title: Permissions and privacy description: Microphone, Health, Notifications — what we ask for and why.
Permissions and privacy
RhythmFit asks for permissions only when a feature needs them — never up-front during onboarding. You can use the app entirely without granting any of them. This page lists what each one unlocks and what happens if you say no.
The five permissions
Notifications
When you'll see it: the first time you try to set a workout reminder in Settings → Reminders.
What it unlocks: scheduled local notifications at your chosen times, with quiet-hour respect.
If you decline: no reminders are scheduled, no other feature is affected. You can change your mind in iOS Settings → Notifications → RhythmFit.
Microphone + Speech Recognition
When you'll see it: the first time you tap the microphone in the AI create chat to dictate a workout request.
What it unlocks: the on-device speech recognizer transcribes what you say into the chat input. Only the recognized text (not audio) is sent to the AI.
If you decline: type your request instead — nothing else is affected. Siri voice control doesn't need this permission — it uses iOS-system permissions via App Intents.
HealthKit
When you'll see it: the first time you start a workout with Apple Watch features, or when you toggle the "Write to Health" switch in Settings.
What it unlocks:
- Read heart rate and HRV from Apple Watch in real time (powers the live heart-rate display on iPhone and HRV readiness insights).
- Read live workout metrics on Apple Watch — active calories, distance, and steps shown during a session.
- Write completed workouts to the Health app (visible alongside your other activity).
If you decline: the live heart-rate display stays empty. Stats are tracked in-app only; nothing writes to Apple Health. Live calories on the Watch stay at zero — grant read access to Active Energy to see real figures.
Apple Music
When you'll see it: the first time you open the Music Picker and choose the Apple Music source.
What it unlocks: access to your library and Apple Music subscription content through MusicKit. Playback stays inside Apple's system.
If you decline: the Apple Music tab in the picker is greyed out. The metronome and coach voice are unaffected.
Camera + Photo Library
When you'll see it: the first time you tap the 📷 attach button in AI Create.
What it unlocks: importing a workout from a photo — RhythmFit reads the image and the AI extracts the blocks.
If you decline: photo import is unavailable; PDF and text file import (via the Files picker) and text prompts still work normally.
What we collect, even without permissions
Even without granting any of the above, the app collects a small amount of data so basic features work:
- Locally on your device: workouts you create, your settings, the last 7 days of session history (or unlimited on Pro).
- In iCloud (if you've signed in): the same data, synced for multi-device use. Optional, off by default.
- On our servers (Supabase): only if you choose to share a
workout (
rhythmfit.me/w/…) or sync via the optional account. Account creation is opt-in. - A pseudonymous device ID for share-code rate limiting. Resets when you reinstall.
What we don't collect, ever:
- Your real name, age, weight, or body measurements (unless you type them into the AI prompt — that prompt is not stored beyond the duration of generation).
- Your location.
- Heart rate, HRV, or any HealthKit data on our servers — that data stays on your device.
- Cross-app data via the IDFA. We don't request tracking.
See the full Privacy Policy for the legal version.
What Claude sees and doesn't
The AI workout generator sees only the text and images you explicitly send through AI Create. From the in-app How AI Works page:
- Sees: your typed prompt, attached images, your conversation history within this AI Create session, the workout structure.
- Never sees: your name, email, location, heart rate, HRV, workout history, performance stats, data from any other app.
Anthropic doesn't train models on RhythmFit prompts per their commercial API policy.
Revoking and re-granting
Every permission can be changed at any time from iOS Settings → RhythmFit. Revoking mid-session won't crash the app — the relevant feature gracefully disables and a toast explains. Re- granting takes effect immediately.