A kind corner needs clear rules.

Development policy draft. This is not a production legal policy. The operator must add business identity, jurisdiction-specific terms, and approved privacy and billing policies before opening public sharing or payments.

Who this is for

Spudlord is for adults aged 18 and older. Age is self-attested, not identity-verified. It is a playful companion, not a medical service, therapy, or a substitute for professional support.

What stays private

Accounts and pet sharing are private by default. Your dated check-ins, private reflections and mood are not posted to the community.
Accepted friends can see your pet and room. Message requests must be accepted before messaging.
Public snapshots and captions are explicitly shared with other signed-in adults. Public comments and replies require public-sharing consent; likes, comments and replies appear alongside snapshots. Turning sharing off removes your snapshots and comments.
Messages and reflections are stored on the server, not end-to-end encrypted. Reporting content shares the reported content with moderators, not your unrelated private notes.

Data and retention

The app stores account email/name, authentication sessions, pets, timezone, dated check-ins, daily activity progress, private reflections and mood, earned pebbles, cosmetic ownership, social content, likes, comments, game records and matches, blocks, reports, and billing identifiers. It does not need proof of self-care. Do not put sensitive health or financial information in captions or messages.

Account deletion removes app account data, pets, check-ins, reflections, activity progress, earned pebbles, messages, friendships, snapshots, likes, comments, matches involving your account, and associated reports. You must cancel recurring billing and resolve pending payments first. PayPal keeps its own records under its policies. The operator must publish backup retention, statutory financial retention, access/export procedures, and privacy-request procedures before launch.

Be kind; keep it safe

No harassment, threats, hate, sexual content, scams, spam, or sharing other people's private information.
No health diagnosis or treatment claims. There are no wellbeing rankings or public check-in scores.
Block unwanted contact and report abusive profiles, snapshots, comments, or messages. Blocks hide community interactions and friend matches in both directions. Moderators may dismiss reports, hide content or suspend accounts. Reporters can see pending/reviewed status.
Community access stays closed until policies, a verified moderator, and an operational reporting process are ready.

For support, privacy requests or appeals, contact support@spudlord.co.za.

Purchases and subscriptions

Care and basic progress are free. Optional cosmetics are one-time purchases. Planned premium is USD 3.99 per month with recurring renewal until cancelled, a premium room and two companion slots. Prices and charges are in USD, not ZAR. Your payment provider or bank may apply conversion and other fees.

Purchases are granted only after confirmation from PayPal. Cancel from the shop or PayPal. Confirmed cancelled subscriptions retain access through the already-paid period. Failed/suspended subscriptions, refunds, reversals, and disputes may remove paid access; free progress remains. Refund eligibility and local consumer rights require an approved production policy and support process before live payments. Advertising is not enabled.

Optional daily activities

You can log up to three distinct care actions, play a three-round picnic game, and save a private reflection each reward day. Only the first care action grows your potato; eligible activities earn up to 25 pebbles for selected decorations. Pebbles cannot be purchased. There are no penalties for skipping.

Reflections and mood are visible only to you through the app. Notes are server-stored plaintext, not an encrypted journal; avoid sensitive information. Deleting notes does not remove earned rewards. Practice picnic games do not award extra pebbles.

Mini games and score records

Five optional mini games record server-calculated scores, personal bests and recent runs. Each also displays the highest score across unsuspended accounts: public-sharing accounts show a handle, while private accounts are labelled "Private potato". These are gameplay scores, not wellbeing rankings. The app retains up to eleven recent runs per game plus all-time bests and run counts. Account deletion removes runs, records and reward history.

A qualifying run needs at least 30 seconds of active play and ten answered rounds. The first qualifying run per game per local reward date gives one pebble, with a 20% chance of five bonus pebbles. A 20-hour cooldown also applies per game. Further runs can improve scores or unlock single-run outfit milestones but do not award more daily pebbles. Game outfits cannot be purchased. There are no entry fees, cash prizes, or paid gameplay advantages. Pebbles have no cash value and cannot be withdrawn or transferred.

Talk to somebody

The optional availability wall shares your handle, current potato and a short description with other signed-in adults, only after explicit consent. It is separate from public snapshot sharing. Listings stay until you remove them; dates indicate the last update, not whether someone is online or available right now. Remove your listing when you no longer want requests.

Other users can send a friend/message request, but messages still require acceptance. Blocks and suspensions hide listings, and moderators can review reported descriptions and hide listings. Availability is not a counselling or emergency service. Keep sensitive information and contact details off the wall. Account deletion removes your listing. Messages, requests and wall listings refresh automatically while their page is visible.

Friendly board matches

Spud Tac Toe, Four in the Patch and Sprouts & Slides can be played against a server-controlled AI or an accepted friend. Friend challenges require acceptance. "Challenge a potato" pairs you with another player looking for the same game, without friendship; you both see each other's handle and current potato, there is no chat, and either player can cancel, concede or block. Only participants can access their saved matches, and avatars show their current customized potatoes. Blocks, removed friendships and suspensions prevent match access. Matches have no entry fee, cash stake, or pebble reward.

Daily horoscopes

Horoscopes are provided by Free Horoscope API for entertainment only, not health, financial, or relationship advice. Aries is selected by default unless a saved preference exists; it is not an inferred personal sign. Loading a reading sends only the sign from our server to the provider; no birthday, account details, reflections or mood are sent. The provider sees server request information, not a direct browser request.

If you enable "Remember my sign", your preference is stored in browser local storage, not your account, and restored on later visits in that browser. Uncheck to clear it. Shared-browser users should clear the preference if they do not want it remembered. Readings show the provider's date, may be cached for up to an hour, and earn no rewards.