Apps by Joe Waldow
DE

Privacy Policy for the app Treeceps

Last updated: August 3, 2026

1. Introduction

Treeceps is a playful fitness world: your steps feed animals, your training makes plants grow. This Privacy Policy describes which data is processed along the way and what role Apple and other services play. Treeceps is built to collect as little personal data as possible: no account with me, no advertising, no tracking, no analytics services.

2. Controller

Joe Waldow
Hasenbusch 52
25335 Elmshorn, Germany
Email: joe@waldow.app

3. What data is created in the app

Unless stated otherwise below, the following data is created on your device and stored there; the legal basis is then Article 6(1)(b) GDPR, because this is precisely the function you installed the app for.

a) Training data

Your training plans, templates, custom exercises, completed workouts as well as sets, repetitions, weights and effort ratings are created by your input.

b) Activity data from Apple Health

See section 4.

c) Game data

Points, levels, hearts, flowers, animals and counters such as the days on which you reached your step goal result from meeting your goals. Also stored are a display name you choose freely, the names you give your animals, and the appearance of your character.

d) App settings

Your settings, units, reminder times and progress counters such as first use and days used.

e) Device motion data (optional)

If you switch on the live step display, Treeceps additionally accesses your iPhone's motion sensors. It reads the running step counter and the type of movement iOS detects, such as walking, running, standing still or travelling in a vehicle. This serves solely to let the game world react to your movement immediately. This data stays on your device. Treeceps remains fully usable without this permission.

f) Camera for augmented reality (optional)

Treeceps can place your fitness world into your room using augmented reality. For this the app asks for access to the camera and, on Apple Vision Pro, to environment sensing. The camera and room data are used exclusively on your device for the display. No photos or videos are created, nothing is stored and nothing is transmitted. Treeceps remains fully usable without this permission.

g) Location and weather (optional, Club)

So that the game world can mirror your real weather and the position of the sun and moon, Treeceps can request your location and use it to load the weather conditions through Apple WeatherKit. A location rounded to roughly one hundred metres is transmitted to Apple; the rounded coordinates are cached on your device so that they do not have to be requested again at every launch. Apple is responsible for the processing that happens at Apple. You can revoke the location permission at any time in your iOS settings; the game world then uses a simulated time of day. The legal basis is your consent in the form of the location permission (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR).

4. Apple Health integration

Treeceps can connect to Apple Health if you allow it in the iOS permission dialog. The connection is voluntary, and Treeceps is usable without it.

  • What Treeceps reads on iPhone: your steps, your flights of stairs climbed (a Club feature) and your completed workouts from the past 30 days. For workouts this includes duration, energy burned, distance, activity type and the name of the app that wrote the workout into Health.
  • What Treeceps reads on Apple Watch: during a training session your heart rate, your active energy and your distance, in order to display and record the ongoing workout.
  • What Treeceps writes: the strength training sessions you complete in the app are written to Apple Health as a workout, so that your activity rings and other health apps take them into account.

Processing takes place exclusively on your device and your Apple Watch. Treeceps does not transmit this health data to me, does not share it with third parties, and does not use it for advertising or profiling.

  • Deletion:

Treeceps does not itself delete any entries in Apple Health. If you want to remove a workout written by Treeceps, do so directly in the Apple Health app. There you can also see which entries came from Treeceps.

  • Legal basis:

Health data belongs to the special categories of personal data (Article 9(1) GDPR). Processing takes place exclusively on your devices; I do not receive this data, have no access to it and do not store it. The connection is off by default and only becomes active after you have explicitly granted it in the iOS permission dialog. To the extent that this permission constitutes consent within the meaning of Article 9(2)(a) GDPR, the processing is based on that consent; you can withdraw it at any time in your iOS settings or in Apple Health.

Storing your training and game data inside the app does not require consent under Section 25(1) of the German TDDDG, because it is strictly necessary to provide the function you requested (Section 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG).

5. Storage and synchronisation

  • On your device:

Your training, game and settings data reside in a database on your device. There is no user account with me and no server operated by me on which this data resides.

  • iCloud synchronisation (optional, Club):

As a Club member you can switch on cross-device synchronisation. It is off by default. When active, Apple synchronises your training data, custom exercises, templates, game data, your display name and the names of your animals through your private iCloud database between your devices. This also includes your current step count, your step goal and the log of days on which you reached your step goal — that is, values derived from Apple Health. This data resides exclusively in your personal iCloud account at Apple; I can neither view nor evaluate it. Apple's Privacy Policy applies. You can switch synchronisation off at any time in the app's settings and remove the iCloud data in your device's iCloud settings. The legal basis is your consent by activating the feature (Article 6(1)(a) and Article 9(2)(a) GDPR).

  • Apple Watch:

Between iPhone and Apple Watch, Treeceps transfers the data both devices need through Apple's device connection: training templates, planned and completed sets, custom exercises, the appearance of your character, your membership status and, during a session, the live measurements. This transfer runs directly between your devices.

  • Device backup:

Independently of Treeceps, your device's iCloud backup may include app data. That backup resides in your Apple account, not with me; you control it in your device settings.

6. Game Center (optional, Club)

As a Club member you can connect to Apple Game Center and compare your values with others. Using this is voluntary and requires you to sign in to Game Center.

Your achieved values are then submitted to public leaderboards. These include your level, the hearts, flowers and animals you collected, the number of days with a reached step goal, the number of training sessions you completed, your total training time, the total number of your sets, the number of tips read, as well as your visit days and your time spent in the app.

Please note: leaderboards at Apple are public. Other players can see your Game Center nickname, your Game Center picture and the values you reached. Values such as training time or the number of sessions allow conclusions about your training habits. If you do not want that, do not sign in to Game Center in the app, or disable Game Center in your iOS settings.

Apple is responsible for the processing inside Game Center. The legal basis for the submission is your consent through signing in to Game Center (Article 6(1)(a) and, insofar as training-related values are concerned, Article 9(2)(a) GDPR).

7. Purchase processing (RevenueCat)

Payment itself is handled exclusively by Apple through the App Store. I never receive your payment details or your name.

To verify purchases technically, manage the Club membership and restore purchases after a device change, I use RevenueCat, Inc. (USA) as a processor. The data processed is a randomly generated, anonymous user identifier (no name, no email address), your purchase history in this app, and technical details such as device type, operating system version and language setting.

In addition, an attribution token from Apple AdServices is processed so that I can tell whether an installation came through Apple Search Ads. This serves only to measure the success of my own advertising in the App Store, not cross-app tracking.

The legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (performing the contract for the unlocked features) and Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in fraud prevention, working purchase restoration and measuring my own advertising). Transfer to the USA is based on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses and, where the provider is certified, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. More information: RevenueCat Privacy Policy.

8. Reminders

Treeceps can remind you about planned training sessions. Only local notifications on your device are scheduled for this. There is no push server, and I send no promotional messages. You can switch notifications off at any time in the app or in your iOS settings.

9. What I do not use

Treeceps contains no advertising SDKs and shows no advertising. There are no third-party analytics or tracking services, no cross-app tracking, no advertising ID and no sharing with advertising networks or data brokers. Your health and training data is never sold.

10. Retention periods

Your training, game and settings data stay on your device until you delete them in the app or remove the app. There is no retention period for them, because the data is yours and I do not hold it. Values read from Apple Health are only used for as long as the connection is active.

The anonymous purchase identifier at RevenueCat is stored for as long as it is required to provide and restore your unlock. Data in iCloud and in Game Center persists until you remove it there.

11. Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right of access (Art. 15), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20) and objection to processing based on a legitimate interest (Art. 21). Where processing is based on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time with effect for the future.

A message to joe@waldow.app is enough to exercise these rights.

Please note the particular nature of this app: your training, health and game data resides on your device and, if you use synchronisation, in your private iCloud. I have no access to it, cannot view it, cannot hand it over and cannot delete it. Access, portability and erasure of that data are therefore available to you directly in the app and through your device settings. For data held by Apple, in Apple Health, in iCloud or in Game Center, please contact Apple. Where I process purchase data only under an anonymous identifier, I may be unable to link you to individual records; in that case I will support you as far as possible (Art. 11 GDPR).

No automated decision-making including profiling within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR takes place. The app's training suggestions are based on simple, predefined rules and have no legal effect on you.

12. Right to lodge a complaint

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, in particular in the country of your residence, your place of work or the place of the suspected infringement. For me as the controller, based in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, the competent authority is:

Unabhängiges Landeszentrum für Datenschutz Schleswig-Holstein (ULD)
Holstenstraße 98
24103 Kiel, Germany
www.datenschutzzentrum.de

13. Children

Treeceps is aimed at a general audience and collects no data beyond the points listed above, including from children.

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is updated when the app or the legal situation changes. The version published on this page at any given time governs.