The Cruelty-Cutter app links product barcodes to company profiles in our database. Once a user has scanned a product, they will see information about whether that company tests on animals and be given the option to post on social media. They can either Bite-Back (condemning cruel companies) or Share (commending compassionate companies); both of these options will earn Doggie Dollars which can be redeemed for coupons and discounts on cruelty-free products. If the scanned product is not already in our database OR if we don’t currently have information on that company, users are prompted to Request Data. Clicking this button sends us an email alerting our researcher that there’s work to do! Once we’ve compiled the new data, we will update the app for you and future users.
If you would like to change your app account password, you can do so at any time:
- Go to app settings menu (within the open app)
- Go to Password
- Type your current password followed by new password, click Submit
If you forgot your password:
Contact us with your username and we can reset or email your previous password. Email is unsecured, so we recommend you then change your password following the above steps.
If you chose to create your Cruelty-Cutter account using your Facebook account, you will be using the same password. If you’ve forgotten it, you’ll need to contact Facebook to get it re-set (we do not have access to private Facebook account info).
The App is designed to provide you with an easy way to both alert others about the cruel practices of certain companies via your social media circles and to communicate directly with those companies to tell them you don’t support animal testing. We call this Bite-Back! The methods of Bite Back communication available for each scanned product will vary based on the types of social media you have enabled for your personal account, as well as the contact information available from specific companies.
You must be logged into/enabled your own Facebook/Twitter/etc. on your phone in order for the Bite Back to autofill those social media messages.
For example: You need to be actually logged in to your Twitter app in your iPhone settings (this is different from logging into the Cruelty-Cutter app itself).
- Go to your phone Settings (this is an icon of a little gear somewhere on your phone’s home screen)
- Scroll through your list of Apps and select Twitter
- Login with your normal Twitter account
- Now reopen the Cruelty-Cutter app and give it a try!
Downloading the app:
The Cruelty-Cutter app is available from iTunes and the Google Play Store. You will need to have/create an account with iTunes or Google in order to download the app. You’ll be asked to grant permission for use of your camera at this point – please accept as the app relies on use of your device camera to scan the barcodes (if you accidentally said NO, please see below for how to fix this later)
Registering:
Once the app has downloaded to your device, you’ll need to register with Beagle Freedom Project’s Cruelty-Cutter app specifically. This is different from your app store account and you can set unique usernames and passwords, but please make a note of them for future reference. You can create an account by logging with Facebook (this will use your personal Facebook account info and password), or creating an Account (you will create a new account from scratch)
The Cruelty-Cutter app works by using your device’s camera to scan product barcodes and then links to our database of company profiles.
It requires the following:
- Permission to access your camera functions
- An autofocus feature (standard on most newer devices)
- Access to the internet (either via cell network or Wi-fi)
To scan items and find out if they are cruelty free, click on the barcode icon in the app homepage. This will bring up a camera window containing a red horizontal line in the view. You do not need to click any buttons at this point; simply allow your camera to focus and it will automatically pop up a report for you.
If your camera is having trouble focusing, you may need to try the following:
a) slowly move your phone away from the barcode and then hold it still
b) adjust the lighting or rotate product to remove any glare or shadows covering the barcode
The Cruelty-Cutter app relies on having access to your device’s camera in order to scan barcodes. If you accidentally did NOT allow permission during registration OR if you have performed a phone system update, your permissions may have been re-set.
*If you simply see a blank/black screen, please try the following steps:
- Go to your phone Settings menu (this is an icon of a little gear somewhere on your phone’s home screen)
- Scroll through your list of phone features and apps until you find Cruelty-Cutter (click Cruelty-Cutter to open)
- Make sure that Cruelty-Cutter has access to BOTH “Camera” and either “Use Cellular Data”/ “Wi-fi” (there is a little slider button and it should be set to green).
If Cruelty-Cutter does not have access to your camera, you will see a blank scanner. If Cruelty-Cutter doesn’t have access to either cell or Wi-fi (depending on your device), you cannot access our database of company testing status.