Privacy Policy
1. About this policy
This policy explains how the iPhone app StepStella (Korean name: 걸음별자리) handles your personal information.
- Once a day, StepStella reads yesterday's step count and distance from the Apple Health app. It moves your virtual position on the globe by that distance, and you can leave a short message.
- The app is run by an individual developer. In this policy, we call this developer the "operator".
- Operator name: YoungBeom Seo
- Contact: purple.lamp.236@gmail.com
- The app is free. It has no ads and no in-app purchases.
- You must be 14 or older to use the app. See Section 14.
- The sign-up screen and Settings › Privacy › Data Policy in the app link to this policy.
- If you continue on the sign-up screen, you agree to this policy and the Terms of Service.
This policy is available in Korean, English, and Japanese. The Korean version is the reference version. The English and Japanese versions have the same content. If the versions differ, the Korean version applies.
2. Information we process
The tables below list all information the app processes. "Required" means you need it to use the app. "Optional" means we process it only if you allow it or use that feature.
Information stored on the server
| Item | Required or optional | How we get it |
|---|---|---|
| Account ID | Required | A random ID number the server creates when you sign in with Apple. |
| Apple sign-in information | Required | A sign-in confirmation value that Apple sends when you sign in with Apple. From it, the server's sign-in feature (Supabase Auth) stores the user identifier that Apple gives this app and token information (such as the issuer). It also stores the time you signed up and the time you last signed in. The app does not ask for your name or email when you sign in with Apple. However, if Apple sends an email address (or an address from Apple's "Hide My Email") with the sign-in, the server's sign-in feature may also store that address. |
| Sign-in session information | Required | When you sign in, the server's sign-in feature (Supabase Auth) creates session information to keep you signed in. This information includes the IP address of the connection and device and app information (User-Agent). It also stores the time the session was created and the time it was refreshed. |
| Anonymous ID | Required | A random value the server creates when you sign up. Example: #A3F29C01 |
| Time zone | Required | Taken from your device settings when you sign up. Example: Asia/Seoul |
| Starting city coordinates | Required | Set when you sign up. With location permission, this is the center of the city found from your device location (if no city is found, the center of an area of about 39 km × 20 km). Without location permission, this is the main city of your device's time zone. See Section 5. |
| Record date, step count, and distance (yesterday's daily total) | Required (recorded as 0 if you do not allow Health access) | Read from the Apple Health app (HealthKit). See Section 6. |
| Direction | Required | You choose it. There is a Base Direction you choose with your first record and a direction you choose for each record. A 0 km record has no direction. |
| Virtual position | Required | The server calculates it from yesterday's virtual position, the direction you chose, and yesterday's distance. |
| Public or private setting | Required | You choose it for each record. The default is public. |
| Message (up to 140 characters) | Optional | You write it in a record. |
| Streak and totals | Required | The server calculates them: current and longest streak, last record date, whether you used this month's Streak Freeze, and total distance and steps. We also store the streak values from before each record, so that we can restore them if you delete a same-day record. |
| Likes, follows, reports (with reason), and blocks | Optional (when you use the feature) | Created by your actions. We store who did it, to which record or user, and when. |
| Server logs | Automatic | If a server function has an error, it logs the function name, step name, and error details. Some error logs can also include your account ID and a record ID, so that we can tell which account the request came from. It does not log request content such as your messages. The server service (Supabase) also keeps request logs, such as request addresses, automatically. According to Supabase's documentation, these request logs can include the request time and the request address (including the query string after the address). They can also include the IP address and country of the connection, and device and app information (User-Agent). |
Information in the operator's mailbox
- Settings › Support › Contact Us opens the Mail app on your device. The app sends nothing to the server.
- If you send an email, the operator receives your email address and the content of your email.
- The email body is pre-filled with the app version, iOS version, device model identifier (for example, iPhone18,1), and app language. You can see and delete this before you send.
- We do not pre-fill your device name, device identifiers, or Anonymous ID.
Information stored only on your device
The information below stays on your iPhone. We do not send it to the server.
- Settings: whether you finished onboarding, whether the daily reminder is on and its time, Map Marker, Appearance, when to ask for notification permission again, and the account ID that owns the cache
- Cache (a copy stored on your device for a short time so screens load quickly): your records and the Journey Neighbors feed
3. Why we use your information
The operator uses personal information only for the purposes below. If a purpose changes, we update this policy first.
| Purpose | Information used |
|---|---|
| Signing you in, keeping you signed in, and telling your records apart from others | Account ID, Apple sign-in information, sign-in session information |
| Setting the record date. We convert server time to the local date in your saved time zone. The "yesterday" range in the Health app also uses this time zone. | Time zone |
| Calculating your virtual position and showing your records (globe, map, and Log tab) | Starting city coordinates, step count, distance, direction, virtual position, message |
| Calculating streaks, Discovery Radius, and Streak Freeze | Streak and totals, record date, distance |
| Running the Journey Neighbors feed (showing public records of users whose virtual positions are near yours) | Anonymous ID, public records, virtual position, likes, follows |
| Handling inappropriate records: word filter, reports, automatic hiding, and blocking | Messages, reports, blocks, account ID |
| Answering your questions | Contact emails |
| Finding server errors | Server logs |
The legal basis for each item is as follows.
- Required items and server logs: We process the items marked "Required" in Section 2 to carry out the service agreement we have with you (Korean Personal Information Protection Act, Article 15(1)(4)). Sign-in session information is also included here, because you need it to sign in. Step count and distance are covered separately below.
- Step count and distance (Health app data): We process them based on your consent when you allow Health access (the same Act, Article 15(1)(1)). If you do not allow it, we record 0.
- Device location: We use it only to find your starting city at sign-up, based on your consent when you allow location access (the same Act, Article 15(1)(1)).
- Optional items (message, likes, follows, reports, and blocks): We process them based on your consent when you use that feature (the same Act, Article 15(1)(1)).
- Contact emails: We process them based on your consent when you send an email (the same Act, Article 15(1)(1)).
- Daily reminder setting: When you turn on the reminder, whether it is on and its time are stored only on your device. We do not send them to the server.
4. Information we do not collect
- Name and email: We do not ask for your name or email when you sign in with Apple. However, if Apple sends an email address with the sign-in, the server's sign-in feature may store it (Section 2).
- Advertising identifier: We do not read your device's advertising identifier. The app does not track you.
- Analytics, advertising, and crash reporting tools: The app does not include these tools (SDKs).
- Remote push tokens: The app does not use push notifications sent from a server. So we do not collect device tokens for push notifications. The daily reminder is a local notification that your device shows by itself.
- Exact location: We do not store your device's exact coordinates on the server. The app does not read your location when you save a record. See Section 5.
- Raw health data: We do not send the original records from the Health app to the server. We send only the daily totals.
- Other permissions: We do not ask for access to photos, the camera, or contacts.
5. Location information
The app uses your device location only to set your starting city at sign-up. To keep exact places such as your home hidden, the server stores only an approximate location (usually the center of your starting city).
Location permission
- We ask only for "While Using the App" permission. The app does not read your location when you are not using it (in the background).
- The app reads your location only once each time it needs it. It asks for an accuracy of about 100 m.
- The app reads your location only when it sets your starting city at sign-up (including when you tap "Try Again" on that screen). It does not read your location when you save a record.
- You do not have to allow location access. You can still sign up and record without it.
- You can change this permission at any time in the iPhone Settings app.
- The map does not show your real current location.
At sign-up: starting city
A geohash divides Earth's surface into cells and gives each cell a short text code. Fewer characters mean a bigger cell.
- We do not use your device's exact coordinates as your starting point.
- The app sends your device coordinates to Apple's geocoding service. Geocoding finds a city name from coordinates.
- If a city is found, we use the center of that city.
- If no city is found, we use the center of a 4-character geohash cell (about 39 km × 20 km).
- If your location is not available, we use the main city of your device's time zone. In this case, we send only a public city name and its coordinates to Apple. We do not send your location.
- The server stores only the coordinates chosen this way. We do not send your device coordinates or the city name to the server.
- There is no feature to change your starting city coordinates.
When you record
- The app does not read your device location when you save a record.
- A record stores your virtual position (below), not your real location.
- If a future version uses your location when you record, we will update this policy first (Section 19).
Virtual position
- Your virtual position is not your real location.
- It is a point on the globe that starts at your starting city and moves by the distance you walked in the direction you chose.
- Your first record does not move. It stays at your starting city.
- The server calculates it and stores it as coordinates. What other users can see is in Section 7.
Korean Act on the Protection, Use, etc. of Location Information
- The app reads your device location only to find your starting city at sign-up. It does not read your location when you record.
- The server stores only an approximate location: usually the center of a city, or the center of an area of about 39 km × 20 km if no city is found.
- If we find that this Act requires the operator to do something, we will first update this policy and the Terms of Service. We will then announce the change as described in Section 19 of this policy and Section 17 of the Terms of Service.
6. Health data (HealthKit)
HealthKit is an Apple feature that lets apps read data stored in the iPhone Health app.
Data we read
- The app reads only two types of data: step count and walking + running distance.
- We do not read other health data such as heart rate or sleep.
- We do not write any data to the Health app.
- We read only the daily total for yesterday, from 0:00 to 24:00 in your saved time zone. We read it when you open the record screen.
- We leave out values that you entered by hand in the Health app.
- If your daily distance is over 100 km, we record 100 km. If your step count is over 200,000 steps, we record 200,000 steps.
Storage and visibility
- We send only the daily totals to the server. We do not send the original records from the Health app.
- The server stores the step count and distance for each record, and your totals.
- Records are public by default. For a public record, other users can see your exact step count and distance in the Journey Neighbors feed.
- Users who follow you see the distance rounded to the nearest 1 km and the step count rounded to the nearest 1,000 steps.
- Other users cannot see the step count and distance of private records.
What we do not use it for
- We use health data only to calculate and show your records.
- We do not use health data for advertising, marketing, or usage-based data mining.
- We do not sell health data.
- We do not share health data with third parties such as advertisers or data brokers. The company that runs our server is listed in Section 11.
Permission
- You do not have to allow Health access. If you do not, the values are read as 0, and you can record 0 steps.
- iOS does not tell the app whether you allowed Health access.
- You can change this permission in Settings › Privacy & Security › Health › StepStella.
7. What other users can see
Journey Neighbors feed
The Journey Neighbors feed shows public records of other users within your Discovery Radius (5 km to 50 km) from your virtual position. It shows only records from the last 7 days.
- Shown on a feed card: Anonymous ID, distance range between virtual positions ("Within 1 km", "Within 5 km", "Within 10 km", "Within Radius"), distance, step count, message, number of likes, date
- Not shown: account ID, name, email, virtual position coordinates, direction, time zone
- Other users cannot see private records.
- You choose public or private for each record. You can also switch past records between public and private in the Log tab.
- Other users' devices may keep a feed cache until their next refresh.
Likes
- The owner of a record sees only the number of likes.
- Even the owner cannot see who liked the record.
Follows
- You can follow a user only from a record shown in your feed.
- A follow lasts 30 days.
- We do not notify the other user when you follow them or when a follow ends.
- Users who follow you see your public records from the last 30 days on the globe.
- These positions are shown as the center of a 5-character geohash cell (about 4.9 km × 4.9 km). They can differ from the actual virtual position by up to about 2.4 km.
- Distance is rounded to the nearest 1 km and step count to the nearest 1,000 steps. Messages are not shown.
- Your first record stays at your starting city. So if your first record is within the last 30 days, followers can tell the rough location of your starting city.
Hiding and blocking
- If 3 users report a record, it is hidden automatically. A hidden record is removed from the feed and from followers' globes. The owner can still see it.
- If you block a user, your records and theirs disappear from each other's feeds. Follows between you also end.
- We do not tell the other user that you blocked them. You cannot undo a block in the app.
Anonymous ID
- The feed shows an Anonymous ID instead of a name. An Anonymous ID is a random value:
#followed by 8 hexadecimal characters. - Your Anonymous ID changes to a new value every 90 days. The server checks once a day and replaces IDs older than 90 days.
- We do this to make it hard to track one person over a long period.
- We do not keep old IDs in the database tables.
- However, an old ID may remain for a while in these places: old data before the database finishes its automatic cleanup, server request logs, and feed caches on other users' devices
- Follows, likes, reports, and blocks are stored with your account ID, not your Anonymous ID. So they stay the same when your Anonymous ID changes.
8. How long we keep information
| Information | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Account information (account ID, Apple sign-in information, Anonymous ID, time zone, starting city coordinates, Base Direction) | Until you delete your account |
| Sign-in session information | Until you sign out or delete your account. When you sign out, we end the sessions on all devices signed in to this account. We delete the information of the ended sessions. When you delete your account, we also delete the session information. According to Supabase's documentation, sessions last with no time limit by default. The feature that limits session time is available only on the Pro plan and up. So if you only delete the app without signing out, the session information stays on the server. It may also stay if the sign-out request does not reach the server, for example because of a network problem. In that case, it is deleted when you sign in again and then sign out, or when you delete your account. |
| Records (date, step count, distance, direction, virtual position, message, public or private setting) | Until you delete your account. If you delete a same-day record, we delete it right away. |
| Streak and totals | Until you delete your account |
| Each Anonymous ID | 90 days. Then we replace it with a new ID. |
| Likes | Until the record or either account is deleted |
| Follows | Viewing a followed user's records ends after 30 days. There is no feature that deletes ended follow entries. We delete them when one user blocks the other or either account is deleted. Retention period: Ended follow entries are also kept until the follower's or the followed user's account is deleted. |
| Reports | Until the reported record or the reporter's account is deleted. Retention period: Until the reporter or the record owner deletes their account. We need reports to keep reported records out of the reporter's feed. |
| Blocks | Until either account is deleted |
| Server logs | 1 day (Supabase Free plan). According to Supabase's documentation, the Free plan keeps logs for 1 day. |
| Server backups | We do not make server backups. According to Supabase's documentation, the Free plan does not include automatic backups. |
| Contact emails | 1 year after we finish handling the inquiry |
| Information stored only on your device | When you sign out or delete your account, the app deletes the cache and the scheduled daily reminder on your device. |
The periods for server logs, server backups, and sign-in session information above are based on the Supabase Free plan that runs our server. If we change the plan (for example, to the Pro plan), these periods may change. In that case, we will update this policy first and announce the change as described in Section 19.
Information kept separately as required by law: If a law requires us to keep certain information, we keep it apart from other information, only for the period that law sets. We use it only for that purpose.
9. Deletion and account deletion
How we delete information
- When a retention period ends or the purpose of processing is achieved, we delete that information without delay.
- We delete server information from the database. Deleted information cannot be restored in the app.
- Places where some information may remain for a while after deletion are listed below under "What may remain after deletion".
Deleting your account
- In the app, go to Settings › Account › Delete Account.
- In the confirmation window, tap "Delete Permanently".
- Confirm with your Apple Account once more. If you cancel here, nothing is deleted.
- Deletion happens right away. There is no waiting period (grace period). A deleted account cannot be restored.
- Deleted together: account information (account ID, Apple sign-in information, Anonymous ID, time zone, starting city coordinates, Base Direction), sign-in session information, all records (virtual position, step count, distance, messages, and so on), streak and totals, follows you made and follows you received, likes you gave and likes on your records, reports you made and reports on your records, and blocks you made and blocks you received
- After deletion, the server asks Apple to remove this app's Sign in with Apple connection (token revocation). If this request fails, the account deletion is still treated as complete. If the connection remains, you can remove it yourself on your iPhone. Go to Settings › [your name] › Sign in with Apple, choose this app, and tap "Delete".
- After deletion, the app signs you out and deletes the cache and the scheduled daily reminder on your device.
Deleting a single record
- You can delete only the record you made today. A deleted record cannot be restored.
- You cannot delete past records. This is because today's virtual position continues from yesterday's virtual position. If a record in the middle is deleted, every position after it becomes wrong.
- You can make past records private in the Log tab.
- To delete all past records, please delete your account.
What may remain after deletion
- Feed caches on other users' devices: until their next refresh
- Old data in the database: until the database finishes its automatic cleanup
- Server backups: We do not make server backups. So deleted information does not remain in our backups (Section 8).
- Server logs: 1 day (Supabase Free plan)
- Contact emails the operator received: account deletion does not delete them. If you want them deleted, please ask by email.
- Information on Apple's side (original Health app data, your Apple Account): the app does not delete it. Original Health app data was never on our server.
10. Sharing with third parties
- The operator does not share your personal information with third parties.
- However, we may share it if a law specifically requires it, or if an investigative agency asks for it through a legal procedure.
- Records you make public are visible to other users. What they can see is in Section 7.
11. Service providers and outside services
Service providers
The operator uses the company below to run the server.
| Company | Work | Server location |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase Pte. Ltd. | Running the server, database, sign-in (authentication), and server functions; keeping server logs | Seoul, Republic of Korea (ap-northeast-2) |
- We confirmed the company name in Supabase's Privacy Policy (supabase.com/privacy) and Data Processing Addendum (supabase.com/legal/dpa).
- Service agreement: The Data Processing Addendum (DPA), which is part of Supabase's Terms of Service, applies. Under it, Supabase processes personal information only on the operator's instructions. Supabase limits access to staff who need it for their work and requires them to keep it confidential. Supabase keeps technical and organizational security measures. Supabase deletes all copies of the data 30 days after the service agreement ends.
Apple services
The app uses the Apple features below. This is the information that goes to Apple for each feature.
- Sign in with Apple: The app communicates with Apple's servers when you sign in and when you delete your account. When you confirm the deletion with your Apple Account, the app receives a one-time code from Apple and sends it to the server. The server then asks Apple to remove this app's Sign in with Apple connection (token revocation). If this request fails, the account deletion is still complete (Section 9).
- Geocoding: At sign-up, the app sends your device coordinates to Apple to find your starting city. If your location is not available, it sends only a public city name and its coordinates.
- Apple Maps (MapKit): Used for the Home map, the record detail map, and the satellite map when you zoom into the globe. Map images come from Apple's servers. The map shows your virtual position. It does not show your real current location.
- HealthKit: Health data is read on your device. See Section 6.
- App Store: "Write a Review" in Settings opens this app's page in the App Store.
- Mail app: Contact Us opens the Mail app on your device.
Other outside services
- The program that draws the globe and the Earth images are included in the app. The app does not download them from outside servers while you use it.
- Apart from the services above, the app does not send information to any outside service.
12. Transfers outside Korea
This policy treats the two kinds of processing below as transfers outside Korea. For each, we list the items that the Korean Personal Information Protection Act requires us to tell you.
Supabase (server)
The server is in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Supabase Pte. Ltd., which runs the server, lists an office address in Singapore in its Data Processing Addendum. The details are as follows.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Recipient | Supabase Pte. Ltd. (contact: privacy@supabase.com) |
| Country | United States, Singapore, and Hungary. These are the countries of the companies in the subprocessor list that Supabase publishes (as of October 12, 2026). The list does not say whether each company actually handles this app's data. |
| Items transferred | All "Information stored on the server" in Section 2 |
| When and how | Sent through encrypted communication (HTTPS) each time you use the app |
| Purpose | Running the server, database, sign-in, and server functions |
| Retention period | Same as in Section 8 |
| How to refuse, and what happens | Stop using the app or delete your account. The app cannot record without the server, so if you refuse, you cannot use the app. |
Apple services
The app sends information to Apple when it uses the Apple features in Section 11. The details are as follows.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Recipient | Apple Inc. and other Apple entities (contact: apple.com/legal/privacy/contact). Apple's Privacy Policy says that the Apple entity that controls your personal data may differ depending on where you live. It also says that for people who do not live in the United States, Apple Inc. and Apple affiliates may process personal data. Apple's Privacy Policy does not say which Apple entity receives the information this app sends. |
| Country | United States and other countries. Apple's Privacy Policy says that personal data Apple collects is generally stored by Apple Inc. in the United States. The annex for users in Korea in the Korean version of Apple's Privacy Policy also lists servers in the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom, and countries in the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system. |
| Items transferred | Sign in with Apple: a sign-in request. When you delete your account, the server also sends a request to remove this app's Sign in with Apple connection (token revocation, Section 11). Geocoding: your device coordinates, only if you allow location access (accuracy of about 100 m). If your location is not available, only a public city name and its coordinates are sent. Apple Maps: requests for map images, including the area shown on the map. The map shows your virtual position. It does not show your real current location. |
| When and how | When you sign in and when you delete your account; when the app finds your starting city at sign-up (including when you tap "Try Again"); and when you view a map. Sent over the internet. |
| Purpose | Signing you in with your Apple Account, finding a city name from coordinates for your starting city, and showing maps |
| Retention period | As set in Apple's Privacy Policy. It says that Apple keeps personal data only as long as needed for the purposes for which it was collected. |
| How to refuse, and what happens | Geocoding: If you do not allow location access, we do not send your device coordinates to Apple. Your starting city is then set to the main city of your device's time zone. You can still sign up and record. Sign in with Apple: If you refuse, you cannot sign up, because the app supports only Sign in with Apple. Apple Maps: There is no setting that turns off only the maps. To refuse, stop using the app. |
13. Your rights and how to use them
You can ask at any time to see, correct, or delete your personal information, or to stop its processing. You can also withdraw your consent.
| Right | In the app | By email |
|---|---|---|
| See your information | See your records in the Log tab. See your saved time zone in Settings. | For information not shown in the app, please ask by email. |
| Correct | Change a record between public and private in the Log tab. | For other corrections, please ask by email. |
| Delete | Delete today's record. Deleting your account deletes all your information (Section 9). | For other deletions, please ask by email. |
| Stop processing | Turn off location and Health access in the iPhone Settings app. Turn off the daily reminder. Make records private. | For other requests to stop processing, please ask by email. |
| Withdraw consent | Turn off permissions or delete your account. | You can also ask by email. |
- Email: purple.lamp.236@gmail.com
- The app has no feature to download your data as a file.
- You can also make a request through a representative.
- How we confirm your identity: The app does not ask for your email address. So for requests by email, we check that your Anonymous ID (shown in Settings in the app) and the date and step count of two recent records match your account. If a record has a message, we also check the message. For requests that could send information to someone else, such as sending a copy of your data, we check once more: we ask you by email to switch one record that we choose between public and private in the app, and we go ahead after we see the change. You can switch it back afterward. You can delete today's record, switch records between public and private, and delete your account directly in the app (see the table above). A representative must also send proof of authorization, such as a letter of authorization.
- How long we take to reply: We reply within 10 days from the day we receive your request.
14. Children under 14
- You must be 14 or older to use the app.
- Children under 14 cannot sign up for or use the app.
- If we learn that a child under 14 has signed up, we delete that account within 7 days from the day we learn about it.
15. How we protect your information
The operator takes the steps below to protect personal information.
- Encryption in transit: Communication between the app and the server is encrypted with HTTPS.
- Access control: RLS is turned on for every table in the database. RLS is a database feature that checks, row by row, who can read and write data. So users can read and write only the information they are allowed to.
- Column limits: The app cannot read who liked a record or the content of reports. Only server functions can read them.
- Separating identifiers: Other users receive only your Anonymous ID, not your account ID. We change the Anonymous ID every 90 days.
- Blurring location: The app does not read your location when you record. The starting point is moved to a city center, or to the center of an area of about 39 km × 20 km if no city is found.
- Managing secrets: We do not put the server's admin secret key in the app or in the source code repository. The Apple sign-in key is kept only as a secret value on the server.
- Minimal logging: Error logs do not include messages you write. Account deletion logs do not include tokens or keys.
- Administrative measures: We use two-step verification for the operator's accounts (Supabase, GitHub, Apple Developer, and email). Only one person, the operator, has admin access. We keep secret values only on the server.
16. Automatic collection tools
- The app does not use analytics, advertising, or crash reporting tools.
- The app does not read the advertising identifier, and it does not track you across other companies' apps or websites.
- The app stores on your device only the settings it needs to work (Section 2). We do not send these to the server.
- If we add such tools in the future, we will update this policy first.
- This web page does not use cookies, scripts, or tracking code.
- Access logs of the hosting service that provides this web page: This web page is provided through GitHub Pages (GitHub, Inc.). According to GitHub's documentation, GitHub logs and stores visitors' IP addresses for security purposes.
17. Privacy officer
The app is run by an individual developer, so the operator is the privacy officer.
| Name | YoungBeom Seo |
|---|---|
| Role | Operator (individual developer) |
| purple.lamp.236@gmail.com |
Please send questions, complaints, and requests for remedies about personal information to this email address.
18. Where to get help
If you need to report or get advice about a privacy violation, you can contact the organizations below. All of them are in the Republic of Korea.
| Organization | Phone | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Information Infringement Report Center (Korea Internet & Security Agency) | 118 (in Korea, no area code) | privacy.kisa.or.kr |
| Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee | 1833-6972 | www.kopico.go.kr |
| Prosecution Service (formerly the Supreme Prosecutors' Office) | 1301 (in Korea, no area code) | www.spo.go.kr |
| Korean National Police Agency | 182 (in Korea, no area code) | ecrm.police.go.kr |
19. Changes to this policy
- Before we change this policy, we will announce the effective date and what will change, at least 7 days before the effective date.
- If a change is unfavorable to you (for example, if we process more types of information or use it for more purposes), we will announce it at least 30 days before the effective date.
- How changes are announced: We post the new policy and the changes on this web page. If the policy changes with an app update, we also write this in the App Store "What's New" notes.
- The effective date and last updated date are shown at the top of this page.
Terms of Service
1. Purpose and scope
- These terms set the rules for using the StepStella service.
- These terms apply to everyone who uses the service.
- If you continue with Sign in with Apple on the sign-up screen, you agree to these terms and the Privacy Policy. The sign-up screen also says this.
- How the operator handles personal information is explained in the Privacy Policy.
- Anything not covered by these terms follows the applicable laws of the Republic of Korea.
2. Definitions
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Service | The StepStella app and the servers it uses. The Korean name of the app is 걸음별자리. |
| Operator | The individual developer who runs the service. Contact details are in Section 20. |
| User | A person who agrees to these terms and uses the service. In these terms, "you" means the user. |
| Record | A set of steps, distance, direction, and message that you save once a day. |
| Message | Text of up to 140 characters that you add to a record. It is optional. |
| Public record / private record | A public record appears in the feed of your Journey Neighbors. Only you can see a private record. |
| Starting City | The city where your virtual position starts. It is set once when you sign up. |
| Virtual position | An imaginary point on Earth. It starts at your Starting City and moves in the direction you choose by the distance you walked. It is not your real location. |
| Base Direction | One of eight compass directions that you choose with your first record. The range of directions you can choose for later records is based on it. |
| Journey Neighbors | Other users whose virtual positions are close to yours. |
| Feed | The screen that shows public records of your Journey Neighbors. |
| Discovery Radius | The distance range used to show records in your feed. It is centered on your virtual position. It starts at about 5 km and can grow to 50 km. |
| Anonymous ID | A random name that identifies you in the feed, for example #A3F29C01. It changes automatically every 90 days. |
| Streak | The number of days in a row that you have recorded. |
| Streak Freeze | A feature you can use once a month. It counts today as recorded to protect your streak. |
| Follow | A feature that lets you see a Journey Neighbor's constellation for up to 30 days. |
| Constellation | The shape made by connecting your daily records on the globe. |
3. Who can use the service
- You must be 14 or older to sign up and use the service.
- If you are under 14, you cannot sign up or use the service.
- If the operator learns that a user is under 14, the operator can delete that account.
- You need an Apple Account.
- You need an iPhone with iOS 17 or later.
- You need an internet connection.
4. Your account
- You sign up and sign in only with Sign in with Apple (a feature that lets you sign in with your Apple Account). There is no email and password sign-in.
- The operator does not ask for the name or email address of your Apple Account when you sign up.
- You must not sign up with another person's Apple Account.
- You cannot give or lend your account to another person.
- You must keep your Apple Account and iPhone secure. If someone else uses the service on your device, their records stay in your account.
5. What the service does
The service provides these features:
- Once a day, it reads yesterday's step count and walking and running distance from the Apple Health app and saves them as a record.
- It moves your virtual position by that distance in the direction you choose.
- You can add a short message to your record.
- It shows your daily records on a globe, connected like a constellation. A total of 40,075 km is one trip around the Earth.
- It shows public records of your Journey Neighbors anonymously in the feed. In the feed, you can like, follow, report, and block.
- You can turn on a daily reminder at a time you choose. Your iPhone shows this reminder by itself.
- The service is free. It has no ads and no in-app purchases.
- If paid features are added in the future, the operator will update these terms first and give notice as described in Section 17.
- There are no comments and no direct messages.
The operator handles location information as described in Section 5 of the Privacy Policy.
6. Recording rules
Dates and internet connection
- You can save only one record per local day.
- The date is set by the server's clock, not your device's clock. The server time is converted to the local date in the time zone saved when you signed up.
- This rule stops people from changing their device clock to cheat on streaks.
- So you cannot record without an internet connection. The feed shows the content it loaded last.
- In the current version of the app, you cannot change your saved time zone. Changing your device's time zone does not change the date rule.
Steps and distance
- Today's record uses the final step count and distance from midnight to midnight yesterday.
- Steps and distance that you entered by hand in the Health app are not counted.
- A daily record can hold up to 100 km and up to 200,000 steps. Higher values are capped at these limits.
- You can record on days with 0 steps. Recording a 0-step day keeps your streak.
Direction and streaks
- Your first record stays in your Starting City. Your virtual position starts moving with your next record.
- You choose your Base Direction once, with your first record. You cannot change it later.
- If you miss a day, your streak starts again from day 1.
- You can use Streak Freeze free of charge once a month. A streak that has been broken for two or more days cannot be restored.
Deleting records and changing visibility
- You can delete only today's record.
- Today's position continues from yesterday's position. So deleting a past record would make every later position wrong. This is why you cannot delete past records.
- A deleted record cannot be restored.
- You can switch past records between public and private in the Log tab.
- To delete all past records, you must delete your account (Section 15).
7. Public records and the feed
- You choose whether a record is public when you save it. The default is public.
- A public record appears for 7 days in the feed of Journey Neighbors within the Discovery Radius.
- A feed card shows your Anonymous ID, the distance range between virtual positions, steps, distance, message, number of likes, and date.
- Steps and distance are shown as exact values.
- The feed shows no real names and no profile photos.
- Even the owner of a record cannot see who liked it. Only the number of likes is shown.
- A person who follows you can see your public records from the last 30 days on the globe, for up to 30 days. They see an approximate position and rounded distance and steps. They do not see your messages.
- You are not notified when someone follows you.
- Public records may be stored temporarily (cached) on other users' devices. If you make a record private or delete it, it may stay on those devices until they refresh the feed.
- Do not put information that can identify you, such as your real name, address, or contact details, in a message.
8. Rights to messages and content
Your messages
- You keep the rights (such as copyright) to the messages you write.
- You allow the operator to use your messages within these limits:
- Purpose: only to run the service. This means storing your messages, showing them to you, and showing them to Journey Neighbors if the record is public.
- Methods: storing, sending, and displaying. This includes copies needed for these tasks (on servers and in device caches).
- Payment: none.
- The operator does not pass this permission to anyone else. However, this permission covers the company that runs the servers for the operator when it stores and sends messages.
- The operator does not use your messages for ads, promotion, or sale.
- Duration: until the message is deleted. If the message is deleted by deleting today's record or your account, this permission ends. However, the message may stay for a while in caches on other users' devices.
- Write only content that you have the right to use.
- Do not use other people's works or personal information without permission.
Rights to the app
- The rights to the app's screens, design, and code belong to the operator or their original owners.
- These terms give you only the right to use the app. They do not give you the right to copy or sell the app.
- You can see the licenses for the open source software and Earth images (NASA) in the app, under Settings › Privacy › Data Policy › Open Source Licenses.
9. What you must not do
The service has no tolerance for objectionable content or abusive users. You must not do any of the following.
Messages and content
- Use profanity, hate speech, or discriminatory language
- Harass or threaten other people
- Post sexual content, violent content, or content that is offensive to others
- Post illegal content, or help or encourage illegal acts
- Reveal other people's personal information (such as names, addresses, phone numbers, or locations)
- Infringe copyright or other rights of others
- Post spam, ads, or the same content again and again
- Pretend to be another person or the operator
Use of the service
- Access the servers or collect data by any means other than the app (such as automated programs or scripts)
- Send altered values, such as steps, distance, or dates, to the servers
- Send too many requests to the servers, or disrupt the service
- Create multiple accounts or send false reports to misuse reports or auto-hide
- Get around security measures, or try to access other users' accounts
- Do anything else that breaks the law
10. Filter, reports, auto-hide, and blocking
Word filter
- If a message contains profanity or hate speech, the app and the server do not save it.
- Messages in private records are also checked, because you can make them public later.
- The filter cannot catch every expression. It may also block harmless expressions by mistake.
Reports
- To report a record, tap More (…) › Report on a feed card.
- Choose one reason: Spam, Inappropriate Content, Privacy Violation, or Other.
- A record you report is removed from your feed right away.
- You can send up to 10 reports in 24 hours.
- Reporting the same record more than once counts as one report.
- You can also report an inappropriate record by email from Settings › Support › Contact Us.
Auto-hide
- If three different users report the same record, the record is hidden automatically.
- Only reports from accounts with at least one record are counted.
- A hidden record is removed from the feed and from followers' globes. The owner can still see it.
- The owner is not notified when a record is hidden.
- If you think your record was hidden by mistake, contact the operator (Section 20). The operator will check it.
Review by the operator
- The operator checks reported records. Records that break these terms are hidden, or their messages are deleted.
- Review time: Reports are checked within 48 hours after they are received.
Blocking
- To block a user, tap More (…) › Block User on a feed card.
- After blocking, each person's records are removed from the other's feed.
- All follows between the two of you end, and you cannot follow each other again.
- The other person is not told that you blocked them.
- You cannot undo a block in the app.
11. Actions the operator can take
- If you break these terms, the operator can do the following:
- Hide records or delete messages.
- Delete your account.
- The operator decides the action based on how serious the violation is and whether it was repeated.
- For illegal content, or content that may harm others right away, the record can be hidden or its message deleted at once without notice.
- The service does not ask for your email address. So the operator may not be able to tell you directly about an action.
- If you disagree with an action, contact the operator (Section 20). The operator will check it again and reply.
12. About health information
- The service is not a medical service.
- The values the service shows are not medical information or medical advice.
- Steps and distance are read from values stored in the Apple Health app. The operator does not measure them.
- So the saved values may differ from how much you actually walked.
- Because of the daily limits and the rule that excludes values entered by hand (Section 6), the saved values may also differ from the Health app.
- The service does not write data to the Health app. It only reads.
- If you do not allow access to health data, your steps and distance are saved as 0. iOS does not tell the app whether you allowed access.
- If you have a health problem or plan to start a new exercise routine, talk to a doctor or another qualified professional.
- Do not push yourself too hard to keep a streak or grow your Discovery Radius.
13. About your virtual position
- Your virtual position is not your real location. It is an imaginary point on Earth calculated from your records.
- Your virtual position is not navigation. It does not ask you to actually travel there.
- Journey Neighbors are based on virtual positions. Their real locations may be different from yours.
14. Changes to the service and interruptions
- The operator can add, change, or remove features to improve the service.
- The operator will announce changes that are important to you at least 7 days before the change. How: The operator posts a notice on this web page. If the change comes with an app update, the operator also writes this in the App Store "What's New" notes.
- The service may stop for a while in these cases:
- When the servers are maintained or replaced
- When there is an outage at the company that runs the servers or at Apple services
- When there is a power outage, network failure, or natural disaster
- When there is a sudden surge in use
- The operator can end the whole service. The operator will announce this at least 30 days before the service ends, in the same way as changes are announced.
15. Deleting your account
- You can delete your account in the app at any time.
- How: Settings › Account › Delete Account › Delete Permanently › confirm with your Apple Account
- If you cancel the Apple Account confirmation, nothing is deleted.
- Deletion happens right away. There is no waiting period.
- When you delete your account, the following data is deleted with it:
- All records (including steps, distance, direction, messages, and positions)
- Your streak and total distance and steps
- Your account ID and Apple sign-in information
- Your sign-in session information
- Your Anonymous ID, time zone, Starting City, and Base Direction
- Follows, likes, reports, and blocks that you made, and those made about you or your records
- A deleted account and its records cannot be restored.
- The app has no feature to export your records to a file.
- If you sign up again, you start from the beginning with a new account.
- After deletion, data may stay for a while in the places below. See the Privacy Policy for details.
- Feed caches on other users' devices: until those devices refresh the feed
- Server backups: The operator does not make server backups. So deleted data does not remain in the operator's backups. The Supabase Free plan that runs the server has no automatic backups.
- Server logs (request records that the server keeps automatically): 1 day (Supabase Free plan)
- Emails you sent to the operator
- The app does not delete your Apple Health data or your Apple Account.
- When you delete your account, the operator asks Apple to remove this app's Sign in with Apple connection. If this request fails, the account deletion is still complete. If the connection remains, you can remove it yourself on your iPhone. Go to Settings › [your name] › Sign in with Apple, choose this app, and tap "Delete".
16. Limits of responsibility
- If the operator causes you harm on purpose or through negligence, the operator is responsible as required by law.
- The operator is not responsible for harm in the cases below. However, the operator is responsible if the operator acted on purpose or was negligent.
- Harm caused by events the operator cannot prevent, such as natural disasters, war, power outages, or network failures
- Harm caused by outages of other companies' services, such as Apple, the company that runs the servers, or mobile carriers
- Harm caused by your own fault (for example, not keeping your device or Apple Account secure)
- Harm caused because values in the Apple Health app were different from reality
- Harm caused by messages written by other users. However, the operator is responsible if the operator received a report and failed to act without a good reason.
- If you break these terms and cause harm to the operator or others, you are responsible for that harm.
- This section does not reduce any rights that consumer protection laws or other laws give you.
17. Changes to these terms
- The operator can change these terms within the limits of the law.
- Before a change, the operator will announce the effective date, what will change, and why, at least 7 days before the effective date.
- If a change is unfavorable to you, the operator will announce it at least 30 days before the effective date.
- How changes are announced: The operator posts the new terms and the changes on this web page. If the terms change with an app update, the operator also writes this in the App Store "What's New" notes.
- The new terms apply from the effective date.
- If you do not agree with the new terms, you can stop using the service by deleting your account before the effective date.
18. Apple
This app is distributed through Apple's App Store. The following terms are included as Apple requires. In this section, "Apple" means Apple Inc. and its subsidiaries.
The operator does not provide a separate end user license agreement (EULA) for this app. Apple's standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement applies to the app. These terms set the conditions for using the service.
- These terms are an agreement between you and the operator only. Apple is not a party to these terms.
- The operator, not Apple, is responsible for the app and its content.
- You can use the app on Apple devices that you own or control. You must follow the App Store usage rules (the Usage Rules in the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions).
- You cannot transfer your right to use the app to another person. Family Sharing and other uses allowed by Apple's Usage Rules are exceptions.
- The operator provides maintenance and support for the app. Apple has no duty to support the app.
- If the app fails to meet a warranty required by law, you can tell Apple and get a refund of the purchase price. The app is free, so there is no amount to refund.
- To the extent the law allows, Apple has no other warranty duties for the app.
- The operator, not Apple, handles claims about the app. Examples: product liability claims, claims that the app does not meet legal or regulatory requirements, and claims under consumer protection or privacy laws (including about the use of HealthKit).
- If someone claims that the app infringes their intellectual property rights, the operator, not Apple, investigates and responds.
- You confirm that you are not in a country under a U.S. government embargo or a country the U.S. government has named as supporting terrorism.
- You confirm that you are not on any U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
- When you use the app, you must follow the terms of other companies that apply (for example, your mobile carrier's data plan terms).
- Apple is a third-party beneficiary of these terms. A third-party beneficiary is someone who is not a party to an agreement but has rights under it.
- Once you accept these terms, Apple can enforce these terms against you.
- The operator's name and contact details are in Section 20.
Sources: Apple, Minimum Terms of Developer's End-User License Agreement · Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions
19. Governing law and courts
- These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Korea.
- If a dispute about the service arises, the operator and you will first try to resolve it through discussion.
- If a lawsuit is needed, it will be handled by the court that has jurisdiction under the Korean Civil Procedure Act.
20. Operator and contact
| Operator | Individual developer YoungBeom Seo |
|---|---|
| purple.lamp.236@gmail.com | |
| In the app | Settings › Support › Contact Us |
Send questions, complaints, reports of inappropriate records, and claims using the contact details above.
21. Language versions
- These terms are available in Korean, English, and Japanese.
- The Korean version is the original. If the language versions differ, the Korean version applies.