StepPet Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 15, 2026

HealthyAI Studio ("we", "our", "us", or "the app") is committed to protecting your privacy. StepPet is a fitness and wellness application that helps you track steps, water intake, and care for a virtual pet. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, protect, and share your information when you use our app.

1. Information We Collect

A. Health & Activity Data (Automatic Collection)

• Step Count Data — We read your step data from Android's Activity Recognition API. This is the primary data used to track your daily walking activity and feed your virtual pet.
• Health Connect Integration — We read step data from Health Connect (if enabled on your device). Health Connect is Samsung's unified health data platform that aggregates data from your device's sensors and other health apps.
• Motion Sensor Data — StepPet uses your device's built-in accelerometer and gyroscope to detect walking patterns and count steps.
• Device Information — Device model, Android OS version, and app version are collected for crash reporting, bug analysis, and compatibility optimization.
• App Usage Analytics — Basic app usage patterns (session duration, feature usage) to improve the app experience.

B. Data You Provide Voluntarily

• Account Information — If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive your display name, email address, and a unique user ID for account identification and cloud sync.
• Health Profile — Optional personal health data you may enter:
  • Date of birth (age)
  • Gender
  • Weight (kg)
  • Height (cm)
  • Activity level (sedentary, light, moderate, very active)
  Note: This data is stored locally on your device by default. It is only synced to the cloud if you sign in.
• Water Intake Logs — Manual entries of daily water consumption (number of glasses).
• Pet Names & Pet Data — Names you give your virtual pets, their type, stage, and evolution status.
• Pet Diary Entries — AI-generated diary stories about your pet and daily activity (stored locally and optionally synced to cloud).
• In-App Purchase Data — Information about subscriptions and pet purchases (handled by Google Play Billing or Apple StoreKit).
• Friend Codes & Social Data — Friend codes you generate and share, friend challenges, and leaderboard rankings.

C. AI-Generated Content

• Pet Diary (OpenAI API) — StepPet uses OpenAI's GPT model to generate personalized pet diary stories and weekly health insights based on:
  • Your step count
  • Water intake
  • Health score
  • Pet evolution progress
  What we do NOT send: Name, email, date of birth, weight, height, location, or any other personal identifying information. Only non-identifying activity metrics are sent to OpenAI.

D. Background Step Counting Service

• Foreground Service — StepPet uses a persistent Foreground Service to count steps in the background, even when the app is closed. This service:
  • Reads from the Activity Recognition API (not GPS location)
  • Displays a persistent notification ("StepPet is counting your steps")
  • Continues running in the background for accurate step tracking
  • Does NOT use GPS or track your location
  • Does NOT record audio or access your camera

E. Permissions We Request (Android)

• ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION — To read step count data from your device's motion sensors.
• POST_NOTIFICATIONS — To send water and walk reminder notifications.
• FOREGROUND_SERVICE — To count steps continuously in the background.
• INTERNET — To sync data to Firebase, call OpenAI API, and display ads.
• ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE — To check internet connectivity.

F. Permissions We Request But DO NOT Use

• RECORD_AUDIO (Microphone) — StepPet does NOT record audio. This permission may appear in dependency libraries but is explicitly blocked in our app manifest.
• CAMERA — StepPet does NOT access your camera.
• ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION (GPS) — StepPet does NOT track your location.
• READ_CONTACTS — StepPet does NOT access your contacts.
• READ_PHONE_STATE — StepPet does NOT monitor your phone calls.

2. How We Use Your Data

We use the information we collect to:

• Track Activity: Count your daily steps and calculate fitness metrics using the Activity Recognition API.
• Pet Evolution: Feed and evolve your virtual pet based on your step count and water intake.
• Health Insights: Calculate your Health Score, estimate calorie burn, and provide weekly health reports (Premium feature).
• Cloud Sync: Sync your progress across devices (if you sign in to your account).
• Social Features: Enable friend challenges, leaderboards, and friend code sharing.
• AI Personalization: Generate personalized pet diary stories using OpenAI (with your activity data only).
• Advertising: Display relevant advertisements to free users (via Google AdMob).
• In-App Purchases: Process subscriptions (Premium) and pet purchases (via Google Play Billing).
• Crash Reporting & Bug Analysis: Improve app stability and fix bugs using error logs.
• App Analytics: Understand user behavior and improve the app experience.
• Legal Compliance: Comply with applicable laws and respond to legal requests.

3. Data Storage & Infrastructure

Local Device Storage

• All step counts, water logs, health profile data, and pet information are stored locally on your device using SQLite database.
• Local data is NOT encrypted on the device but is protected by Android's file system permissions.
• You have full control: delete local data by uninstalling the app or clearing app data in Settings.

Cloud Storage (Optional - Firebase Firestore)

• If you sign in with Google or Apple, your data is synced to Google Firebase (Firestore) for cloud backup and cross-device access.
• Cloud data includes: step counts, pet data, water logs, health profile, AI diary entries, and friend codes.
• Firebase uses Google's secure infrastructure with encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS).
• You can disable cloud sync at any time by signing out. Your local data remains on the device.

Analytics & Crash Reporting (Firebase Analytics & Crashlytics)

• Basic analytics data (session duration, feature usage) is collected via Firebase Analytics.
• Crash logs are collected via Firebase Crashlytics to identify and fix app bugs.
• This data does NOT include your health metrics or personal information.

Data Retention Policy

• Local app data: Retained until you uninstall the app or clear app data.
• Cloud data (Firebase): Retained as long as your account is active. Deleted within 30 days if you request account deletion.
• Analytics data: Retained for 14 months in Firebase.
• Crash logs: Retained for 30 days in Firebase Crashlytics.
• We do NOT sell your data to any third party.

4. Third-Party Services & Data Sharing

StepPet uses the following third-party services that may access your data:

Google Services

• Google Firebase (Authentication & Firestore)
  • Stores your account data (email, display name, user ID) in Firebase Authentication.
  • Stores synced app data (steps, health profile, pets, diary) in Firestore.
  • See: Firebase Privacy Policy
• Google AdMob
  • Displays reward-based video ads to free users (no ads for Premium subscribers).
  • May collect device identifiers (Google Advertising ID, Android ID) for ad personalization.
  • See: Google Privacy Policy
• OpenAI API
  • Receives your step count, water intake, health score, and pet progress data.
  • Generates personalized pet diary stories and health insights.
  • Does NOT receive your name, email, health profile, weight, height, or location.
  • See: OpenAI Privacy Policy
• Google Play Billing
  • Processes in-app purchases (Premium subscription, pet purchases).
  • Google retains transaction data for billing purposes.
• Activity Recognition API
  • Part of Google Play Services; provides step count data from your device's sensors.

Apple Services (iOS)

• Apple Authentication — If you sign in with Apple ID, Apple provides your email and user ID.
• Apple StoreKit — Processes in-app purchases on iOS.

Samsung Health & Health Connect

• StepPet can read step data from Health Connect (Samsung's health data platform).
• This allows you to use data from other health apps (Google Fit, Fitbit, etc.) within StepPet.
• Health Connect data is only used within the app and is not sent to our servers unless you sign in to sync.

No Third-Party Advertising Networks (Beyond AdMob)

• We use only Google AdMob for advertising.
• No data is shared with other ad networks or data brokers.

5. Advertising & Ad Personalization

Ad Policy

• Free Users: See reward-based video ads. You can watch ads voluntarily to earn in-game coins.
• Premium Subscribers: See NO ads (ad-free experience).

Ad Personalization

• Google AdMob may collect device identifiers (Google Advertising ID, Android ID) to personalize ads based on your interests.
• You can opt out of personalized ads: In Android Settings → Google → Manage your Google Account → Data & Privacy → Ad settings → Turn off "Personalized ads".
• Your step count, health data, and pet information are NOT shared with advertisers.

Health Data & Ads

• Your health data (steps, weight, etc.) is NOT used to target ads.
• Ads are targeted based on device type, app category, and general interests — NOT health metrics.

6. Children's Privacy & COPPA Compliance

Age Restriction

• StepPet is not directed to children under 13 years old.
• We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
• If you are under 13, please ask a parent or guardian before using StepPet.

COPPA Compliance (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)

• StepPet does NOT collect personal information (name, email, date of birth, location) from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent.
• If a child under 13 signs in with a Google account linked to a Google Family Link account, Google provides parental controls.
• If we discover a child has provided personal information without parental consent, we will delete it immediately and notify the parent.

Contact for COPPA Violations

If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at arachimay@gmail.com immediately.

7. Your Rights & Data Access Requests

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

Right to Access

• You can export your data from StepPet via Settings → Backup (planned feature).
• Contact us at arachimay@gmail.com to request all data we hold about you.

Right to Delete

• Local Data: Delete by uninstalling the app or clearing app data in Android Settings.
• Cloud Data: Sign in, then delete your account in app Settings. Cloud data will be removed within 30 days.
• Contact us at arachimay@gmail.com to request full account deletion.

Right to Opt-Out

• Opt out of personalized ads in Android Settings → Google → Ad settings.
• Disable notifications in app Settings → Notifications.
• Use the app offline without signing in (no cloud sync).

Right to Portability

• Export your data in JSON format (planned feature in Settings).
• Contact us for custom data export requests.

Right to Restrict Processing

• You can disable cloud sync by signing out.
• You can opt out of analytics by uninstalling the app.

Data Deletion Timeline

• Local data: Deleted immediately when you uninstall the app or clear app data.
• Cloud data: Deleted within 30 days of your deletion request.
• Analytics data: Retained for 14 months, then automatically deleted by Firebase.
• Crash logs: Retained for 30 days, then automatically deleted.

8. Data Security

Security Measures

• Encrypted Connections: All data transmitted between the app and our servers uses HTTPS/TLS encryption.
• Firebase Security: Cloud data is protected by Firebase's security rules and Google's infrastructure security.
• Device-Level Security: Local data is stored in your device's private app directory (protected by Android file permissions).
• Authentication: Account access is protected by Google or Apple authentication.
• No Password Storage: We do NOT store passwords. Authentication is handled by Google & Apple.

Limitations

• While we implement industry-standard security, no system is 100% secure.
• We cannot guarantee absolute protection against unauthorized access.
• You are responsible for keeping your device secure (lock screen, updated OS, etc.).

Breach Notification

• If we discover a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you via email or in-app notification within 30 days (if required by law).

9. International Data Transfers

• StepPet is hosted on Google Firebase, which has data centers in multiple countries.
• Your data may be transferred to and stored in the United States or other countries where Firebase operates.
• Google complies with Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) for international data transfers.
• By using StepPet, you consent to the transfer of your data internationally.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

• We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements.
• We will notify you of material changes by:
  • Updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this policy.
  • Sending an email notification (if you are signed in).
  • Displaying a notification in the app.
• Your continued use of StepPet after changes means you accept the updated Privacy Policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, your data, or our privacy practices, please contact us:

Email: arachimay@gmail.com
Developer: HealthyAI Studio
App Name: StepPet
Last Updated: April 15, 2026

We typically respond to privacy inquiries within 7 business days.

Privacy Complaint

If you believe we have violated your privacy rights, you may also file a complaint with your local data protection authority or with Google Play.

Quick Reference: What Data We Collect

Data Type	Collected	Stored Where	Shared With
Step Count	✅ Always	Device + Cloud (if signed in)	OpenAI (anonymized)
Health Profile (weight, height, etc.)	✅ Optional	Device only (by default)	Not shared
Pet Data (names, types)	✅ Always	Device + Cloud (if signed in)	Not shared
Email & Display Name	✅ If you sign in	Cloud (Firebase)	Google only
Water Logs	✅ If you log water	Device + Cloud (if signed in)	OpenAI (anonymized)
Device Info (model, OS)	✅ Always	Firebase Analytics	Google (for crash reports)
Ad ID (for ads)	✅ Free users only	Google AdMob	Google & Ad Network