Gyli — Privacy Policy
Effective date: 01 November 2026
This policy explains how the Gyli app for iPhone (“Gyli”, “the app”) handles your information. It covers the Gyli app only. Our website and any email you send us are covered by the website’s own privacy notice at https://vandestadt.com/privacy/.
Who we are
Gyli is made by VDS Software Design Studio, LLC, Dubai, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Building 27, office 201, UAE - “we” and “us” in this policy. You can reach us at info@vandestadt.com.
The short version
- We do not collect your personal data or anything you enter. Gyli has no account and no server of our own. Your workouts, moods, notes and journal never reach us.
- Your data stays with you — on your iPhone and, if you use iCloud, in your own private iCloud storage, which we cannot read.
- Anonymous usage statistics. Gyli sends anonymous signals about how the app is used — for example that a workout was started or a screen was opened — to TelemetryDeck, an analytics service based in Germany, so we can see which features work and fix what does not. They contain nothing you enter and cannot be traced back to you. You can turn them on in Gyli’s Settings (the shipped default is set to OFF).
- Apple Health data is read on your iPhone when it is shown and is never copied into Gyli’s own storage or sent anywhere.
- The AI features run entirely on your iPhone. Nothing you write or log is sent to an AI company, to Apple’s servers or to us.
- No advertising, no tracking across apps, no selling of data.
What Gyli stores, and where
| What | Where it is kept | Who can see it |
|---|---|---|
| Your workouts, sessions, sets, walks and activities, moods, mood notes, journal entries, goals, badges, personal bests, your own exercises and your settings | On your iPhone. If iCloud is on for Gyli, also in your own private iCloud database | You. A private iCloud database belongs to your Apple Account; we have no access to it |
| The name you enter at first launch | Same as above. It is used only to greet you, and is not checked or linked to an identity | You |
| Summaries the app works out from Apple Health (for example, steps next to your mood) | On your iPhone only. Never synced to iCloud | You |
| Data read from Apple Health | Stays in Apple Health. Read when shown, not copied | You |
| Images and files you export | Created on your iPhone and handed to the iOS share sheet | Whoever you choose to send them to |
You can turn iCloud off for Gyli at any time; your data then stays on your iPhone only.
Apple Health
If you allow it, Gyli reads your steps, sleep, heart rate and active energy from Apple Health so it can show them next to how you feel, and writes each workout you finish to Apple Health. While a workout is running, Gyli starts an Apple Health workout session so it can keep timing your rests and updating your Lock Screen while the phone is locked.
Gyli does not use Apple Health data for advertising or marketing, does not sell it or share it with anyone, and does not store it in iCloud. You can change or withdraw Gyli’s access at any time in iPhone Settings › Privacy & Security › Health › Gyli, or turn Apple Health off inside Gyli’s Settings. Workouts already saved to Apple Health stay there until you delete them in the Health app.
The AI features (Premium)
On iPhones that support Apple Intelligence, Gyli Premium writes short reviews of your day, your last 30 days and your year. To do this, Gyli gives Apple’s on-device language model the relevant facts from your own data — for example your moods, mood notes and journal entries, workouts, goals, step count, badges and personal bests.
This processing happens on your iPhone only. Gyli uses Apple’s on-device model, which does not send your data to Apple’s servers, and nothing is sent to us or to any AI provider. The reviews are not saved; they are written again when you open them. (The anonymous usage statistics may record that a review was shown — never what it says or what it was written from.) See also the AI notice shown in the app.
Other permissions Gyli may ask for
Gyli asks for each permission only when you first use the feature that needs it. You can change any of them in iPhone Settings.
| Permission | What it is used for | Leaves your iPhone? |
|---|---|---|
| Motion & Fitness | Counting steps and distance during a walk; reading your AirPods’ head movement so a double nod can log a set | No |
| Notifications | Rest timer, training reminders and goal reminders. All are scheduled on your iPhone | No |
| Add to Photos | Saving an image you created when you tap Save Image. Gyli cannot read your photo library | No |
| Personal Voice (optional) | Speaking workout cues in your own Personal Voice, if you created one in iOS | No |
When you choose a photo for an image in Export Studio, iOS hands Gyli only the photo you picked; Gyli does not get access to your library.
Purchases
Gyli Premium is a subscription sold by Apple through the App Store. Apple handles payment, renewal, cancellation and refunds under its own terms and privacy policy. We do not receive your payment details, name or email address. The app checks on your iPhone whether your subscription is active.
Anonymous usage statistics (TelemetryDeck)
To understand how Gyli is used and where it can be improved, the app sends short, anonymous usage signals to TelemetryDeck GmbH, Augsburg, Germany (telemetrydeck.com).
What a signal contains:
- what happened in the app, for example “workout started”, “workout finished”, “Mood River opened”, “Premium screen shown” or “head nod used”;
- technical details: app version, iPhone model, iOS version, language, region and time zone, screen size, and accessibility settings such as text size or Reduce Motion;
- a random session number, and an identifier for the app installation that is salted and hashed on your iPhone and hashed again by TelemetryDeck, so that neither TelemetryDeck nor we can tell who you are or link the signals to your Apple Account or to any other app.
What a signal never contains: your name, anything you write, your moods or mood scores, your workouts, weights, reps or exercises, anything from Apple Health, your location, or your payment details. Signals are not used for advertising and are not combined with data from other apps or websites.
We see the results only as totals and charts (for example “how many workouts were started this week”). TelemetryDeck states that the data it receives is anonymous and is processed in Europe.
Turning it off: Gyli › Settings › Share anonymous usage data. When it is off, the app sends no signals. The default setting when shipped is off so you need to explicitly opt in in the settings menu
Apple services the app relies on
Some things happen between your iPhone and Apple, as they do for any app:
- Downloads. The app, its updates and its exercise demonstration animations are downloaded from Apple’s servers.
- Ratings. Gyli may occasionally show Apple’s standard “rate this app” prompt.
- Crash reports. If you have chosen in iPhone Settings to share analytics with app developers, Apple may give us anonymous crash reports and usage statistics. Apple decides what these contain; they do not identify you to us.
These are governed by Apple’s Privacy Policy.
What we do not do
- No account, sign-up, email address or password.
- No advertising and no tracking across apps or websites. The only third-party code in Gyli is TelemetryDeck’s, for the anonymous statistics above.
- No selling or sharing of personal information. (For California residents: we do not “sell” or “share” personal information as those terms are defined in the CCPA/CPRA.)
- No servers of our own: what you enter in Gyli has no route by which it could reach us.
Sharing and exports
When you export your data or share an image, Gyli creates the file on your iPhone and hands it to the iOS share sheet. Where it goes from there is your choice, and is governed by the app or service you send it to.
Children
Gyli is rated 13+ on the App Store and is not directed at children under 13. Gyli does not collect personal information from anyone, of any age.
Your choices and rights
Because we do not receive your data, we do not hold any personal data about you from the app (the usage statistics are anonymous). You stay in control of it directly:
- See and take a copy: Gyli › Settings › Export my data creates a file with everything Gyli stores.
- Delete: Gyli › Settings › Delete all data removes your data from your iPhone and, if iCloud is on, from your iCloud. Deleting the app removes the data on your iPhone; data in iCloud can also be removed in your iCloud storage settings on iPhone.
- Stop syncing: turn iCloud off for Gyli.
- Stop usage statistics: turn off Share anonymous usage data in Gyli’s Settings.
- Apple Health and other permissions: change them in iPhone Settings at any time.
If you live in the EU, the UK or another region with data-protection laws, you have rights such as access, correction, deletion and objection. You are welcome to contact us at info@vandestadt.com about them; since the app sends us nothing, we will usually have no app data about you to act on. You also have the right to complain to your data-protection authority.
How long data is kept
Your data stays on your iPhone and in your iCloud for as long as you keep it there. We keep nothing, so there is nothing for us to delete.
Security
Data on your iPhone is protected by iOS. Data in iCloud is protected by Apple’s iCloud security (iCloud security overview).
Changes to this policy
If the way Gyli handles data changes, we will update this policy and its effective date before the change reaches the app. A change that would send any of your data off your iPhone to us or to a third party would be explained in the app before it applies.
Contact
VDS Software Design Studio, LLC . UAE, Dubai, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Building 27, office 201 · info@vandestadt.com