in each room, how often your critter’s needs ran low, and how often an alert rang.
- Moments such as hatching, evolving, buying, being refused something, and errors, so we can find bugs and rough spots.
- The game version, your local time of day (so we can see when people play), and basic performance numbers (frame rate, memory use).
- If you use friends features: how long visits lasted and which kind of link was used. Visit records hold the kind of connection, the friend critter’s life stage and seed, and the time spent together. They do not hold your friend’s name or Steam ID.
What the game never sends
Which keys you press or what you type, the text of notes or feedback you do not choose to send, photos from your album, file paths, your PC’s name or your Windows user name.
Feedback you choose to send
If you send a bug report or feature request from inside the game (the amber ! above the device), we receive the kind of report, what you wrote, the game version, your operating system and your language, and the email address if you chose to give one so we can reply. We use it only to read and answer your feedback.
Where it goes and how long we keep it
Play data and feedback are stored in a private Google Sheet on Google’s servers, which only we can open. Google acts as our service provider for this. We keep play data for 30 days and then delete it. [CHECK: how long feedback reports are kept]
Your choice, and deleting it
Sharing play data is off until you say yes. The game asks you the first time you play. You can change your answer at any time: open the instruction booklet, go to the SYSTEM page, and switch SHARE PLAY DATA on or off. When it is off the game does not count or send anything, and anything waiting to be sent is emptied.
To have data we already hold deleted, email us at support@playcritterdock.com with your critter’s name and roughly when you played. We will remove the rows we can match to it.
Steam
The game runs through Steam. Steam collects its own data under Valve’s privacy policy (https://store.steampowered.com/privacy_agreement/). If you use the friends features, the game uses Steam to see which friends are online and to connect your handhelds; we do not copy your friends list.
Children
CRITTER DOCK is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from them. If you think a child has sent us data, email us and we will delete it. [CHECK: age, 13 is a placeholder]
Changes
If we change this policy we will update the date above, and for material changes we will say so in the game or on the Steam page.
Contact
support@playcritterdock.com
