Privacy Policy

Ares (com.ares.fit) for Android

This Privacy Policy explains how Ares processes personal information. It is not legal advice and does not claim compliance certification under any privacy law.

1. Who we are

Ares is a fitness app for tracking outdoor activities (walk, run, cycle, hike), steps, maps, optional body metrics, and optional Ares Pro features sold through Google Play.

Ares is operated by Pugal G as a private individual (developer and student), not as a company.

Contact: contact.apx.dev@gmail.com.

2. Scope

This Policy applies to:

• the Ares Android app, and
• cloud services used when you sign in.

It does not control how Google, Google Play, map providers, elevation providers, or other independent services use data under their own policies, except where this Policy describes what Ares sends to them.

3. Information we process

3.1 Account (Google Sign-In)

Cloud accounts use Google Sign-In. Ares receives and stores:

• a unique account identifier,
• email address (if Google provides it),
• display name.

Your profile shows the first letter of your display name. Cloud profiles also get an Ares ID so you can connect Friends. Ares does not collect or store profile photos.

Ares does not offer email/password registration or other sign-in methods.

3.2 Guest / offline mode

You can use Ares without Google Sign-In. In guest mode, profile and activity data stay on your device and are not uploaded until you successfully link a Google account. Linking is refused if that Google account already has Ares cloud data.

3.3 Precise location and routes

With your permission, Ares uses precise location to record routes and show your position on the map.

While an activity is running, a persistent notification shows the activity mode and session metrics (such as steps, distance, and elapsed time). Cycling notifications omit steps.

Route data stored on the device and, when you are signed in and synced, in the cloud includes the path of the activity, altitudes, times, activity mode (walk, run, cycle, or hike), distance, duration, session step count, and related metrics.

Elevation: route locations may be sent to an elevation provider when elevation is calculated. That provider processes those requests under its own terms.

3.4 Fitness, sensors, and body data

Depending on the features you use:

• session and history metrics (distance, duration, pace, steps, elevation-related figures),
• daily step counts and related estimates for Body Activation / NEAT from Health Connect when you grant read access to steps (Ares reads step totals only and does not write health data),
• session step counts during a tracked workout from activity recognition / the device step sensor when permitted,
• optional body metrics you enter: date of birth, gender (male or female), height, weight and unit preferences, optional body-fat percentage, optional activity or fitness level,
• metrics history over time,
• optional Ares Pro body targets (such as target weight, target body fat, and monthly pace) and Body Activation estimates,
• estimates calculated on your device (for example calorie-related figures). These are estimates, not medical measurements.

Daily steps are stored in the app on your device. For Ares Pro users they can sync to the cloud. Free-tier daily steps remain on the device and are pruned after about 90 days. Synced daily step totals may be shown to your Friends (see section 3.7).

3.5 Ares Pro and purchases

Google Play handles payment for Ares Pro. Subscriptions are monthly and yearly. Prices appear in Google Play at purchase. New accounts receive a 14-day complimentary Pro trial; after it ends, continued Pro access requires a Google Play subscription (unless complimentary access applies).

I store the subscription information needed to unlock Pro, verified with Google.

Some accounts receive complimentary Pro access granted by me without a Play purchase.

Pro features include Friends, Body Activation and body targets, Stats, and Multi-route map views, plus related cloud behaviour (longer cloud route retention while Pro is active, and Pro-only daily steps sync).

3.6 Device and technical data

• Sign-in data kept on the device,
• data needed to manage your signed-in session,
• ordinary connection metadata (such as IP address) seen by hosting and network providers,
• limited operational logs used to run the service,
• optional in-app update checks via Google Play.

3.7 Friends (Ares Pro)

Friends is an optional Pro feature for signed-in users. You connect using an Ares ID, send a request, and accept or decline requests. You can remove a friend in the app.

Among friends, each of you can see the other's display name and daily step totals used for ranking. Friends do not receive your routes, live location, maps, activity history, email, or profile photos.

There is no public social feed or messaging. Friend connections are stored with your cloud account.

3.8 Sharing and local files

• You can share a route through the Android share sheet as generated images. Content you send to another app is then under that app's and the recipient's control.
• Settings offers a passphrase-protected local backup of local training data (routes, profile, steps, metrics history, and selected preferences). You choose where to save the file. Backups are not uploaded to my servers and do not include sign-in or Pro unlock data. Restored data stays on the device.

3.9 What we do not collect

Ares does not include advertising SDKs, access to your contacts or microphone, or writing data to Health Connect (it only reads steps when you allow it). Google Play and Android may still collect platform telemetry under their own policies.

4. Permissions

5. Why we process data

6. Who receives data

I do not sell your personal information.

7. Storage and security

• Cloud data for signed-in users is hosted with a cloud provider in the Asia Pacific region.
• Network traffic between the app and cloud services is encrypted in transit.
• Sign-in and Pro unlock data on the device are protected with platform security features.
• Your routes and private profile data are not shared with other users, except the Friends information described in section 3.7 when you choose to connect.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. I do not guarantee that data can never be accessed without authorisation.

8. Retention

9. Account deletion

In the app: Profile → Delete account (a network connection is required for a cloud account).

When deletion succeeds:

1. Your cloud account and associated cloud data for that account (such as profile, routes, steps, Friends connections, body targets, and Ares Pro access records) are removed.
2. Local sign-in state and that user's local app data on the device are cleared.

Deletion does not remove:

• Google Play subscription or purchase history (cancel in Google Play to stop billing),
• your Google account,
• content you already shared outside Ares,
• backup files you saved,
• host backups or logs during their normal retention periods.

Guest users: delete in the app, or clear app storage or uninstall. Guest data was never stored on my servers.

10. Your privacy requests

Email contact.apx.dev@gmail.com to request access, correction, deletion, or other rights that apply where you live.

In Settings, export and import provide a passphrase-protected local backup. That is not a full download of everything held on the server.

Cloud requests are handled manually. I verify that the request comes from the account holder.

11. Children

You must be at least 13 years old to create a cloud profile (checked using the date of birth you enter).

If you are under 13, do not use Ares with a cloud profile.

12. International transfers

Cloud data is processed in the Asia Pacific region. Google, map, and elevation providers process data in the countries where they operate.

13. Cookies and local storage

Ares is a native Android app. It uses app storage on your device, not browser cookies.

There is no dedicated advertising or analytics SDK in the app. Network providers still see ordinary connection metadata.

14. Artificial intelligence

Ares does not send your personal data to a remote generative AI service.

Fitness estimates and guidance are produced by on-device algorithms. They are estimates, not medical advice.

15. Notifications

• Local: tracking notification while recording.
• Push: Ares does not use push notifications.

16. Changes

This Privacy Policy is updated when the app or hosting changes. The Effective date at the top is updated accordingly. Updated documents are also linked from Settings or Google Play.

17. Contact