Packt Privacy Policy
Packt is a group accountability app: you and your friends agree on a habit, check in, and owe a shared pot when you miss. This policy explains what the app collects, why, and what you can do about it. Packt is operated by Gary Sylvester ("we", "us").
What we collect
| Information | Where it comes from | What it's used for |
|---|---|---|
| Account identifier, name and email address | Sign in with Apple, when you first sign in. If you choose "Hide My Email", we receive Apple's relay address instead of your own. | Creating and securing your account. |
| Profile: display name, photo, bio | You, when you edit your profile. | Showing who you are to members of your groups. |
| Time zone | Your device. | Deciding when your day ends for check-ins, and when to send reminders. |
| Groups, Packts and group photos | You and other members of your groups. | Running the group: membership, rules, and the group's image. |
| Check-ins (date, time and optional note) | You, each time you check in. | Tracking progress and working out fines. |
| Check-in photos | You, when a Packt requires photo proof. The photo is taken with your camera inside the app at the moment you check in; Packt does not read your photo library for this. | Showing your group that the check-in happened. |
| Workout details (type, duration, start and end time, the app or device that recorded it, and its distance, active calories and average heart rate when the workout recorded them) | Apple Health on iPhone, or Health Connect on Android, only if you join a Packt that requires a workout and you give Packt permission to read workouts. Distance, calories and heart rate are read only if you allow them too. Packt reads the single workout used for a check-in, on your device, and shares these details with your group as part of the check-in; it does not copy your other health data and never writes to Apple Health or Health Connect. If you turn on the rings celebration, Packt also reads whether all three Activity rings are closed today and shares that yes/no with your group. On a day they all close, and once you have agreed to it, it also shares that day's Move, Exercise and Stand totals and goals with your group. | Confirming the check-in and showing your group what you did. |
| Saved places (a name, a location and a radius) | You, when you save a place under Profile → My places. A place is saved from where your phone is at that moment. | Deciding whether a location check-in counts. Only you can see where your saved places are. |
| Your location at the moment of a location check-in | Your device, only on Packts that require location proof and only when you tap to check in. Packt never tracks your location in the background. | Compared with your saved places on our servers, then discarded. The check-in keeps only the matched place's name. |
| Chat messages, and when you last read each group's chat | You, when you post in a group's chat. Packt also posts automatic messages there when a member checks in, is fined, or has a fine marked paid. | The group chat, its unread markers, and message notifications. |
| Reports you file, and your block list | You, when you report a message, photo or member, or block someone. | Reviewing reported content, and hiding a blocked person's messages and photos from you. |
| Fines, whether they are marked paid, and any "pass" you ask for with your reason and the group's votes | Calculated by our servers from the Packt's rules; "paid" is marked by group members; passes are requested by you and voted on by the other members. | The group's pot and settle-up record. |
| Push notification token | Your device, if you turn on notifications. | Sending reminders and fine notices to that device. |
| App usage events (which screens are opened and which actions are taken, for example a check-in or creating a group, as event names with no names, titles or codes) | Your device, as you use the app, and only if Settings → Privacy → Share usage and crash reports is on. | Seeing which screens and actions people use so we can find where they get stuck. Collected by Firebase Analytics, part of our service provider; not linked to your name, email or account; never used for advertising. |
Packt does not collect your contacts or payment details. It collects no location data beyond the saved places and check-in comparison described above, and no health data beyond the workout details, the closed-rings yes/no and the ring totals described above. Information from Apple Health or Health Connect is never used for advertising or shared with anyone outside your groups. Packt never holds or moves money: fines are a tally, and settling up happens between you and your group outside the app.
Who can see your information
- Members of your groups can see your display name, photo, chat messages, check-ins, check-in photos, the workout details or place name attached to a check-in, fines and whether you have paid them. That visibility is the point of the app.
- People outside your groups cannot see your check-ins or fines. Profile, group and check-in photos are served from unguessable web addresses; anyone who has a photo's exact address could view that photo.
- Our service provider. Packt runs on Google Firebase (authentication, database, file storage, server functions, push delivery, crash reporting and app analytics), which stores and processes this information on our behalf in the United States. Push notifications are delivered through Apple's push service on iPhone and Google's on Android.
We do not sell your information or share it with advertisers. The app uses Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics, part of our service provider, to collect app-usage events and crash diagnostics; neither is linked to your name or email, neither is used for advertising, and you can turn both off under Settings → Privacy → Share usage and crash reports.
Crash reports. When the app crashes, Firebase Crashlytics, part of our service provider, sends us a crash report: where in the app's code it failed, the app version, the device model and operating system version, and basic diagnostics such as free memory and disk space. While crash reporting is switched on, the app also sends a short record when it starts (an installation identifier, the app version, the device model and operating system version, and timestamps) so crashes can be counted against sessions. Crash reports are not linked to your name, email or account, are never used for advertising, and are used only to find and fix bugs. You can turn them off in the app under Settings → Privacy → Share usage and crash reports.
Our website
This policy also covers our website, thepackt.app.
- Beta waitlist. If you join the waitlist, we keep your email address, the phone you picked, whether you said you have a crew, the template page you signed up from (if any), and the campaign tags in the link you followed (such as
utm_source). We use them only to tell you when the beta opens for you and to see which links bring people in. We keep them until the beta opens for you, or until you ask us to remove them. To stop abuse, the site counts sign-up attempts from each network address. It stores a keyed hash of the address, deleted within about a day; our hosting provider's standard request logs also record network addresses for a limited time.
Analytics
App. Firebase Analytics, part of our service provider, counts which screens are opened and which actions are taken in the app (for example, a check-in or creating a group), so we can see where people get stuck. Each event is a name such as "check_in" with a few fixed labels, never your name, a group or Packt title, a code or anything you type. Alongside each event, Analytics records the app version, your device model, your operating system version, your approximate region and a random identifier for this installation of the app. Events are not linked to your name, email or account and are never used for advertising. The app does not use the advertising identifier. You can turn this off, along with crash reports, under Settings → Privacy → Share usage and crash reports.
Website. The website may use Google Analytics, part of our service provider, to count visits and which buttons are tapped, so we can see how people find Packt. It uses cookies and receives your browser type, your approximate location (from your network address) and the page that sent you. Google signals and advertising features are off, and none of it is used for advertising or linked to your Packt account.
How long we keep it
We keep your information for as long as you have an account. When you delete your account (see below), your profile, photo, saved places, chat messages, check-ins, check-in photos and push tokens are deleted. Fines already recorded in a group are kept so that the group's pot history stays accurate for the remaining members; they are no longer linked to your name and appear as "Deleted member".
Your choices
- Edit your profile at any time in the app under Profile → Edit.
- Stop sharing workouts in iOS Settings → Health → Data Access & Devices → Packt. On Android, open Health Connect → App permissions → Packt, or Settings → Health Connect permissions in Packt. Packts that require a workout can then no longer be checked in to. Turn off the rings celebration under Settings → Privacy → Celebrate closed rings.
- Remove a saved place in the app under Profile → My places, or turn location access off in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Packt.
- Report or block. Long-press a message, open a check-in photo, or use the menu on a member's page to report it to us or block that person. We review reports within 24 hours and remove content that breaks our rules; blocking hides that person's messages and photos from you. Manage blocks under Profile → Blocked users.
- Mute a group's chat with the bell button at the top of that chat.
- Turn notifications off in iOS Settings → Notifications → Packt.
- Delete your account in the app under Profile → Settings → Delete account (iPhone and Android), or by emailing us from the address on your account. Deletion is permanent; on iPhone it also revokes Packt's access to your Sign in with Apple credential. See Delete your account.
- Ask for a copy or correction of your information by emailing us at the address below. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under local law, such as the right to object to or restrict certain processing.
Children
Packt is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
Security
Information is encrypted in transit and at rest by our service provider, and access rules limit each group's data to its members. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy we will update this page and its effective date.
Contact
Questions or requests: hello@garysylvester.co