Privacy Policy

Sterna is built to need as little of your personal data as possible. You can use the entire app without ever telling us your name or email address. This policy explains exactly what data the app touches, where it lives, and what your rights are.

Who we are

The Sterna app ("Sterna: German for Healthcare") is operated by Alps Capital LLC, 135 Birchwood Ter, Wayne, NJ 07470-3836, United States. For anything related to your data, contact contact@alpscapital.co.

The short version

• Your account is anonymous — no name, email or password is required.
• Your learning progress is stored on your device.
• The small amount of data we keep on servers is stored in the EU (Frankfurt, europe-west3).
• Payments are handled by Apple — no card data ever touches us.
• No advertising, no sale of personal data, no tracking across other apps or websites.

Data we handle, and why

Anonymous account. When you first open Sterna, Firebase Anonymous Authentication creates a random account identifier on your device. It is not linked to your name, email, phone number or any real-world identity. We use it so your subscription and settings can be recognized as belonging to the same installation.

Learning progress. Your journey position, quiz results, review queue, streaks and readiness score are stored locally on your device (AsyncStorage). This data does not leave your phone.

Minimal profile and notification data. A minimal profile (for example the display name you optionally enter in the app, your journey settings, and a push-notification token if you enable reminders) is stored in Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore), in Google's EU region europe-west3 (Frankfurt, Germany). Purpose: keeping your app configuration working and delivering the reminders you asked for.

Purchases. Subscriptions are processed entirely by Apple through your App Store account. We use RevenueCat to check whether your anonymous account has an active subscription. We receive only subscription status and anonymized transaction records — never your name, billing address or card details.

Crash diagnostics. If the app crashes, Firebase Crashlytics sends us a technical crash report (device model, OS version, app version, stack trace) so we can fix the problem. Crash reports are not linked to your identity.

Push notifications (optional). If you enable notifications, an Expo push token is created for your device so we can send learning reminders. You can turn notifications off at any time in the app or in your device settings; the token then stops being used.

Audio delivery. Term and dialogue audio files are served from Google Cloud Storage. Like any file server, it processes your IP address technically in order to deliver the file. We do not use this to profile you.

What we do not do

• No advertising networks, no ad identifiers.
• No sale or rental of personal data — to anyone, ever.
• No tracking of your activity across other companies' apps or websites.
• No collection of health data about you or your patients.

Processors we rely on

These companies process data on our behalf, under their own GDPR commitments:

Some of these providers are based in the United States. Where data leaves the EU, transfers rely on recognized safeguards such as the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework or EU Standard Contractual Clauses, as documented by each provider.

How long we keep data

• Account data: kept while your account exists. When you delete your account in the app (Profile section), your Firebase account record and the associated profile data are deleted.
• On-device data: removed when you delete your account or uninstall the app.
• Crash reports: retained by Firebase Crashlytics for its standard rolling window (90 days), then deleted automatically.
• Purchase records: Apple and RevenueCat retain transaction records as required for accounting and subscription management.

Your rights (GDPR)

If you are in the European Union or another jurisdiction with equivalent rules, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you;
• Rectify inaccurate data;
• Erase your data (the in-app account deletion does this immediately for account data);
• Receive your data in a portable format;
• Restrict or object to certain processing;
• Complain to your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, email contact@alpscapital.co. Because accounts are anonymous, we may ask you to contact us from within the app or provide your anonymous account identifier so we can locate your data.

Children

Sterna is a professional training tool for working adults and is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will publish the updated version on this page with a new effective date. For significant changes we will also inform you inside the app before the change takes effect.