Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for Step Counter - Pedometer
Developer: Hamdaan Studio

App: Step Counter - Pedometer (`com.hamdaanstudio.stepcounter`)

Effective Date: March 8, 2026 delete (keep)

Last Updated: October 4, 2026

Introduction

Welcome to Step Counter - Pedometer ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about how our app operates. This Privacy Policy explains what data our app collects, how it is used, stored, and protected. Step Counter - Pedometer is a free fitness tracking application designed to help you monitor your daily steps, calories burned, walking distance, water intake, and activity goals — with smart notifications, progress reports, and gamification features — all without compromising your privacy. By using our app, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Information Collection and Use

1. Data Collected Locally on Your Device

Our app stores the following information ONLY on your device, in the app's private storage (an on-device database and settings storage). This data is NOT transmitted to our servers or any third parties. It only leaves your phone if you choose to export or share it, or through your phone's own Google backup (see Android Backup below).

A. Fitness Data (Activity Recognition)

• Daily step counts - Number of steps taken each day

• Step history - Your daily step history, kept until you delete it

• Calories burned - Calculated based on your steps and profile

• Distance traveled - Calculated based on your steps and stride length

• Active time - Duration of your walking/running activity

• Goal achievement status - Whether you reached your daily goals

• Hourly step breakdown - Steps per hour of the day, kept for the last 30 days (used for activity charts and comparisons)

• Water intake logs - Daily cup count reset every day at midnight

• XP points and level progress - Calculated from total steps, goals reached, and streak length (stored locally, never transmitted)

Purpose: To provide you with accurate fitness tracking and progress monitoring.

Legal Basis: Your consent (granted when you allow Activity Recognition permission).

B. Personal Profile Information (Optional)

• Height (in centimeters) - Default: 170 cm

• Weight (in kilograms) - Default: 70 kg

• Gender (Male/Female/Other) - Default: Other

• Age (optional) - For a more accurate daily calorie estimate - 

• Target weight (optional) - To estimate when walking could help you reach it 

• Step length (optional) - Only if you calibrate it, for more accurate distance

• BMI result - Calculated automatically from height and weight for display only; never transmitted

Purpose: To calculate accurate calorie burn and distance based on your physical characteristics.

Note: This information is optional. You can use the app with default values. This data is stored only on your device and is never transmitted anywhere.

C. App Preferences and Settings

• Daily step goal (Default: 10,000 steps), plus optional weekend goal and weekend days

• Weekly step goal and monthly challenge goal

• Distance unit preference (Kilometers or Miles)

• Theme preference (Light/Dark/Auto)

• App language

• Sensor calibration data - Initial sensor values for accurate counting

• Step counting pause state - Whether you paused counting (e.g. in a car)

• Calorie burn goal (daily kcal target, default: 300 kcal)

• Calorie sensitivity setting (Low / Normal / High multiplier)

• Water intake goal (default: 8 cups per day) 

• Sleep hours window (start time, end time, enabled flag — default 10 PM–8 AM)

• Dark mode auto-schedule (start time, end time, enabled flag)

• Custom goal presets (named step-goal presets, e.g., "Rest Day") 

• Gamification tokens (Streak Recovery Grace Day tokens — max 3) 

• Notification preferences — Step Reminder time, End-of-Day Summary time, Morning Briefing time, After-meal walk reminder times, inactivity alert interval (30/60/90 min), weekly/monthly report toggles

• Last checked steps — Used internally by the Inactivity Alert to detect periods of no movement

Purpose: To customize your app experience and maintain consistent settings.

2. Sensor Data (Real-Time Processing)

Our app accesses your device's built-in step counter sensor (accelerometer) to detect and count your steps. This sensor data is:

• ✅ Processed in real-time on your device only

• ✅ Used immediately for step counting calculations

• ✅ NOT stored in raw form

• ✅ NOT transmitted to any servers

• ✅ NOT shared with third parties

Permission Required: ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION (Android 10+)

Purpose: To accurately count your steps as you walk or run.

3. Data We DO NOT Collect

We want to be clear about what we DO NOT collect:

• ❌ No Personal Identification Information - No name, email, phone number, or address 

• ❌ No Location Data - No GPS tracking, no location history 

• ❌ No Internet Activity - No browsing history or app usage outside our app 

• ❌ No Contact Information - No access to your contacts or call logs 

• ❌ No Photos or Media - No access to your camera, photos, or media files (the app only saves files you choose to export or save — see Files You Save or Share) 

• ❌ No Financial Information - No payment details or banking information 

• ❌ No Device Identifiers - No IMEI, MAC address, or advertising IDs 

• ❌ No Biometric Data - No fingerprints, face data, or other biometrics 

• ❌ No Audio or Voice - No microphone access 

• ❌ No Messages - No access to SMS or email 

• ❌ No Social Media Data - No connection to social media accounts

Permissions Explained

Our app requests the following permissions, and here's exactly why:

Required Permissions:

1. ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION

• Why: To access the step counter sensor and count your steps.

• What it does: Allows the app to read data from your device's step sensor to detect walking motion.

• What it doesn't do: Does NOT track your location or send data anywhere.

2. FOREGROUND_SERVICE & FOREGROUND_SERVICE_HEALTH

• Why: To count steps continuously while the app runs in the background.

• What it does: Keeps the step counter active even when you're not actively using the app.

• What it doesn't do: Does NOT access any data beyond step counting.

3. POST_NOTIFICATIONS

- Why: To show your step count while tracking is active, and the reminders and reports you choose.

- What it does: Displays a persistent step-count notification (with a Pause/Resume button) and the notifications you turn on.

- What it doesn't do: Does NOT send advertisements or messages from any server — all notifications are created on your phone.

4. RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED

• Why: To restart step counting and notification alarms after your device restarts.

• What it does: When your phone reboots, Android cancels all scheduled alarms. This permission allows the app to restart step counting and reschedule your chosen notifications (step reminders, sitting alerts, end-of-day summaries) automatically after a reboot so you don't lose your settings.

• What it doesn't do: Does NOT access any of your data or transmit anything.

5. SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM

• Why: To deliver some notifications at the exact time they are due.

• What it does: Allows inactivity alerts and monthly challenge updates to fire at a precise time even when the device is in battery-saving (Doze) mode. Other reminders are delivered within about 10 minutes of the time you set.

• What it doesn't do: Does NOT collect or share any data.

6. WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE (Android 9 and older only)

• Why: Only when you choose to export your data (CSV) or save a progress card image.

• What it does: Lets the app save that file to your Downloads or Pictures folder. Android 10 and newer do not need this permission.

• What it doesn't do: Does NOT read your files, photos, or media.

Added automatically by Android libraries: WAKE_LOCK and ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE are added by Android's standard background-task library (WorkManager) so background work can run reliably. The app has no Internet permission, so it cannot send any data over the network.

Permissions NOT Requested:

• ❌ Internet Access - We don't need internet; the app works completely offline

• ❌ Location/GPS - We don't track your location

• ❌ Camera - We don't access your camera

• ❌ Microphone - We don't record audio

• ❌ Contacts - We don't access your contacts

• ❌ Reading your files or photos - The app never reads your files; it only saves files you choose to export or save

How We Use Your Data

All data collected by our app is used exclusively for the following purposes:

1. Core Functionality

• Step Counting: To track and display your daily steps accurately, with the option to pause counting (e.g. in a car)

• Progress Tracking: To show your historical data and trends

• Goal Setting: To help you set and achieve personalized daily, weekend, weekly, and monthly goals

• Statistics: To calculate and display your fitness metrics (calories, distance, time)

• Smart Notifications: To send you timely reminders, sitting alerts, after-meal walk reminders, daily summaries, and weekly/monthly progress reports at your chosen times

• Water Intake Tracking: To display your daily hydration progress and goal completion

• Gamification: To calculate XP points, level progress, streak milestones, and grace tokens based on your activity

2. App Personalization

• Theme Preferences: To remember your chosen theme (Light/Dark/Auto)

• Unit Preferences: To display distance in your preferred unit (km/miles)

• Language: To show the app in your chosen language

• User Profile: To calculate accurate calorie burn based on your height, weight, gender, and age

3. Data Analysis (Local Only)

• Weekly Reports: To show your weekly step trends and averages

• Monthly Reports: To display monthly progress, achievements, and your Monthly Progress Card

• Year Wrapped: To show a summary of your year in steps

• Weight Estimates: To estimate weight-loss from walking and progress toward an optional target weight

• Lifetime Statistics: To track your total steps, distance, and goals reached

Important: All data processing happens locally on your device. We do not have servers, databases, or any backend infrastructure that collects your data.

Data Storage and Security

Local Storage Only

All your data is stored in your app's private storage on your device (an on-device database and Android's settings storage), which:

• ✅ Stores data in your app's private directory

• ✅ Cannot be accessed by other apps

• ✅ Is protected by Android's app sandbox security

• ✅ Is automatically deleted if you uninstall the app

Data Retention

• Historical Data: Your daily step history is kept on your device until you delete it - 

• Hourly Data: Kept for the last 30 days - 

• Settings: Stored until you change them or uninstall the app - 

• Sensor Calibration: Stored until you uninstall the app

Data Deletion

You can delete your data at any time by:

• 1. In the app: Settings → Data Management → Reset All Data (clear history, or all app data) 

• 2. Clear App Data: Settings → Apps → Step Counter → Storage → Clear Data 

• 3. Uninstall the App: Completely removes all stored data from your device 

Note: Since all data is stored locally, we cannot recover your data once deleted.

Files You Save or Share 

These actions only happen when you start them: - 

• "Export Data as CSV" saves your step history as a file in your phone's Downloads folder. 

• Progress cards: "Save" on the Monthly Progress Card or Year Wrapped saves the image to your phone's Pictures folder. -

• Share Progress / Share card: Opens Android's built-in share sheet so you can share your stats or card image with an app you choose, such as WhatsApp or Instagram. 

The app does not automatically or silently share any data. We have no control over the external app you choose to share with — please review their privacy policies.

Data Sharing and Third Parties

We Do NOT Share Your Data

Your privacy is our top priority. We want to be crystal clear:

• ❌ We do NOT sell your personal data

• ❌ We do NOT share your data with advertisers

• ❌ We do NOT share your data with analytics companies

• ❌ We do NOT share your data with marketing platforms

• ❌ We do NOT transmit your data to any servers

• ❌ We do NOT share your data with social media platforms

• ❌ We do NOT have any third-party SDKs that collect data

No Third-Party Services

Our app does NOT use:

• ❌ Google Analytics or Firebase Analytics

• ❌ Facebook SDK or Meta Pixel

• ❌ Advertising networks (AdMob, Facebook Ads, etc.)

• ❌ Crash reporting services

• ❌ Our own cloud storage (Android's optional backup to your own Google account is explained below)

• ❌ Social media integrations

• ❌ Payment processors (the app is 100% free)

Google Play In-App Review: The app may ask you to rate it using Google Play's in-app review screen. This screen is provided and handled by Google Play under [Google's Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy). The app does not receive your rating or any personal information from it.

No Internet Connection Required

Our app works completely offline. It does not require an internet connection and does not transmit any data over the internet.

Android Backup 

Our app supports Android's standard Auto Backup feature. If backup is turned on in your phone's settings, Android may save an encrypted copy of the app's data to your own Google account, so it can be restored on a new phone or after reinstalling. This backup is controlled by Google and your device settings — we cannot access it. Device-specific sensor values and the first-launch language choice are not backed up. 

To turn off backup: Settings → Google → Backup → turn off "Back up to Google Drive" (the exact menu names vary by phone).

Children's Privacy

Our app does not address anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13.

However, since our app:

• Does NOT collect personal information

• Does NOT require account creation

• Does NOT connect to the internet

• Stores all data locally on the device

The app can be safely used by children under parental supervision for fitness tracking purposes.

If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has used our app, please note that no personal data has been collected or transmitted.

Google Play Store Data Safety Requirements

In compliance with Google Play Store's Data Safety section requirements, here is our disclosure:

Data Collection Summary: