Privacy Policy

Last updated: November 5, 2026

Who we are

The Penguin app (“the app”) and this website are published by Lightbulb Moment Labs, Inc. (“we,” “us”). Questions about this policy: [email protected].

The short version

• The app doesn't use servers of ours, and it has no accounts, ads, analytics, or tracking.
• The app reads your step count from Apple Health. Your step history stays on your device.
• If you join a Waddle, a small progress summary (not your steps) is shared with that Waddle's members through Apple's iCloud.
• We never sell your data or use it for advertising.

What the app uses, and why

Step count from Apple Health

With your permission, the app reads your step count from Apple Health (HealthKit). It does not read any other health data, and it never writes to Apple Health. Steps are used only to power the app: your daily goal, the penguin's mood and form, Aura, streaks, unlocks, expedition progress, and widgets. Step data stays on your device. It is never used for advertising or marketing, never sold, and never shared with third parties. The only health-derived information that can leave your device is the Waddle summary you choose to share (goal progress, Aura, form, streak, and rest-day status), described below.

Motion & Fitness

During a walk in walk mode, the app can show a live step count using your iPhone's motion sensors (Core Motion). These live counts stay on your device and are not saved to Apple Health.

Things you enter and progress the app calculates

Your penguin's name, daily goal, tone setting, rest days, Aura, streaks, unlocked items, expedition progress, and history are stored on your device, including in storage the app shares with its Home Screen widgets. Like other app data, this may be included in your device backups, depending on your backup settings.

Waddles (optional)

Waddles let you see how friends are doing. When you create or join a Waddle, the app stores the following in iCloud using Apple's CloudKit, where it's visible to the members of that Waddle:

• an ID iCloud assigns to your account for this app (not your name or email), which is the same in every Waddle you join
• your penguin's name, Aura, form (stage), and current outfit
• today's progress toward your goal as a percentage, plus the date
• your streak and whether today is a rest day
• when your summary was last updated
• the Waddle's name
• pokes: who sent them, who they were for, the message, and when they were sent

Your step counts and step history are not shared. Waddle data lives in the iCloud accounts of the Waddle's owner and members, not on our servers, and we can't read it. iCloud sharing is provided by Apple and is also covered by Apple's Privacy Policy. Depending on your iCloud settings, Apple may show your iCloud name to other members of a Waddle you join.

Anyone with your Waddle's invite link can join it, so share the link only with people you want in. The owner can remove members or close the Waddle, which deletes it for everyone. If you leave a Waddle, you stop sharing updates with it. Your last shared summary may stay visible to that Waddle until the owner removes you or closes it.

Notifications

Notifications are optional. Today they're used for Waddle pokes, which are delivered through iCloud and Apple's push notification service. If we add walking reminders, they'll be scheduled on your device and we'll update this policy. You can turn notifications off anytime in iOS Settings.

Purchases

If the app offers optional purchases such as Penguin Plus, Apple processes the payment. We don't receive your payment details. We only learn from Apple whether a purchase is active.

What we don't do

• No account, sign-up, or email collection in the app.
• No advertising, no analytics or crash-reporting SDKs, and no tracking across apps or websites.
• No location data.
• No selling or renting of personal information.

If you've turned on “Share with App Developers” in iOS, Apple may send us anonymous crash and usage diagnostics. That's controlled by Apple and your iOS settings.

This website

This site has no cookies, no analytics, no ads, and no third-party scripts or fonts. Our hosting provider, DigitalOcean, may keep standard server logs (such as IP address, browser type, and pages requested) for security and operations.

Children

The app is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from children.

Your choices and deleting data

• Health access: change it anytime in iOS Settings › Privacy & Security › Health › Penguin.
• Reset: in the app, Settings › Reset everything clears his name, Aura, unlocks, and rest days. Your Apple Health data is untouched.
• Waddles: leaving a Waddle stops your updates, but your last shared summary stays with that Waddle until its owner removes you or closes it. Ask the owner to remove you to clear it. Closing your own Waddle deletes it for everyone.
• Delete the app to remove its data from your device.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete personal data. Because we don't hold your data on our servers, most of it is under your control through the steps above. For anything else, email us.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If the change is significant, we'll also note it in the app or on this site.

Contact

[email protected]