Privacy policy
Last updated 31 October 2026
In short: your training is stored on your phone. Gym Buddy sends nothing to us or anyone else until you share with friends, ask an AI or use the Garmin watch. The exception is Android's own backup, which you control in the phone's settings.
Who is responsible
Gym Buddy is made by Frode, who is the controller for the data that passes through the services the app uses. A contact address will be added to this page soon.
What stays on your phone
Workouts, sets, weights, runs with heart rate, programs, body weight, notes and settings are stored in a database on your phone. Gym Buddy has no account, no analytics, no ads and no tracking.
Backup: If Android backup is turned on, Android includes the app data in the backup to your Google account, as for other apps. The AI connection key is left out. You can turn backup off in the phone's settings.
Friends and sharing (Google Firebase)
Only when you open Venner (Friends) does the app sign in anonymously with Google Firebase. Before that it has no contact with Firebase. The following is stored in Firestore:
| What | Who can see it |
|---|---|
| An anonymous user ID | No one else. No email or phone number. |
| The name you enter and your friend code | Anyone who has your friend code, and your friends. |
| Friend requests and your friends list, with names and times | You and the other person. Declined requests are kept. |
| Programs you send: name, exercises, sets, reps, rest, progression rules, run plans, and your working weights if you include them, plus your name, the time and who you sent it to | The friends you send it to. Revoking hides the program from those who have not added it. Programs already added stay with them. |
| Notification token (Firebase Cloud Messaging) | No one else. Used to notify you. The notification shows the sender's name and the program name. |
Your training history is never shared with friends. The Firestore data is stored in the EU. Sign-in and notifications go through Google's global services, which may involve transfers to countries outside the EEA, such as the United States.
AI
Through the share sheet: Gym Buddy builds a message with your training, and you choose which AI app to share it with (for example ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini). That app's privacy policy applies.
With a connected account (OpenRouter): When you tap «Spør» (Ask) or send a follow-up, the message goes straight from your phone to OpenRouter, which passes it to the model you picked. That model may run at Anthropic, OpenAI, Google or a cloud provider they use, often in the United States. Gym Buddy runs no server of its own for this.
You choose what the message contains: programs, strength workouts, records, runs with average heart rate, body weight and notes. Heart rate is health data, and it is only included if «Løpeturer» (Runs) is on. Your name, friend code, GPS tracks and watch ID are never sent. The OpenRouter key is stored encrypted on your phone and is left out of backups. See also OpenRouter's privacy policy.
Garmin watch
The phone and the watch talk through the Garmin Connect app. Workouts you record on the watch, both strength and runs, are saved to your Garmin Connect account with heart rate, and with GPS for runs. Garmin's privacy policy applies there.
Permissions
The phone uses notifications, vibration, internet and a foreground service that keeps the rest timer and the watch link running during a workout. The watch app uses GPS, heart rate, activity recording and communication with the phone.
Legal basis and retention
We process the data to provide the features you choose to use (sharing, notifications and AI). The legal basis is our agreement with you as a user, and consent where you turn something on, such as heart rate for the AI. Data in Firebase is kept until you ask for it to be deleted. Data on the phone is kept until you delete it.
Your rights
You can ask for access to, correction of and deletion of your data in Firebase, and object to the processing. Give us your friend code so we find the right user. You can also complain to the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, Datatilsynet.
Deletion
«Slett alle data» (Delete all data) in Settings deletes workouts, history, programs, body measurements, settings and the AI connection on the phone. So does uninstalling. Friends and shares in Firebase are not deleted by the button. Contact us and we will delete them.
Children
Gym Buddy is not made for children under 13.
Changes
If we change this policy, we update the date at the top.