PERGEPrivacy Policy
Last updated October 21, 2026
Perge is made by Antonio Talarico (“we”). This policy explains what the Perge iPhone app does with your information. In short: your data stays on your iPhone unless you choose to sign in, we don’t sell or share it for advertising, there are no ads, and we don’t use analytics or tracking.
Information on your iPhone
Perge stores your profile (name, optional year of birth, home city, goals and preferences), your journeys, activities (date, distance, duration, activity type, and if available step count and average heart rate), pledges, the gifts you record, and your profile photo on your device.
Location
With your permission, Perge uses your iPhone’s location only while you’re recording an activity, to measure how far you’ve moved. Perge saves the resulting distance, not your route or GPS positions. Your location is not sent to us or anyone else.
Separately, Perge shows your virtual “Perge location”: a point along your chosen journey, worked out from your miles. To show facts and photos about that place, Perge sends that virtual point (never your real location) to Wikipedia and Apple Maps.
Motion and Apple Health
With your permission, Perge reads step counts from your iPhone’s motion sensors. If you connect Apple Health, Perge reads steps, workouts (walks, runs, rides and wheelchair pushes) and heart rate so they can count toward your journey. Perge does not write to Apple Health. Health data is never used for advertising or shared with third parties for marketing, and is only included in your cloud backup if you sign in (see below).
Accounts and cloud backup (optional)
If you sign in with Apple, Google or email, sign-in is handled by Google Firebase Authentication, which receives your email address and, depending on the method, your name and profile photo link. When signed in, Perge backs up your progress (the information listed under “Information on your iPhone”, except your profile photo) to Google Cloud Firestore, protected so that only your account can read or write it.
You can sign out at any time; your progress stays on your iPhone. Deleting your account in Profile › Account permanently erases your account and its cloud backup.
Other travelers (optional)
If you’re signed in and turn on Show me to other travelers (in Profile, or on the Journeys tab), Perge shares your first name, your usual activity, your journey’s destination and cause, any meetup you joined, and your virtual Perge location with other signed-in Perge users. They see you if you’re in the same meetup or within about a mile of them on the map. Your real location and your route are never shared. Turning it off, signing out or deleting your account removes your shared position.
Donations
Perge never processes payments for donations. When you tap Give, Perge opens the charity’s page on Every.org in Safari, passing the charity and amount you chose and a random reference number so Perge can recognize the completed gift. Any personal or payment details you enter there go to Every.org under its privacy policy. Perge records the gift (charity, amount, date) on your device and, if you’re signed in, in your backup.
Subscriptions
Perge+ is purchased through Apple. Apple processes the payment; Perge only learns whether your subscription is active.
Services we use
| Service | Why | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Google Firebase | Sign-in, cloud backup, and sharing with other travelers (only if you sign in and turn it on) | Account details, your backed-up progress, and your shared virtual position |
| Apple (Maps, StoreKit) | Routes, place names, map images; subscriptions | Journey coordinates and searches; purchase status |
| Wikipedia | Facts and photos about places on your journey | Virtual journey locations and place names |
| Every.org | Donations you choose to make | Charity, amount and reference; anything you enter there |
Children
Perge is not directed at children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect their information.
Your rights
You can see and edit your information in the app, change permissions in your iPhone’s Settings, use Perge without an account so nothing leaves your iPhone, and delete your account and backup at any time. For any request about your data, including access or deletion under laws such as the GDPR or CCPA, contact us below.
Changes
If this policy changes, we’ll update the date at the top and, for significant changes, tell you in the app.
Contact
Antonio Talarico · hello@perge.health