Privacy Policy
The short version: Running Theory keeps your data on your iPhone. We don't collect it, we can't see it, and we don't share it.
Last updated: November 11, 2026
This policy covers the Running Theory iOS app and the ventrovastudios.com website, both run by Ventrova Studios ("we", "us"). If you have any questions, email hello@ventrovastudios.com.
The app at a glance
- No account. You don't sign up or sign in, and we don't ask for your name or email address in the app.
- No servers. The app doesn't send your data to us or to anyone else. Everything it uses is processed and stored on your iPhone.
- No third-party analytics, advertising, or tracking. The app contains no third-party SDKs and doesn't track you across apps or websites.
- No purchases. The current version of Running Theory is free and has no in-app purchases.
What the app accesses on your iPhone
Running Theory asks iOS for permission before using any of the following, and you can turn each one off at any time in Settings. All of it is used on your iPhone only and never leaves the phone.
- Location (while using the app). GPS tracks your run, including while your phone is locked in your pocket, so the story keeps going and the app can record how far you ran. The app saves distance and pace, not your GPS coordinates or route.
- Motion & Fitness. Your iPhone's step counter and barometer measure your cadence and hills, so pace challenges such as speeding up or holding a steady pace are checked fairly.
- Microphone. The microphone stays on during a run so you can answer questions hands-free. Only what it hears while a question is waiting for your answer is used. Everything else is discarded immediately. The app never records or saves audio.
- Speech recognition. Your spoken answers are turned into text by Apple's on-device speech recognition. The app requires on-device recognition, so your voice is never sent to Apple, to us, or to anyone else.
- Phone call status. The app checks whether you're on a phone call so it can pause the story. It doesn't see who you're talking to or any call details.
Using voice answers is optional. You can answer by changing your pace instead.
What the app stores on your iPhone
To save your progress, including if the app closes mid-run, Running Theory stores the following on your device:
- Story progress, your choices, and the journal entries you unlock
- Run logs: date and time, duration, distance, pace and cadence readings, and the results of questions and pace challenges, including the text of your spoken answers
- Puzzle progress, secret-word guesses, hints, and rewards earned in the app
- Your settings, such as story mode and answer mode
We never receive any of this. Like other app data, it may be included in your own iCloud or computer backups of your iPhone, under your Apple account and Apple's privacy policy.
Sharing your run log
The app's Field Report screen has a "Share Run Log" button. If you tap it, the share sheet lets you send that run's log (described above) wherever you choose, for example by AirDrop, email, or Messages. Nothing is shared unless you do this yourself.
Crash reports and diagnostics
If you've chosen to share analytics with app developers in your iPhone's settings (Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements), Apple may give us anonymous crash reports and usage statistics through App Store Connect. That's controlled by Apple and covered by Apple's privacy policy. You can turn it off anytime.
Keeping and deleting your data
Your data stays on your iPhone for as long as the app is installed. To delete all of it, delete Running Theory from your iPhone. Copies in your own device backups follow your backup settings. Because we hold no app data about you, there's nothing for us to delete on our side, but you're welcome to email us with any questions.
This website and the waitlist
- Website. ventrovastudios.com is a static site hosted on GitHub Pages. It uses no cookies, analytics, or tracking scripts. Like most web hosts, GitHub may log technical information such as your IP address when you visit, for security and to run the service. See the GitHub Privacy Statement.
- Waitlist. The "Join the waitlist" button takes you to a sign-up page hosted by LaunchList. The form asks for your name and email address. LaunchList collects them and shares them with us so we can tell you about Running Theory's TestFlight beta and launch. If you share your personal referral link, LaunchList also records who signed up through it, so your place in the line can move up. We won't sell your name or email or use them for anything else, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Your information on that page is also governed by LaunchList's own privacy policy.
- Email. If you email us, we use your message and email address only to reply to you.
Children
Running Theory isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. The app doesn't send any personal information off the device. If you believe a child has given us personal information, for example by joining the waitlist, email us and we'll delete it.
Changes to this policy
If what Running Theory does with data changes, for example when future updates add purchases or syncing, we'll update this policy and the "Last updated" date above before those changes go out.
Contact
Ventrova Studios
hello@ventrovastudios.com