Privacy Policy

Approach is designed with your privacy in mind. This policy explains exactly what data we collect, why we collect it, and how we protect it.

The short version:Sign-in is required via Google or Sign in with Apple. Your audio never leaves your device. We don't sell your information, and we don't track you across other companies' apps or websites.

Approach requires sign-in via Google or Sign in with Apple. When you sign in, Firebase Authentication creates and manages your account.

Google sign-in: We may receive your name, email address, and Google profile photo URL from your Google account.

Sign in with Apple: Apple may share your name and email address, or Apple may provide a private relay email address instead of your personal email, depending on the choices you make during sign-in. We use this information solely to identify your account.

This information is not shared with other users. On leaderboards, you appear only as a randomly assigned animal nickname (like “Swift Falcon” or “Bold Tiger”) — your real name and email are never displayed publicly within the app.

Your audio never leaves your device. When you record a field session for coaching feedback:

• Voice recordings are transcribed on your device using the Whisper model (runs entirely locally)
• The audio file is deleted right after transcription; the audio itself is never uploaded or kept
• Only the resulting text transcript is sent to our AI service when you use AI feedback features (not the audio)

We never upload, store, or have access to your actual voice recordings.

When you use AI coaching features or conversation simulations, we send your text messages and transcripts to AI providers for analysis. This includes:

• Messages you type in conversation simulations
• Transcripts from field sessions (text only, not audio)
• Lesson responses and quiz answers

Transcripts and chat text are sent from the app to our backend (Firebase Cloud Functions), which forwards them to OpenRouter for routing to AI models such as Google (Gemini) and Anthropic (Claude). These providers process your messages to generate coaching responses. Audio from field sessions is transcribed on-device with Whisper and is not uploaded.

The app includes a local Leads CRM feature that lets you manually log information about people you meet in the field (e.g., names, notes, status). This data is:

• Stored only on your device
• Never uploaded to our servers
• Never shared with anyone
• Deleted when you delete the app

If you log information about other people, you are responsible for ensuring you have an appropriate basis for doing so under applicable privacy laws.

We collect usage and diagnostic data to improve stability and the app experience. This may include:

• Which lessons you complete
• Session duration and frequency
• Feature usage patterns
• Onboarding completion
• Purchase events (not payment card details)
• Crash logs and performance diagnostics
• Device and app identifiers used for analytics

The first name you type during onboarding and your onboarding answers (goal, experience level, practice frequency) are sent to our analytics provider (PostHog) together with an account identifier, to understand and improve the product; they are not used for advertising.

We use Firebase Analytics, Firebase Crashlytics (crash and diagnostic data), and PostHog (product analytics). Analytics data may be linked to your account or device identifiers. We do not sell this data or use it for cross-app or cross-site tracking for advertising.

If you participate in leaderboards, we sync your progress data to Firebase:

• Your scores, XP, and level
• Streak information
• Season rankings

This data is displayed publicly within the app under your animal nickname only — never your real name or email.

In-app purchases and subscriptions are managed through RevenueCat and Superwall. These services:

• Process subscription purchase state (active, expired, and related entitlements)
• Associate subscription status with an app user identifier
• Do not share your payment card details with us
• Handle all transactions through Apple App Store or Google Play

We never see or store your credit card information, billing address, or other payment details.

Approach sends only local push notifications. These are scheduled entirely on your device for reminders like:

• Daily streak reminders
• Challenge notifications
• Lesson reminders you configure

We do not use server-based push notifications and cannot send you notifications remotely.

Approach requests the following permissions:

• Microphone: Required for field session recording. Audio is processed locally and never uploaded.
• Sign-in (Google / Apple): Required for account creation and authentication.

We do not request access to your camera, contacts, location, or photos.

To be crystal clear, Approach:

• Does not sell your data to third parties
• Does not track you across other companies' apps or websites for advertising
• Does not display advertisements
• Does not collect your location
• Does not access your contacts or address book
• Does not access your camera or photos
• Does not upload your audio recordings
• Does not share your real name or email publicly within the app

Approach is intended for users 18 years of age and older. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with information, please contact us immediately at mars.v.niekerk@gmail.com.

Your data is retained only as long as necessary to provide the service:

• Local data (recordings, app state) remains on your device until you delete it
• Firebase account data (name, email, profile photo) is retained while your account is active
• Analytics data is retained for 26 months
• Leaderboard data is retained while your account is active

To delete your data:

1. In-app: Go to Settings → Delete Account. This permanently deletes your Firebase Authentication account, leaderboard and Firestore data, and local app data on your device. For Sign in with Apple accounts, we also revoke the Apple token associated with your account.
2. You can also follow the steps on our data deletion page.
3. Email mars.v.niekerk@gmail.com if you cannot access the app

Email deletion requests are processed within 30 days.

We use the following third-party services. Click to view their privacy policies:

• Firebase (Google) — Authentication, Cloud Functions, analytics, Crashlytics, and database
• Google Sign-In — Account authentication
• Sign in with Apple — Account authentication
• PostHog — Product analytics
• RevenueCat — Subscription management
• Superwall — Paywall and subscription management
• OpenRouter — AI model routing
• Anthropic — AI coaching (Claude models)
• Google — AI coaching (Gemini models)

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We'll notify you of significant changes through the app or by updating the “Last updated” date at the top of this page.

Questions, concerns, or requests regarding your privacy? We're here to help.

Email: mars.v.niekerk@gmail.com