About TickSpot
In short: TickSpot is a free, privately run project — a camera app that makes ticks visible on skin and fur, plus guides about ticks. This page explains how the guides are written, what they rely on and which connections exist.
How TickSpot started
From an everyday moment: on a dog its operator was looking after, a quick tick check was all that was needed. The apps available for it demanded an account or a subscription before they would even show the camera image. TickSpot does the opposite: no account, no cost, and the image stays on your device. How the inverted-colour trick works is in "Find ticks with your phone".
How the guides are written
- Sources first. Every factual statement rests on a public health authority or professional body — chiefly the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's Federal Environment Agency and Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Switzerland's Federal Office of Public Health, the ECDC, the CDC and ESCCAP. Every article lists its sources, with dates where available.
- Contradictions stay visible. Where sources disagree, for instance on age limits for tick repellents, the text says so — we don't quietly pick a side.
- No diagnosis, no treatment. The guides help you assess a situation and say when medical or veterinary advice is needed. Doses, antibiotics and vaccination advice belong with professionals.
- No product recommendations. For repellents and tick treatments we describe ingredients, not brands.
- Dated and revised. Every article shows when it was last updated.
Connections and advertising
TickSpot's operator works for Petleo, a provider of a pet owner app; the conflict app Konfliktlotse is the operator's own project. Wherever these are mentioned, a disclosure is shown; links to Petleo are also marked as advertising.
TickSpot is meant to be funded by ads in the future. Ads are labelled as such, never sit between a warning and the instruction that follows it, and never appear in the camera app. Which services process data is set out in the privacy policy.
What happens to your images
Nothing outside your device. The camera app processes the image locally in your browser and never uploads it. An image is only saved or shared if you do it yourself.
Found a mistake?
We'd be glad to hear about it — ideally with the page and the source that says otherwise. The contact address is in the legal notice. Corrections go into the next revision of the article, and the update date shows when that was.
Note: TickSpot's content provides general information and does not replace medical or veterinary advice.