Muse Penguin Privacy Policy
Last updated November 3, 2026
Muse Penguin is made by Jason Muse. Your penguins live on your own devices. This page explains what the app keeps there, what it looks at, and the few things that ever leave your device.
The short version
- Your colony, your settings and everything you do in the game stay on your device.
- There are no ads, no analytics and no tracking in Muse Penguin.
- A Muse account is optional. Without one, nothing about you is sent anywhere.
- With one, only what's needed to sign you in, check Muse Pro, and run the Muse features you choose to use: friends, hops between your own devices, and your Muse Shelf.
On your computer (Windows and Mac)
What it keeps
Your colony, its story and your settings, in Muse Penguin's own folder (%APPDATA%\Muse Penguin on Windows,
~/Library/Application Support/Muse Penguin on Mac), which you can delete at any time.
What it looks at, on your computer only
- Looking around (Settings → Let them look around my computer): now and then a penguin "digs up" a file on your desktop, in Downloads or in Music, or your computer's name. It sees the file's name (from which it can tell what kind of thing it is: a picture, a song, an FL Studio project) and, for a picture, song, video or document, your computer's own little thumbnail of it, squashed down to a tiny pixelated peek about a dozen pixels across. It never opens your files or reads what's in them beyond that, and none of it ever leaves your computer. Names that look private (banking, taxes, passwords and the like), emails, contact cards and calendars are left alone. You can switch it off.
- Replays (Settings → Replays show what was behind them): the little replays in your notifications can show what was on your screen around the penguins at that moment, as a tiny, chunky pixelated snippet: shapes and colors, no writing you could read. It's kept with the replay on your computer and never leaves it. Switch it off and it's a plain sky.
- Dancing to your music (Settings → Dance to my music): it listens to what your computer is playing to find the beat. The sound never leaves your computer, and you can switch it off.
- Standing on your windows: it knows where your windows are, so the penguins can stand on them. Never their titles or what's in them.
- Phone remote (optional): pairs a phone with your computer over your own network. Nothing goes through the internet.
On your iPhone
- Kept on your phone: your colony and settings. The home screen and lock screen widgets and Live Activities read them on your phone.
- Motion: the app uses your phone's motion sensor to know which way is down. That stays on your phone.
- Updates: the app downloads updates to the game from Expo, the service that delivers them. Like any website, they see your IP address and basic technical details such as the app version.
- Crash reports: if you choose to share them with Apple, Apple's privacy policy covers them.
Your Muse account (optional)
It's the same account as Muse Shelf, run by Muse Labs on Supabase. You can play without one.
- Signing in: with your email address and a one-time code, or with Google or Apple. Muse receives your email address and an account ID. Your sign-in is kept encrypted on your device.
- Muse Pro: the app asks Muse whether your account has Pro.
- Your Muse Shelf (on your computer, with Pro, later in the game; Settings → They know what's on my shelf): the app reads the titles, types, status, ratings and cover links of what's on your Shelf, read only, and keeps a copy on your device so a penguin can bring something up now and then. Covers are downloaded from where they're hosted.
- Hops between your devices (on your computer, with Pro, later in the game): your devices running Muse Penguin (and Muse Shelf) meet on a private channel only your account can join. Each one shares a random device ID, which app it is, the kind of device and a label ("Muse Penguin on" your computer's name, or "on iPhone"). A penguin that hops over carries its name, a few of the things it says and its pixel pictures. None of it is kept afterwards.
Muse friends (optional)
If you make a Muse profile, you can add friends, visit their colonies and show them yours. It follows the Muse community rules.
- Your profile: your @handle, name, avatar, bio, and who can see it (just your friends, unless you choose everyone with Muse).
- Friends: the friend requests you send and get, your friendships, the people you block, and any reports you make (with the details you add).
- Your colony, for your friends: while "Friends can see my colony" is on, the app shares your colony's level, days and trophies, and each penguin's name, look, personality, pronouns and the little bio lines about them. Never your save. It shows to whoever can see your profile. Switch it off and it's taken down.
- Keeping it friendly: names and bios pass a word filter, you can block or report anyone from their profile, and Muse reviews reports and may hide profiles that break the rules.
Tickets
Sending a penguin on a trip makes a ticket, a code or a file that you share yourself. It carries that penguin: their name, look and personality.
Children
Muse Penguin is not directed at children under 13 and doesn't knowingly collect personal information from them.
Your choices
You can play without a Muse account, switch off looking around and listening in Settings, take your colony down or block and report anyone in Friends, and sign out at any time. To delete your Muse account and everything Muse keeps about it, delete it right in Muse Penguin (Settings → App → Delete my Muse account) or in Muse Shelf, or email us. Deleting the app deletes your colony on that device.
Changes
If this policy changes, this page and the date above will be updated.