This policy explains what data leaststress.com and the steerStory app collect, why we collect it, and how you can control it.
Developer / data controller: LEASTSTRESS APP LABS
Contact: [email protected]
Our guiding principle is offline-first: your books, reading positions, bookmarks, habits, and most preferences stay on your device. We do not sell your personal data. Book text is never uploaded and is never used to train any model.
For account deletion or deleting some data while keeping your account, see:
Who we are
LEASTSTRESS APP LABS builds:
- leaststress.com — this marketing site and the optional iOS launch waitlist
- steerStory — an offline-first EPUB and PDF reader with text-to-speech narration (Android today; iOS planned)
On your device only
These stay on your phone or tablet unless you back them up or share them yourself:
- Imported EPUB/PDF files and cover thumbnails
- Reading positions, bookmarks, and related library state
- App preferences (theme, fonts, narration settings, consent choices, and similar)
- Detailed habit and reading-streak history (session-level detail)
We do not have access to this on-device library content.
Account and free trial
To offer a one-time, account-bound free narration trial and to restore purchases, the Android app uses Google Sign-In.
We may store:
- Your Google account identifier and basic profile details returned by Google Sign-In (such as email)
- A minimal per-account trial record (when the trial started), kept on our secure servers so the trial cannot be reset by changing the phone clock
Why: sign you in, offer one trial per Google account, and restore purchases.
If you buy Pro, you no longer need the free trial, so the trial ends for that account.
Analytics (only if you consent)
If you opt in (in-app prompt or later in Settings), the app may send product-usage events to Firebase / Google Analytics. Examples include that a book was imported or opened (with an approximate file size only, never the title), voice-session duration, purchase product identifiers, coarse onboarding or habit signals, and anonymous day-level reading totals.
We do not upload book text, book titles, full library contents, detailed habit session rows, or per-book reading history for analytics.
You can turn analytics off anytime in Settings. That stops new collection. (Turning it off does not affect the purchase and account checks above, which are needed for Pro to work.)
Crash reports (only if you consent)
If you opt in, crash diagnostics (device model, OS version, app version, and technical state at crash time) may go to Firebase Crashlytics so we can fix stability issues. You can disable this in Settings.
Location
By default, when analytics is enabled, the analytics provider may infer an approximate region from your IP address. Precise/coarse GPS is off and reserved for a possible future optional feature; it is not required for reading or narration today.
Purchases and protecting your licence
Pro unlocks are handled by Google Play Billing (Android) and, when available, the App Store (iOS). We do not receive or store your full card details. Licenses do not transfer between Android and iOS. Deleting your SteerStory account does not refund a Play purchase or erase Google’s purchase records.
To make sure a Pro purchase is genuine and to protect it from misuse, the app checks your purchase with Google Play from time to time. For this, the app sends your purchase confirmation (a purchase token issued by Google) to our servers, which confirm it with Google. We keep only a scrambled (hashed) fingerprint of it, never the token itself.
A Pro licence is meant for one active device at a time. To support this, the app creates a device identifier from a value that Android provides to the app. It is scrambled on your device before it is sent, and we store only a scrambled form of it. It does not include your name, phone number or hardware serial numbers, and it is not used for advertising. If you move Pro to a new phone, the app lets you do that from its settings.
Notifications, holidays, and commute reminders
- Playback notifications are functional controls while narration is active.
- Reading reminders are optional and scheduled on the device (no server push for reminders).
- Optional public-holiday markers may download holiday dates for your device locale’s country from a public holiday API (year + country code only) and cache them on device.
- Optional “when I commute” reminders use on-device activity recognition; movement data does not leave the device.
The website (leaststress.com)
iOS waitlist email
If you join the iOS waitlist, we store your email so we can send one launch notice when steerStory is available on iPhone. We do not add you to a marketing newsletter or sell that email.
To remove a waitlist email, see Delete data or email [email protected].
Site analytics
This site does not use advertising trackers. If Cloudflare Web Analytics is enabled in deployment, it is cookie-free and provides aggregate traffic information only.
How we share data
We do not sell personal data and do not use it for third-party advertising. Data is shared only with providers that make requested features work, including:
- Google / Firebase — sign-in and (with consent) analytics and crash reporting
- Cloudflare — secure hosting of our servers that keep the trial and licence records
- Google Play / Apple — purchases and restoration
We may also disclose information if required by law.
Retention
| Kind of data | How long |
|---|---|
| On-device library and habits | Until you delete items, clear app storage, or uninstall |
| Waitlist email | Until you ask us to remove it, or we no longer need the list |
| Analytics / crash data | Per Google/Firebase retention; turn off consent to stop new data; you may request deletion |
| Account profile data we store | Until you delete your account (see below) |
| Licence and device records | Until you delete your account, or after a period of inactivity |
| Basic server logs (for security and fixing faults) | For a limited time |
| Trial-consumed marker | May be kept after account deletion so the same Google account cannot claim a second free narration trial |
Important: Deleting your account removes the personal account data we store, including your device and licence-use records. To keep the free trial fair (one trial per Google account), we keep a minimal record that this Google account has already used its trial. That record is not used for marketing and does not restore your library or reading history. Google Play purchase history remains with Google.
Children
steerStory is not directed to children under the age required by your local law (for example, 13 in the US, 16 in parts of the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
Your rights and choices
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or port your data, and to withdraw consent.
You can:
- Toggle Analytics and Crashlytics in Settings
- Delete books, bookmarks, and habit data in the app
- Clear app storage or uninstall to remove on-device data
- Delete your account right inside the app (Settings → Delete account), or see Delete your account and delete some data while keeping your account
- Email [email protected] for help
International transfers
Google/Firebase and Apple may process data on servers outside your country, including the United States, under their own privacy terms and safeguards.
Changes
We may update this policy as the product evolves. Material changes will show a new last-updated date on this page and, where appropriate, an in-app notice.
Contact
Questions or privacy requests:
Email: [email protected]
Developer: LEASTSTRESS APP LABS