Privacy Policy

Last updated: 26 May 2026

PulseCheck is a fitness and wellness app that reads your pulse from your iPhone's rear camera. This page explains exactly what data PulseCheck does and does not collect, and how it is handled. Plain English, no legalese.

The short version

• Pulse readings stay on your iPhone. Nothing about your readings is sent to us or to any other server.
• PulseCheck has no account system. No email, no sign-up, no password.
• No analytics SDK is embedded in the app.
• Apple Health integration is optional and off by default.
• Ads are served by Google AdMob. You can choose to limit ad tracking when iOS asks.

What PulseCheck stores on your iPhone

Your pulse readings — the BPM number, the date and time of the reading, an optional context tag you choose (e.g. "Resting", "Post-Coffee"), and a confidence label — are saved locally on your iPhone using SwiftData. You can delete any reading by swiping on it in the History screen. Uninstalling PulseCheck deletes all your readings.

What PulseCheck does not collect

• We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, location, or any account identifier — there is no account.
• We do not transmit your pulse readings or measurement sessions off your device.
• We do not record audio, photos, or video. The camera frames used to measure your pulse are processed in real time and discarded as they arrive.
• We do not have a server or database that stores anything about you.

Camera and motion sensors

PulseCheck uses your iPhone's rear camera and flash to read the light passing through your fingertip — this is called photoplethysmography (PPG). It also reads the accelerometer to detect motion so it can warn you to hold steady. Both data streams are processed live on your device. No frame and no motion sample is ever saved, transmitted, or shared.

Apple Health integration (opt-in)

If you turn on the Apple Health integration in Settings, PulseCheck will write each pulse reading you save to Apple Health using the HealthKit framework. PulseCheck only writes — it never reads from Apple Health. The integration is off by default; you can turn it off any time in Settings or in the iOS Health app's data sources.

Ads (Google AdMob)

PulseCheck is free and ad-supported. We use Google AdMob to show banner and occasional full-screen ads. AdMob may collect device identifiers and ad-interaction information to serve ads and prevent fraud. The first time you open PulseCheck after a measurement, iOS will ask you whether you want to allow ad tracking — this is the standard App Tracking Transparency prompt. If you decline, ads are still shown but Google falls back to non-personalized ads.

For more information on AdMob's data practices, see Google's privacy policy.

Children

PulseCheck is not directed at children under 13 and is not designed to collect data from children. The app has no account, no chat, and no social features. If you are a parent and your child uses PulseCheck, all stored data is local to the device and can be deleted by uninstalling the app.

Medical disclaimer

PulseCheck is for fitness and wellness use only. It is not a medical device. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, prevent, or monitor any medical condition. If you have concerns about your heart rate or health, please contact a qualified medical professional.

Changes to this policy

If we make material changes to this policy, we'll update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. The current version is always at this URL.

Contact

Questions about this policy or the app? Email levin.schwab@gmx.de.

— Levin Schwab, maker of PulseCheck