Barkdoku terms
The short version
Barkdoku is free to play and paid for by ads. You can buy Barkdoku Plus once, through Google Play or the App Store. Play fair, keep your save code private, and be kind. Your rights as a consumer always stay with you. Please read "If something goes wrong", because it limits what we're responsible for, as far as the law allows.
Who we are
Barkdoku is operated by Parity Labs (Pty) Ltd, a private company registered in South Africa (registration number 2026/721789/07), at Wonderboom, Gauteng, South Africa. Email: [email protected]. Website: barkdoku.app. "We" and "us" mean Parity Labs; "you" means the person playing.
Agreeing to these terms
By playing Barkdoku you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't play. If you're a child (or under the age at which you can agree to a contract where you live), a parent or guardian needs to read and accept these terms for you, and is responsible for your use of the game. The terms of the store you got the app from (Google Play or the App Store) apply too.
Playing Barkdoku
We give you a personal, non-exclusive licence to play Barkdoku for fun, on devices you own or are allowed to use. You may not sell, rent, copy or share the game or its puzzles and art, or take the app apart, except where the law allows it. Please don't try to copy puzzles or leaderboards from our server in bulk.
The free game and ads
Barkdoku is free. Ads pay for it: optional "watch an ad" rewards, and occasional ads between levels. Ads come from Google, are child-directed and rated for general audiences (see our Privacy Policy). We don't choose each ad. If you see one that seems wrong for a family game, tell us.
Golden Bones, treats, boosters and streaks are part of the game. They have no money value, can't be bought on their own, and can't be sold, swapped or cashed out.
Barkdoku Plus
- What it is: a one-time purchase, not a subscription. It adds auto-dig, removes the ads between levels and gives you 3 booster charges a day. Optional "watch an ad" rewards are still there if you want them. The price is shown in the store before you pay.
- How you buy it: through Google Play or the App Store, after a grown-up answers a question. The store takes the payment under its own terms. Plus belongs to that store account: use Restore purchase on another device signed in to the same account. It doesn't move between Android and iPhone, or with a save code.
- Refunds: ask the store, under its refund policy, or email us and we'll help.
- Your rights: nothing in these terms takes away your rights under consumer law, such as South Africa's Consumer Protection Act and Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, or the consumer laws of the country you live in, including your rights if Plus doesn't work as described.
- Changes: we may improve Plus, but we won't take away its main benefits from people who bought it, unless the law or the store requires it or we stop offering Barkdoku.
Online features and fair play
Leaderboards, online stats and logins are optional, and you can switch them off or delete them in Settings. Our Privacy Policy explains what they send. To keep them fair for everyone:
- No cheating: no scripts, bots, modified apps, fake results or using bugs to get ahead.
- No attacking, overloading or poking at our server, and no trying to use someone else's player.
If we think a result or player breaks these rules, we may remove results, reset or remove a player from the leaderboards, or block online features for a device. Leaderboards are just for fun: there are no prizes.
Leaderboard names
Leaderboard names are made up by the game from a fixed list of friendly words, and you can shuffle for a new one. Nobody can type their own. If a name ever comes out wrong or unkind, tell us and we'll change it.
Logins and save codes
You never need a login to play. A save code works like a password: anyone who has it can play as your player and choose which progress to keep, so keep it private and don't post it anywhere. Making a new code switches the old one off. We only keep a scrambled copy, so we can't tell you a lost code. Google Play Games and Game Center sign-in is optional, needs a grown-up to answer a question first, and is covered by Google's or Apple's own terms.
Your progress
Your progress is saved on your device. If the app is deleted or the device is lost, it's gone unless you made a save code or signed in with Play Games or Game Center first. We may correct progress or results that a bug or cheating got wrong.
Changes, breaks and endings
We keep improving Barkdoku, so features, puzzles and scoring can change. The server may sometimes be down for maintenance or problems; the puzzles themselves work offline. We may stop online features, or Barkdoku itself, and will try to give notice in the game first. You can stop playing at any time and delete your online data in Settings. If you break these terms, we may stop your online access.
Our stuff
Barkdoku, its name, puzzles, dogs, art, sounds and code belong to Parity Labs or the people who licensed them to us. These terms don't give you any rights to them beyond playing the game.
If something goes wrong
We work hard on Barkdoku, but we offer it "as is" and can't promise it will always be available or free of bugs. To the extent the law allows:
- we aren't responsible for losses we couldn't reasonably have foreseen, or for lost progress, scores or leaderboard places; and
- our total responsibility to you is limited to the amount you paid for Barkdoku Plus, if anything.
None of this limits responsibility that can't be limited by law, such as for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or gross negligence, or your rights under consumer law, including South Africa's Consumer Protection Act.
If you got Barkdoku from the App Store
These terms are between you and Parity Labs, not Apple. Apple isn't responsible for the game, its support or any claims about it; we are. If Barkdoku doesn't work as promised, you can tell Apple, and Apple may refund the price you paid, if any. Apple and its subsidiaries can enforce these terms as third parties.
Law and disputes
These terms are governed by the law of South Africa. If you're a consumer living in another country, you also keep the protection of the mandatory consumer laws there, and you can bring a claim in your local courts. If something goes wrong, please email us first: most problems can be sorted out quickly.
Changes to these terms
If these terms change, we'll update this page and its effective date, and tell players about important changes in the game before they apply. If you keep playing after that, the new terms apply. Changes won't take away what you've already paid for.
Contact
Questions or problems: [email protected]