# A running app that makes zero network connections

> Steady Pace never contacts a server for syncing, logins, ads, or analytics. What that means, why it is unusual, and how to confirm it for yourself.

Most apps connect to servers to sync, authenticate, load ads, and report analytics. Steady Pace makes no network connections at all. Here is what that means and why it is the strongest privacy guarantee an app can give.

**The short answer:** Steady Pace does not connect to the internet, ever. It does not sync to a server, it has no account to log in to, it serves no ads, and it sends no analytics. Everything it does, computing your pace, distance, splits, and elevation, happens on your phone. Because the app never transmits anything, none of your data can be leaked, sold, or lost from a server.

## What "no network connections" means

Most apps connect to servers constantly, and much of it is invisible. They authenticate your account, back up your activity, fetch maps, load advertising, and stream usage analytics to the maker and to third parties. Each of those is a connection carrying data off your phone. Even apps with good intentions build up a large surface of places your information travels to and rests on.

Steady Pace removes that surface entirely. It makes no outbound connections, so there is no sync, no login, no ad network, and no analytics pipeline. The app was designed so it has nothing to send: with no account and no sharing, there is no reason for it to reach the internet, so it does not.

## Why this is the strongest privacy stance

Privacy usually rests on trust. A company says it will encrypt your data, refuse to sell it, and delete it on request, and you take that on faith. Not transmitting at all is different. It does not depend on a promise, a setting, or a company's future behavior, because the data never moves. There is no server to breach, no account to expose, and no policy that can change what happens to your runs.

|  | Steady Pace | A typical running app |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Connects to a server | Never | Routinely |
| Sends analytics | None | Usually, often to third parties |
| Your data can be breached | No server holds it | Possible |
| Privacy depends on | The app not transmitting | The company's policy and settings |

## How to check it yourself

You do not have to take this on faith. Put your phone in airplane mode and the app works exactly the same, because it was never using the connection. Your phone's settings will also show that the app has no reason to run in the background. The simplest proof is the airplane-mode test: if the app behaves identically with every radio off, it was not relying on the network.

Because Steady Pace makes no network connections, your run data never leaves the phone, so there is nothing for anyone to intercept, breach, or sell.

- [A private running app](https://steadypace.ca/private-running-app): The full picture of how the app stays private.
- [Does not sell your data](https://steadypace.ca/blog/running-app-that-doesnt-sell-your-data): It cannot, because it never collects it.
- [What a data leak looks like](https://steadypace.ca/location-privacy): 87 real, cited incidents, and why a network connection is the risk.

**Does Steady Pace connect to the internet at all?**

No. It makes zero network connections. It does not sync, log in, show ads, or send analytics. Everything runs on your phone, so nothing is transmitted anywhere.

**How is that different from an app with a good privacy policy?**

A policy is a promise about data you have already sent. Not transmitting removes the data from the equation. There is no server to breach and no setting to get wrong, so the guarantee does not depend on trust or future behavior.

**How can I verify it makes no connections?**

Run it in airplane mode. If the app works exactly the same with every radio off, it was not relying on the network. Steady Pace behaves identically offline because it never connects.

**If it never connects, how do I get my data?**

Your runs live on the phone, computed and stored on the device. You are not depending on a cloud account to hold them, and there is no server that could go down or lock you out.


---
Source: https://steadypace.ca/blog/running-app-that-makes-no-network-connections
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/steady-pace/id6773682525
