Privacy Policy
Last updated: 9 August 2026
1. Who we are
RUNKS is operated by RUNKS LIMITED, a company incorporated in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Company number: 80755655 Registered address: Unit 2904-05, 29/F, Universal Trade Centre, 3 Arbuthnot Road, Central, Hong Kong
RUNKS LIMITED is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy.
Privacy contact: privacy@runks.app General contact: contact@runks.app
We acknowledge every privacy request within 2 working days. Our response times are set out in Section 12.
2. What this policy covers
This policy explains what personal data RUNKS collects, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and what control you have over it. It applies to the RUNKS mobile app and to runks.app.
We have written a single policy that applies the strictest standard we are subject to, everywhere. If the law in your country gives you a right listed here, you have it, wherever you live.
RUNKS is currently in private beta. Section 16 sets out plainly which controls are already available in the app and which are still being built.
3. The short version
| We collect | Your profile details, your runs and race results, your location while you use the app, and activity data from a watch you choose to connect. |
| Why | To run the app, calculate your RUNK Index, show rankings and comparisons, and let you take part in social runs and challenges. |
| We never | Sell your personal data. Use data from your watch for advertising. Share it with data brokers or ad networks. Train AI models on it. |
| You can | Get a copy of your data, correct it, delete your account, disconnect any watch, and withdraw your consent — see Section 12. |
| Minimum age | 18. RUNKS is not for anyone under 18. |
| Where it is stored | On a server in Vietnam. |
4. What data we collect, and why
4.1 Data you give us
| Data | Why we need it | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Email address | Account creation, login, service messages | Performance of our contract with you |
| Name and public display name | To identify you to other runners | Performance of contract |
| Profile photo (optional) | Your profile | Consent |
| Date of birth | To check you are 18 or over, and for age-category rankings | Legal obligation and performance of contract |
| Gender (optional) | Gender-category rankings and comparisons | Consent |
| Nationality (optional) | Country rankings | Consent |
| Your main sport | To tailor the app to you | Performance of contract |
4.2 Data created when you use RUNKS
| Data | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Your runs and race results — distance, duration, pace, splits | The core of the service; your RUNK Index | Performance of contract |
| Your RUNK Index and ranking history | To rank you against other runners | Performance of contract |
| Challenges, social runs, teams and mates | Social features you choose to use | Performance of contract |
| Posts, comments and likes | Social features | Performance of contract |
| Location (GPS) | To record your runs and set meeting points for social runs | Explicit consent — see Section 5 |
| Device and technical data — device model, operating system, app version, network type, error information | To keep the app working and secure | Legitimate interests (security and reliability) |
| Push notification token | To send you notifications you have asked for | Consent |
| App usage analytics — which screens you open | To understand how the app is used and improve it | Consent — see Section 12 |
4.3 Data from a connected watch
If — and only if — you choose to connect a watch or fitness account, we receive activity data from that provider. See Section 6.
| Data | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Activity and workout records — distance, duration, pace, elevation, route | To import your runs automatically | Explicit consent |
| Heart rate and calories, where the provider makes them available | Performance analysis and your RUNK Index | Explicit consent — health data, see Section 5 |
| The device model you used | Required attribution to the watch manufacturer | Our contractual obligation to that partner |
We request activity and workout data only. We do not request daily health data such as sleep, resting heart rate, stress or heart-rate variability.
5. Health and location data — special protection
Two kinds of data we handle get extra protection under European law and under Vietnamese law:
- Health data — heart rate, calories, and detailed performance metrics
- Precise location data — the GPS trace of your runs
We process these only with your explicit, separate consent. You give that consent as a distinct choice, not bundled into accepting this policy or our Terms. You can withdraw either consent at any time without losing access to the rest of the app, though features that depend on them will stop working.
If you withdraw location consent, RUNKS can no longer record runs by GPS. If you withdraw health-data consent, we stop importing heart rate and calorie data and delete what we already hold, within the timescales in Section 11.
6. Connecting a watch
RUNKS can import your activities from a third-party provider. Connecting is always your choice, you authorise each connection separately, and you can revoke it at any time.
6.1 Garmin
Available today.
Before any of your data is transferred between Garmin and RUNKS, we ask for your express consent to that specific transfer. When you connect Garmin, you are authorising Garmin to share your Garmin Connect activity data with RUNKS.
Garmin is an independent data controller for the data it holds about you — not our service provider. Garmin's own handling of your data is governed by Garmin's privacy notice, which you should read before connecting:
https://www.garmin.com/privacy/connect/
You can disconnect RUNKS at any time, either in the RUNKS app or in your Garmin Connect account settings. Disconnecting stops all future imports. To have data we already imported deleted, see our Data Deletion page.
6.2 COROS and Suunto
Not available yet. We are working on connections to COROS and Suunto. We will update this policy with the details of each — what we receive, how long we keep it, and how to revoke access — before either connection becomes available to you.
6.3 A note on the social feed
Data imported from a watch partner is shown to other RUNKS users only where that partner has expressly permitted it. Where a partner has not, your imported data is used for your own records, your RUNK Index and your private analysis only, and is not displayed to other users.
7. Who we share your data with
7.1 Other RUNKS users
RUNKS is a social and competitive app. By design, other users can see your display name, profile photo, RUNK Index, rankings, race results, and any posts or comments you make.
7.2 Service providers acting on our instructions
| Provider | What they do | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Our hosting provider | Operates the server running our database, authentication and file storage | Vietnam |
| Google (Firebase) | Push notifications, app analytics, remote configuration | United States / global |
| "Sign in with Google" | United States / global | |
| Apple | "Sign in with Apple" | United States / global |
| Shorebird | Over-the-air app updates | Global |
These providers process data on our instructions. They are not permitted to use your data for their own purposes.
We run our own database using Supabase, which is open-source software. Supabase the company is not a service provider to RUNKS and does not have access to your data.
7.3 Watch partners
Garmin, as described in Section 6. Garmin acts as an independent controller.
7.4 Legal and safety
We may disclose data where we are legally required to, or where necessary to investigate abuse, fraud or a threat to someone's safety.
7.5 What we never do
We do not sell your personal data. We do not share it with data brokers or advertising networks. We do not use data received from a watch partner for advertising or marketing of any kind, and we do not transfer it to any third party for advertising purposes.
8. Artificial intelligence and automated decisions
We do not use your personal data to train artificial intelligence or machine-learning models, and we do not provide it to any third party for that purpose.
Your RUNK Index is calculated automatically from your recorded performances. It is a scoring calculation used to rank and match you with other runners. It does not produce legal or similarly significant effects about you, and it is not used to make decisions about your access to services, employment, credit or anything comparable. You can ask us how your Index was calculated.
9. Where your data is stored
Your account, profile, runs, race results and imported activity data are stored on a server located in Vietnam.
Some data also reaches providers outside Vietnam:
| Data | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Your account, activities, results, social content | Vietnam |
| Push notification tokens, app analytics, remote configuration | United States / global |
| Sign-in with Google, Sign in with Apple | United States / global |
| Activity data you import from Garmin | Garmin operates internationally |
If you are in Vietnam: your account and activity data is stored in Vietnam and is not transferred abroad. The analytics and notification data described above does leave Vietnam.
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom: RUNKS is in private beta and is not currently offered to the public in the EEA or the UK. Our servers are in Vietnam, which the European Commission has not recognised as providing an adequate level of data protection. Before we make RUNKS available in these regions, we will put the required safeguards in place and update this policy. If you are in the EEA or UK and have a RUNKS account, contact privacy@runks.app and we will tell you exactly what we hold and delete it on request.
Transfers involving Garmin operate under controller-to-controller Standard Contractual Clauses incorporated into our agreement with Garmin, governed by German law, with the Bavarian Data Protection Authority as the competent supervisory authority.
10. Security
- All traffic between the app and our servers is encrypted (HTTPS/TLS)
- Login sessions are stored in your device's secure storage (Keychain on iOS, Keystore on Android)
- Access to production data is restricted to those who need it
No system is perfectly secure, and we do not claim otherwise.
11. How long we keep your data
| Data | How long |
|---|---|
| Account and profile data | For as long as your account is open |
| Runs, race results and RUNK Index history | For as long as your account is open |
| Data imported from a connected watch | Deleted within 24 hours of you disconnecting that watch |
| App analytics | Up to 14 months |
| Server and security logs | Up to 30 days |
| Backups | Deleted data may remain in encrypted backups for up to 30 days, then permanently deleted |
| After you delete your account | Deleted within 20 days (30 days if a service provider must be involved). A minimal record of the deletion request is kept to prove we honoured it. |
Where we are required by law to keep certain records, or need to retain limited information to resolve a dispute or prevent fraud, we keep only what is necessary and for no longer than required.
12. Your rights
Whatever country you are in, you can:
- Get a copy of your data — everything we hold about you
- Get your data in a portable format — a machine-readable export
- Correct it — fix anything inaccurate
- Delete it — your account and personal data; see our Data Deletion page
- Withdraw consent — for location, health data, analytics or a watch connection, at any time, without affecting anything we did before you withdrew
- Object to or restrict processing — where we rely on legitimate interests
- Disconnect any watch — at any time
- Complain — to us first, and to your data protection authority if you are not satisfied
To exercise any right: email privacy@runks.app. We may need to verify the request comes from you — usually by asking you to write from the email address on your account.
We acknowledge every request within 2 working days, and complete it within:
| Request | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Access, a copy of your data, correction, or export | 10 days (15 days if a service provider must be involved) |
| Withdrawing consent, objecting, or restricting processing | 15 days (20 days if a service provider must be involved) |
| Deleting your account and personal data | 20 days (30 days if a service provider must be involved) |
| Deleting data imported from a connected watch | 24 hours from disconnection |
If a request is unusually complex we may extend these once, by no more than the original period, and we will tell you before the first deadline passes.
We do not charge for this, and we will not treat you differently for exercising a right.
If you are in the EEA or the UK, you may lodge a complaint with your national supervisory authority. If you are in Vietnam, you may complain to the data protection authority under the Ministry of Public Security.
13. Age requirement
You must be 18 or over to use RUNKS.
We ask for your date of birth when you register. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If we learn that someone under 18 has created an account, we will delete the account and the data associated with it.
If you believe someone under 18 is using RUNKS, contact privacy@runks.app.
14. If there is a data breach
If personal data is exposed, we will assess the impact and notify the relevant authorities and affected users where the law requires it — within 72 hours of becoming aware, where European law applies.
15. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. If we make a material change, we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect. The date at the top of this page always shows the current version.
16. What is not yet built — private beta
RUNKS is in private beta, and we would rather tell you the truth than describe features that do not exist yet. As of 9 August 2026:
| Control | Status | What to do in the meantime |
|---|---|---|
| Consent screen at signup | Not yet in the app. Being built. | By creating an account you accept this policy. Email privacy@runks.app to withdraw any consent. |
| Privacy policy inside the app | Not yet linked in the app. Being added. | This page is the current policy. |
| Delete your account from inside the app | Not working yet. The in-app button does not delete anything. | Email privacy@runks.app — see our Data Deletion page. We will do it manually. |
| Download your data from inside the app | Not yet built. | Email privacy@runks.app and we will send you an export. |
| Analytics opt-out toggle | Not yet built. Analytics currently run from app launch. | Email privacy@runks.app to opt out and we will disable it for your account. |
| Report or block another user | Not yet built. | Email contact@runks.app and we will act manually. |
We will update this section as each item ships, and remove it once they are all done.
17. Contact
Privacy matters: privacy@runks.app Everything else: contact@runks.app
RUNKS LIMITED Unit 2904-05, 29/F, Universal Trade Centre, 3 Arbuthnot Road, Central, Hong Kong SAR Company number: 80755655