Hermann — privacy policy

Last updated: 10 October 2026

Who we are

Hermann is a walking companion for people living with chronic pain, made by Julien Malherbe. You can write to [email protected] about anything on this page.

What Hermann stores, and where

Hermann keeps one file in its private storage on your phone. Other apps cannot read it. It holds:

• your step count for each day, as read from the phone's step sensor;
• your daily goal and how it has changed over time;
• the days you chose to rest;
• your tortoise: her name, what she has eaten, what she has found and is wearing, how far she has grown;
• your settings: reminder time, text size, language, whether the app is paused, and when you last made a backup.

Hermann does not ask for your name, email, location, contacts or photos, and does not record where you walk. It only counts steps.

None of this is sent to us or to anyone else. We have no server that could receive it, and we never see it.

Nothing leaves your phone

• No internet access. Hermann does not request Android's internet permission, so the system will not let it connect to any server.
• No account and no sign-in.
• No advertising, no analytics, no crash reporting, no tracking. Hermann contains no third-party SDK of that kind; it is built only from Android's own libraries (AndroidX and Kotlin).
• No cloud backup. Hermann asks Android not to copy its data to your Google account's automatic backup.

Permissions, and why

• Physical activity — to read the step counter built into your phone. Hermann asks for it on its own screen, with the reason first, and works (without counting steps) if you say no.
• Notifications — for one gentle reminder a day, at the time you choose. You can turn it off in Hermann's settings or in Android's.
• Run at startup — so the daily reminder is set again after your phone restarts.
• Android also adds three technical permissions used by its own background-task library (WorkManager), which Hermann uses to read your step counter about every half hour: keeping the phone awake for a moment, running a brief foreground task, and checking whether a network is available. None of them gives access to the internet.

Backup files

In Settings you can export a backup file, for example to move to a new phone. A file is made only when you ask for one, and it is saved wherever you choose through Android's own file picker (your phone, a USB stick, or a cloud drive you pick). Once saved, that file is in your hands: if you put it in a cloud drive, that service's own privacy policy applies. Hermann only reads a backup file when you choose one to import.

When you move to a new phone using Android's direct phone-to-phone transfer, Hermann's file is copied along with your other apps, from one of your phones to the other.

Home-screen widgets

If you add a Hermann widget, it shows your steps and your tortoise on your home screen, where anyone who sees your phone can see them too.

Deleting your data

Uninstalling Hermann, or clearing its storage in Android's app settings, deletes everything it kept. Backup files you exported are not touched: delete them where you saved them. Since we hold no copy, there is nothing for us to delete, and nothing we could send you on request.

The app store

If you install Hermann from an app store, the store may collect information about the download under its own privacy policy. Hermann itself shares nothing with it.

Not medical advice

Hermann is not a medical device and does not diagnose, treat or monitor any condition. Its step goal is an invitation, not a prescription. Ask your doctor or physiotherapist what amount of walking is right for you.

Children

Hermann is made for adults. It collects no personal data from anyone, of any age.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be published on this page with a new date. A change that would let Hermann send data off your phone would also need a new app version asking for a new permission, which you would see.

Contact

[email protected]