Privacy Policy
Effective Date: September 1, 2026 • Last Updated: September 6, 2026
01. Introduction & Overview
Bown Health (https://bown.health) is an advanced athletic training optimization and autonomic readiness coaching application operated by Duncan Luke (dl@thesocialcollective.co). We respect your privacy and are committed to safeguarding personal, physiological, and biometric data.
This Privacy Policy explains how Bown Health collects, uses, stores, and protects data when you use our platform, including integrations with Google Health, Fitbit, Health Connect, Garmin, and Intervals.icu.
02. Data We Collect
A. Google Health, Fitbit & Health Connect Data
When you explicitly authorize Bown Health to connect your Google account, we access read-only health and fitness metrics via authorized Google OAuth scopes, including:
- Sleep Architecture: Sleep duration, sleep start/end timestamps, and sleep stages (Deep, REM, Light, Awake).
- Heart Rate Dynamics: Continuous heart rate samples, Resting Heart Rate (RHR), and Heart Rate Variability (HRV / RMSSD).
- Activity & Fitness: Active Zone Minutes, step counts, and non-cycling workouts (gym/strength sessions) used to calculate off-bike Training Stress Score (TSS).
B. Cycling Telemetry & Athletic Data
Power output (Watts), cadence (RPM), heart rate, GPS coordinates, elevation gain, speed, normalized power (NP), and workout interval breakdowns synced from Intervals.icu, Strava, or Garmin Edge devices.
C. Athlete Profile Information
User name, handle/username, email address, Functional Threshold Power (FTP), body mass, and target racing events.
D. Go-Live Pilot Screening & Hardware Survey Data
During registration and initial go-live pilot qualification, we collect user-provided screening information:
- Garmin Device Ownership: Presence and model of Garmin Edge cycling computers or Garmin sports watches.
- HRV Tracking Method: Method used to track Heart Rate Variability (Garmin Overnight HRV, Google Health / Fitbit Aria 2, or other sensors).
- AI Tooling Preferences: AI services actively utilized (ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, Perplexity) to calibrate coach interaction models.
- Legal Consent Timestamps: Exact UTC timestamps of user acceptance of Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
03. How We Use Your Data
We use your physiological and biometric data strictly to:
- Compute daily autonomic recovery and readiness scores (0–100 scale) balancing autonomic nervous system balance (HRV) with sleep quality and Chronic Training Load (CTL / ATL / TSB).
- Dynamically adapt scheduled cycling workouts before dawn training rides (04:00–07:00 SAST).
- Compile interval execution summaries and GPS heatmaps for post-ride telemetry debriefs.
- Generate personalized AI coaching briefings and structured workout files for Garmin Edge cycling computers.
04. Google API Services User Data Policy Compliance
Bown Health's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
Specifically:
- We only request access to the specific Google scopes necessary to compute athlete readiness and recovery.
- We never sell, lease, or monetize your Google user data or health metrics to any third party, broker, or advertiser.
- We do not use Google user data for serving personalized, retargeted, or interest-based advertisements.
- Human access to user data is strictly prohibited unless you provide explicit consent to troubleshoot a specific technical issue, or to comply with applicable law.
05. Data Storage, Security & Retention
All communication between your browser and our servers occurs over encrypted Transport Layer Security (HTTPS / TLS 1.3). Access tokens and biometric snapshots are encrypted at rest using industry-standard protocols within isolated Google Cloud European infrastructure (europe-west1).
Data is retained only for as long as your athlete account remains active to provide training continuity and multi-week progression analytics.
06. Your Rights: Revocation & Deletion
You retain complete control over your health metrics and Google connections:
- In-App Revocation: You can disconnect Google Health at any time in the app via Settings → Integrations → Disconnect Google Health. This immediately deletes stored OAuth refresh tokens and halts background sync.
- Google Account Permissions: You can revoke Bown Health's access at any time from your Google Account Security Dashboard.
- Data Deletion Request: You may request the immediate, permanent deletion of all stored health, activity, and personal data by emailing dl@thesocialcollective.co. Requests are fulfilled within 48 hours.
07. Statutory Compliance: POPIA (South Africa) & GDPR
Bown Health complies with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for international users. We process personal and special personal information (health metrics) strictly on the legal bases of:
- Explicit Consent: Provided by you during registration and device authorization.
- Contractual Necessity: To deliver the requested athletic conditioning analytics and structured workout files.
- Data Minimization: We never collect location or biometric parameters beyond what is required to compute training adaptations.
08. Contact Information
If you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy, your biometric data, or our compliance with Google API policies, please contact:
Duncan Luke
Founder & Developer, Bown Health
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Email: dl@thesocialcollective.co
Application URL: https://bown.health