Woofly Terms of Use

Last updated 6 September 2026. Please read these terms before using Woofly.

Acceptance of terms

By downloading, installing, or using Woofly, you agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, do not use the app.

What Woofly is

Woofly is an entertainment and curiosity app for iPhone and iPad. While it is open and listening, it uses the microphone to detect dog vocalizations, measures each bark, growl, whine, or howl, shows a word for each burst, and reads the whole outburst as one of eleven meanings with a sentence written in a playful dog's voice.

Not veterinary or behavioral advice

Woofly's translations are estimates for fun. They are not a diagnosis, not veterinary advice, and not a substitute for a veterinarian, a qualified trainer, or your own observation of your dog's body language.

Some readings, such as "Needs comfort" and "Something hurts", come with a note suggesting that you check on your dog or call your vet. Those notes are general suggestions. If you are worried about your dog's health or behavior, consult a veterinarian regardless of what the app shows.

Not a validated model

The meanings are heuristic scores computed from acoustic measurements (pitch, tonality, tempo, regularity, duration, loudness, and sound mix), following patterns reported in published bark research and the bark types dog trainers describe. They have not been validated against your dog, any breed, or any environment. Dog sound detection relies on an on-device sound-recognition model that can miss sounds, especially howls, and can occasionally accept other sounds. Do not rely on Woofly to detect a warning, a threat, or an emergency.

Sources and methodology

The acoustic patterns behind the seven research-based meanings follow, among others:

Pongrácz P, Molnár C, Miklósi Á, Csányi V (2005). Human listeners are able to classify dog barks recorded in different situations. Journal of Comparative Psychology 119(2).
Pongrácz P, Molnár C, Miklósi Á (2006). Acoustic parameters of dog barks carry emotional information for humans. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 100.
Yin S, McCowan B (2004). Barking in domestic dogs: context specificity and individual identification. Animal Behaviour 68.
Faragó T et al. (2010). Dogs' expectation about signalers' body size by virtue of their growls. PLoS ONE 5(12).
Morton ES (1977). On the occurrence and significance of motivation-structural rules in some bird and mammal sounds. American Naturalist 111.

The four remaining meanings (just letting you know, welcome home, bored, and something hurts) follow bark types described by dog trainers rather than peer-reviewed studies, and the app says so in its explanations.

Your data

Woofly processes audio on your device and discards it. It does not record, save, or upload audio, has no accounts, and collects no data about you. The one value kept between launches is a pitch baseline for your dog. See the Privacy Policy for details.

Your responsibilities

Use Woofly where it is lawful to use a microphone, and respect the privacy of people around you.
Do not use Woofly to make decisions about your dog's health, safety, or the safety of people and other animals.
Keep your device updated and secure.

Intellectual property

Woofly, including its name, icon, text, word banks, and design, is owned by the developer and protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Woofly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the authors of the research it cites.

Third-party components

Dog sound detection uses the sound-recognition capability built into Apple's operating systems. Woofly contains no third-party software development kits.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the developer of Woofly is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any injury, loss, or outcome involving you, your dog, or others, arising from your use of or reliance on the app.

Woofly is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including accuracy of any translation or meaning.

Termination

You may stop using Woofly at any time by deleting the app. The developer may discontinue the app or change its features at any time.

Changes to these terms

These terms may be updated from time to time. The date at the top will change when they are. Continued use of Woofly after a change means you accept the revised terms.

Contact

Questions about these terms: fall4her+woofly@gmail.com