Privacy

Pets OS keeps what you do on your phone. Last updated 2 November 2026.

The short version

  • Pets OS, created by Fionn Mpho Mwaba and published by ShouldBe, has no account, no ads and no analytics.
  • Your notes, photos, moods, Pip, Day Story, Time Capsules, messages, contacts and settings are stored on your phone. ShouldBe doesn’t receive them.
  • Clarice, the assistant, answers on your phone.

When Pets OS uses the internet

  • Weather: the town you add is sent to Open-Meteo to get the forecast.
  • Web search and browsing: what you search for goes to the search engine or website you choose, as with any browser.
  • Music: Sonix streams songs from the Internet Archive and chart previews from Apple Music when you play them.
  • Software Update (shouldbe.media version): Pets OS downloads a small update file from shouldbe.media to check for new versions. No personal information is sent.
  • Mail: StepMail keeps mailboxes on your phone unless you connect a mail server yourself.

Permissions

  • Phone: to place calls you start in the Phone app.
  • Contacts: to show your phone’s contacts inside Pets OS. They aren’t copied anywhere else.
  • Camera: to take photos in the Camera app. Photos are saved in Moments on your phone.
  • Texts (shouldbe.media version only): to send texts you write in Messages.
  • Notifications and installed apps: because Pets OS is your Home Screen, it shows your apps and their notifications.

Deleting your data

Use Settings › General › Reset in Pets OS, or uninstall Pets OS. Because nothing is stored by ShouldBe, there’s nothing else to delete.