STRIDE — PRIVACY POLICY
Last Updated: March 16, 2026
Effective Date: March 16, 2026
This Privacy Policy ("Policy") explains how Valkyrja Interactive LLC ("Valkyrja Interactive," "we," "our," or "us") collects, uses, discloses, and safeguards your information when you use the Stride mobile application for iOS, watchOS, and Android, our companion widgets and complications, and any related online services (collectively, the "Service").
Stride is a virtual pet companion app that uses activity data from Apple Health to power gameplay and, for signed-in users, offers an AI-powered companion chat experience. This Policy is designed to be transparent about every category of data we handle, how we handle it, and the rights you have over it.
By installing or using Stride you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Policy. If you do not agree, please uninstall or discontinue use immediately.
1. AGE REQUIREMENT
Stride's core features (pet care, step tracking, collection, widgets) are available to all users. The AI Companion Chat feature requires users to be 16 years of age or older.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly permit anyone under the age of 16 to use the AI Companion Chat feature. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, or that a user under 16 has accessed the AI Companion Chat, we will promptly delete their data and restrict access. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@valkyrjainteractive.com.
If you are between 16 and 18 years of age, you represent that you have your parent's or legal guardian's permission to use the Service, including the AI Companion Chat feature.
2. INFORMATION WE COLLECT
2.1 Information You Provide
| Category | Examples | When Collected |
|---|
|----------|----------|----------------|
| Account Credentials | Apple ID identity token (via Sign in with Apple); display name (optional) | When you sign in with Apple |
|---|---|---|
| In-App Purchases | Product ID, transaction ID, purchase amount, currency | When you buy creation packs |
| AI Companion Chat Messages | Text you type in chat with your AI pet companion | When you use the AI Companion Chat feature |
| Pet Customization | Pet name, selected species, chosen theme, optional refinement text | When you create or customize a pet |
2.2 Information Collected Automatically
| Category | Examples | How Collected |
|---|
|----------|----------|---------------|
| Apple Health Data | Step count, active energy burned (Move calories), exercise minutes, stand hours, activity ring goals | Via Apple HealthKit, with your explicit permission |
|---|---|---|
| Device & Usage Data | Device model, operating system version, app version, session duration, in-app events (e.g., pet fed, egg hatched, widget tapped), crash logs and stack traces | Via Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics |
| Advertising Identifier (IDFA) | Apple's Identifier for Advertisers | Only if you grant App Tracking Transparency permission; used solely for measuring our own ad campaign performance |
| Firebase Authentication ID | Anonymous unique identifier; or Apple-linked identifier after Sign in with Apple | Automatically on first launch |
| App Check Attestation | Device attestation token (DeviceCheck / App Attest) | Automatically, to verify requests originate from a legitimate app instance |
2.3 Information Generated by the Service
| Category | Examples | How Generated |
|---|
|----------|----------|---------------|
| Game State | Pet attributes (happiness, level, star count), food inventory, step balance, egg collection | Calculated from your activity data and in-app actions |
|---|---|---|
| AI-Generated Content | Pet personality profiles, AI companion chat responses, pet images | Generated by artificial intelligence (see Section 5) |
| Companion Data | Bond progression, companion events (daily diary), companion context snapshots | Generated from your interactions with your pet |
| AI Companion Memories | Extracted facts and shared moments from chat conversations (e.g., "User mentioned they enjoy hiking") | Automatically extracted by our AI system after chat sessions (see Section 5) |
2.4 Information We Do NOT Collect
- Email address — Sign in with Apple does not share your email with us
- Precise GPS location — We do not access your geographic location
- Contacts, calendar, microphone, or camera data — We do not access these
- Biometric data — We do not collect fingerprints, face scans, or voiceprints
- Browsing history — We do not track your activity outside of Stride
3. APPLE HEALTH DATA
Stride accesses Apple HealthKit data to power your virtual pet's behavior and provide activity-based rewards. We take the privacy of your health data extremely seriously.
What we access: Step count, active energy burned, exercise minutes, stand hours, and activity ring completion goals.
How we use it:
- To calculate your pet's hunger, happiness, and mood
- To award in-game currency (steps → food → feeding)
- To display activity ring progress on widgets and complications
- To detect activity patterns for companion features (e.g., the pet notices your walking routine)
What we guarantee:
- Your health data is processed on your device. Raw HealthKit values are not transmitted to our servers.
- Aggregated activity context (e.g., "8,000 steps today," "3-day activity streak") may be included in AI Companion Chat context to personalize your pet's responses, but individual HealthKit readings are never sent to third parties.
- Your health data is never used for advertising, marketing, or data mining purposes.
- Your health data is never sold to or shared with third parties.
- Your health data is never stored in iCloud by our application.
- You control which health data categories Stride can access through iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Health > Stride. You may revoke access at any time without losing core app functionality.
4. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
| Purpose | Legal Basis (EEA/UK) | Data Used |
|---|
|---------|---------------------|-----------|
| Provide the Service — operate the pet care loop, process purchases, sync game state across devices | Contract | Account, game state, purchases, health data |
|---|---|---|
| AI Companion Chat — generate in-character pet responses, maintain conversation context | Consent (you opt in by using the feature) | Chat messages, companion data, activity context |
| AI Companion Memory — extract and store meaningful facts from conversations to personalize future interactions | Consent | Chat messages, extracted memories |
| AI Pet Generation — create custom pet images and personality profiles | Contract | Pet name, species, theme, refinement text |
| Analytics & Improvement — understand usage patterns, diagnose crashes, improve the Service | Legitimate Interest | Device & usage data, crash logs |
| Ad Campaign Measurement — measure the effectiveness of our own advertising campaigns | Consent (via ATT permission) | IDFA, purchase events |
| Security & Fraud Prevention — verify app authenticity, prevent abuse of AI features | Legitimate Interest | App Check attestation, Firebase Auth ID, rate limit counters |
| Legal Compliance — respond to legal process, enforce our terms | Legal Obligation | As required |
We do not use your data for:
- Selling to third parties
- Building advertising profiles
- Serving third-party advertisements within the app
- Training or improving general-purpose AI models (see Section 5.4)
5. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FEATURES
5.1 AI Disclosure
Stride uses artificial intelligence to power several features, including AI pet image generation, AI personality generation, and the AI Companion Chat. Your AI pet companion is generated by artificial intelligence and is not a human being. It cannot form genuine emotions, relationships, or intentions. All responses are computationally generated. We encourage you to maintain awareness that you are interacting with an AI system at all times.
5.2 How AI Features Work
AI Pet Generation: When you create a custom pet, your chosen name, species, and theme are sent to our server, which calls Google's Gemini API to generate an image and personality profile. The generated content is stored in Firebase and delivered to your device.
AI Companion Chat: When you send a message in the AI Companion Chat, your message is transmitted to our server (hosted on Google Cloud Run), which processes it using Google's Gemini API to generate an in-character response from your pet. Your pet's personality profile, bond stage, recent companion events, activity context, and relevant memories are included as context to personalize the response.
AI Companion Memory: After each chat session, our system may automatically extract meaningful facts and shared moments from the conversation (e.g., "User mentioned a big hike last weekend"). These extracted memories are stored in Google's Vertex AI Memory Bank service and are used to personalize future conversations. Full chat transcripts are not retained after the session ends — only extracted memories persist.
5.3 AI Provider
Our AI features are powered by Google's Gemini API (provided through Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform). When you use AI features, your data is sent to Google Cloud for processing.
Google's data commitments under our enterprise agreement:
- Google does not use your inputs or outputs to train, improve, or develop its AI models.
- Your data is processed transiently to generate a response and is not retained at rest beyond temporary caching (up to 24 hours) and abuse monitoring requirements.
- Google's full data governance terms are available at cloud.google.com/gemini/docs/discover/data-governance.
5.4 Your Data and Model Training
We do not use your personal data, chat messages, or conversation content to train or improve any AI models — neither our own nor any third party's. Our AI provider (Google Cloud) is contractually prohibited from using your data for model training under our enterprise data processing terms.
Content that triggers our safety systems (see Section 5.5) may be reviewed by our team to improve the safety and accuracy of our content filters. This review uses anonymized, aggregated patterns — not individual conversations.
5.5 AI Safety
The AI Companion Chat implements a multi-layer safety system:
- Input filtering: Messages are screened before reaching the AI model. Content related to self-harm, violence, explicit material, or attempts to manipulate the AI system is intercepted.
- System-level constraints: The AI model operates under strict instructions that prevent it from providing medical, legal, financial, or mental health advice; discussing inappropriate topics; breaking character; or soliciting personal information.
- Output filtering: AI-generated responses are reviewed before delivery to ensure they meet our content standards.
- Crisis response: If our systems detect expressions of crisis, including references to self-harm or suicidal ideation, we will provide you with professional crisis resources, including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) and the Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741). Your AI pet companion is not a substitute for professional mental health support.
- Usage limits: The AI Companion Chat is subject to daily message limits and session-length reminders to encourage healthy usage patterns.
5.6 AI Companion Memory Transparency
You have full visibility and control over what your AI pet companion remembers:
- View: You can see all memories your pet has formed in the Memory Shelf within the app.
- Delete: You can delete individual memories or all memories for a specific pet at any time.
- Pause: You can pause memory formation without deleting existing memories.
- Reset: You can delete all memories across all pets from Settings.
Memories are stored in Google's Vertex AI Memory Bank service and are automatically deleted 180 days after they were last accessed or referenced. You may delete them sooner at any time.
6. SHARING AND DISCLOSURE
We never sell your personal data. We share information only in the following circumstances:
6.1 Service Providers
We engage the following categories of service providers to operate the Service. Each provider is contractually obligated to use your data only for the purposes we specify and is prohibited from using it for their own purposes, including model training.
| Provider | Purpose | Data Processed |
|---|
|----------|---------|----------------|
| Google Cloud (Vertex AI / Gemini) | AI response generation, AI pet generation, memory storage | Chat messages (transient), pet creation parameters, extracted memories |
|---|---|---|
| Google Firebase (Auth, Firestore, Storage, Analytics, Crashlytics, App Check) | Authentication, data storage, file storage, analytics, crash reporting, fraud prevention | Account data, game state, companion data, pet images, usage events, crash logs, attestation tokens |
| Apple (HealthKit, StoreKit, CloudKit, Sign in with Apple) | Health data access, in-app purchases, cross-device sync, authentication | Health data (on-device only), purchase transactions, game state sync, identity token |
| Meta Platforms (Facebook SDK) | Measurement of our own advertising campaigns | IDFA (if permitted), purchase events, engagement events |
6.2 Other Disclosures
- Legal authorities: When required by law, regulation, legal process, or enforceable governmental request.
- Safety: To protect the rights, safety, or property of Valkyrja Interactive, our users, or the public.
- Business transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, with prior notice to you.
- With your consent: When you explicitly authorize a specific disclosure.
6.3 What We Never Share
- We never share your Apple Health data with any third party.
- We never share your chat messages or AI companion memories with other users.
- We never share your data with third-party advertisers for ad targeting.
- We never share data for the purpose of building advertising or marketing profiles.
7. DATA STORAGE AND TRANSFERS
7.1 Where Your Data Is Stored
| Data Type | Storage Location |
|---|
|-----------|-----------------|
| Game state (pets, inventory) | On your device (SwiftData) + Apple iCloud (CloudKit private database) |
|---|---|
| Health data | On your device only (Apple HealthKit) |
| Account and companion data | Google Cloud (Firebase), United States |
| AI companion memories | Google Cloud (Vertex AI Memory Bank), United States |
| Custom pet images | Google Cloud (Firebase Storage), United States |
| Chat sessions | Google Cloud (Cloud SQL), United States |
| Widget data | On your device (App Group container) |
7.2 International Transfers
If you are located outside the United States, your data may be transferred to and processed in the United States where our service providers operate. When we transfer data outside the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission and other applicable safeguards to ensure your data receives an equivalent level of protection.
8. DATA RETENTION
We retain your data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Specific retention periods:
| Data Type | Retention Period | Rationale |
|---|
|-----------|-----------------|-----------|
| Account data | Duration of your account | Required to provide the Service |
|---|---|---|
| Game state | Duration of your account | Required to provide the Service |
| Health data | On-device only; deleted when you uninstall the app or revoke HealthKit access | Apple requirement; we do not retain health data on our servers |
| Chat messages (transcripts) | Not retained after the session ends | Data minimization; only extracted memories persist |
| AI companion memories | 180 days from last access, then automatically deleted | Prevents indefinite data accumulation; refreshed when referenced |
| Chat session state | 30 days from last activity | Only recent context needed for conversation continuity |
| Safety logs (flagged content) | 30 days, then automatically deleted | Incident investigation window |
| Companion events (diary) | 1 year rolling window | Agent needs recent history; older events auto-pruned |
| Bond state and personality | Duration of your account | Progression data, not personal data |
| Custom pet images | Duration of your account or until you delete the pet | User-generated content |
| Analytics data | As determined by Firebase Analytics retention settings (up to 14 months) | Service improvement |
| Crash logs | 90 days | Debugging and stability improvement |
| Purchase records | As required by applicable law (typically 3-7 years) | Legal and financial compliance |
When you delete your account, we initiate deletion of your personal data within 30 days. Certain data may persist in encrypted backups for up to 90 days before being permanently removed. Data required by law (such as purchase records) may be retained for the legally mandated period.
9. YOUR RIGHTS
You have the following rights regarding your personal data, subject to applicable law:
| Right | Description | How to Exercise |
|---|
|-------|-------------|----------------|
| Access | Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you | Email us or use in-app Settings |
|---|---|---|
| Rectification | Request correction of inaccurate personal data | Email us |
| Erasure (Deletion) | Request deletion of your personal data | In-app: Settings > Delete My Account; or email us |
| Restriction | Request that we limit processing of your data | Email us |
| Portability | Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format | Email us |
| Objection | Object to processing based on legitimate interests | Email us |
| Withdraw Consent | Withdraw consent for any consent-based processing at any time | In-app toggles (e.g., disable chat, revoke HealthKit access, ATT settings) or email us |
9.1 Account Deletion
You may delete your account and all associated data at any time through Settings > Delete My Account within the app. When you delete your account, we will:
- Delete all Firestore documents associated with your user ID (companion data, events, context)
- Delete all AI companion memories from the Vertex AI Memory Bank
- Delete all chat session data from Cloud SQL
- Delete all custom pet images from Firebase Storage
- Delete your Firebase Authentication account
- Revoke your Apple Sign-In token (if applicable)
Local data (SwiftData, App Group, HealthKit permissions) is cleared on your device. iCloud data synced via CloudKit is removed per Apple's standard iCloud deletion process.
9.2 AI Companion Memory Controls
In addition to full account deletion, you can manage your AI companion's memories independently:
- View all memories: Pet Details > Memory Shelf
- Delete a single memory: Swipe to delete on any memory card
- Delete all memories for one pet: Pet Details > Forget Everything
- Delete all memories for all pets: Settings > Delete All Memories
- Pause memory formation: Settings > Pause Memories (stops new memory creation without deleting existing ones)
- Disable chat entirely: Settings > Disable AI Chat (removes chat access while keeping all other features)
9.3 California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)
If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended:
- Right to Know: You may request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected, the sources, purposes, and categories of third parties with whom we share it.
- Right to Delete: You may request deletion of personal information we have collected from you.
- Right to Correct: You may request correction of inaccurate personal information.
- Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing: We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
- Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.
To exercise these rights, contact us at support@valkyrjainteractive.com or use the in-app deletion and privacy controls described above. We will verify your identity and respond within 45 days.
9.4 California SB 243 Compliance (AI Companion Chatbot)
In compliance with California Senate Bill 243 (effective January 1, 2026):
- The AI Companion Chat feature is powered by artificial intelligence and is not a human being.
- We provide session-length reminders encouraging breaks during extended use.
- We maintain safety protocols to detect and respond to expressions of crisis, including suicidal ideation and self-harm, and provide referrals to professional crisis services.
- Our AI companion chat may not be suitable for some minors. The feature requires a minimum age of 16.
9.5 Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, and Other US State Rights
Residents of states with comprehensive privacy laws (including Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Oregon, Montana, and Texas) have similar rights to access, correct, delete, and opt out. Contact us at support@valkyrjainteractive.com to exercise these rights. You may appeal any decision regarding your request.
9.6 European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland
If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have additional rights under the GDPR and UK-GDPR, including the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. Our lead supervisory authority contact is the Irish Data Protection Commission.
Data Protection Contact: support@valkyrjainteractive.com
10. AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING
Stride uses automated processing in the following ways:
- AI Companion Chat: Automated generation of pet responses based on your messages, pet personality, and conversation context.
- Pet Behavior: Automated calculation of pet mood, happiness, and hunger based on your activity data and care actions.
- Memory Extraction: Automated extraction of facts and moments from chat conversations for personalization.
- Content Safety: Automated screening of chat messages for safety compliance.
These automated processes do not produce legal effects or similarly significant effects on you. They are used solely to provide entertainment and companion features. You may contact us to request human review of any automated decision that affects your use of the Service.
11. SECURITY
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data:
- Encryption in transit: All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using TLS 1.2 or higher.
- Encryption at rest: Data stored on our servers is encrypted using AES-256 encryption.
- Authentication: Firebase App Check verifies that requests originate from legitimate app instances. Sign in with Apple uses industry-standard OAuth 2.0.
- Access controls: Employee access to user data is restricted on a need-to-know basis with multi-factor authentication required.
- Rate limiting: AI features are rate-limited to prevent abuse.
- Content safety monitoring: Flagged AI interactions are logged for safety review (see Section 5.5).
Data breach notification: In the event of a data breach that creates a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the applicable regulatory authorities without undue delay, and in any event within 72 hours of becoming aware, in accordance with applicable law.
12. THIRD-PARTY SERVICES AND LINKS
Stride integrates with the following platform services, each governed by their own privacy policies:
- Apple HealthKit: apple.com/legal/privacy
- Apple iCloud (CloudKit): apple.com/legal/privacy
- Apple Sign in with Apple: apple.com/legal/privacy
- Google Cloud / Firebase: cloud.google.com/terms/cloud-privacy-notice
- Google Vertex AI: cloud.google.com/gemini/docs/discover/data-governance
- Meta Platforms (Facebook SDK): facebook.com/privacy/policy
We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these third-party services.
13. COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
The Stride mobile application does not use cookies. We use the following mobile technologies:
- Firebase Analytics SDK: Collects anonymized usage events (e.g., screens viewed, features used, session duration). You may disable analytics by limiting ad tracking in your device settings.
- Firebase Crashlytics SDK: Collects crash reports and diagnostic data to improve app stability. Crash reports include your Firebase user ID to help us diagnose user-specific issues.
- Meta (Facebook) SDK: Collects advertising measurement data (IDFA, purchase events) only if you grant App Tracking Transparency permission. You may revoke this permission at any time in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking.
- App Tracking Transparency (ATT): We request your permission before accessing the IDFA. If you decline, no advertising identifiers are collected or shared.
14. WATCHOS AND WIDGET DATA
14.1 watchOS Companion App
The Stride watchOS app receives game state data from your iPhone via Apple's WatchConnectivity framework. This data includes pet attributes, inventory, step balance, and pet images. No personal data is transmitted — only game state and pet image assets. The watchOS app does not include the AI Companion Chat feature.
14.2 Widgets and Complications
Stride provides iOS widgets and watchOS complications that display your pet's status, activity progress, and daily context. Widget data is shared between the main app and widget extensions via an App Group container stored on your device. This data includes pet name, mood, step count, and activity ring progress. Widget data is not transmitted to any server.
15. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
We may update this Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will:
- Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this Policy
- Provide notice through the app (via in-app notification or prominent disclosure)
- Where required by law, obtain your consent before applying material changes
Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Policy. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.
16. EU AI ACT TRANSPARENCY NOTICE
In compliance with the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), Article 50:
The AI Companion Chat feature in Stride is an AI system intended to interact directly with natural persons. We inform you that:
- You are interacting with an artificial intelligence system, not a human being.
- AI-generated responses are produced by a large language model (Google Gemini) based on computational pattern matching, not genuine understanding, emotion, or intention.
- The AI system operates within defined parameters set by Valkyrja Interactive, including personality constraints, safety rules, and content policies.
- AI-generated pet images and personality profiles are synthetically created content.
17. CONTACT US
If you have questions about this Policy, wish to exercise your privacy rights, or have concerns about our data practices, please contact us:
Valkyrja Interactive LLC
Attn: Privacy Team
Email: support@valkyrjainteractive.com
We will respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 30 days (or sooner where required by applicable law).
For unresolved privacy concerns, you may lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. For EEA residents, the lead supervisory authority is the Irish Data Protection Commission (dataprotection.ie).