What happens to my habit data if I uninstall the app?

Why the data disappears

Steady Ember keeps 100% of your data in an SQLite database in the app's local storage. There is no account, no cloud copy and no server holding a mirror of your history — that is the whole point of an offline tracker. The consequence is that the app's storage and your data are the same thing: remove one and you remove the other.

This is honest rather than alarming. You are not losing a copy somewhere else; you are losing the only copy, unless you made one.

What to do before you uninstall

1. Export. Write your history out as a CSV or JSON file. CSV is convenient for spreadsheets, JSON keeps the full structure of habits, streaks and notes.
2. Or create an encrypted backup. An AES-256-GCM backup file is protected by your personal key token. Keep that key somewhere you will find it again — without it, the file cannot be opened.
3. Move the file off the phone. A backup sitting in the same storage that is about to be cleared is not a backup. Copy it to a computer, a drive or another safe location.
4. Reinstall, then restore. After reinstalling — on the same phone or a new one — import the file and enter your key for an encrypted backup.
5. Check the result. Confirm your habits, streaks and notes are back before you delete the original file.

Moving phones instead of uninstalling

The same sequence applies when you are changing devices. Nothing is carried across automatically: the new phone starts empty, and the old phone's database stays on the old phone until it is wiped or sold. Exporting from the old device first is the entire migration.

Can the developer recover my data after an uninstall?

No. There is no server copy to restore from, because nothing is ever uploaded. Once the local database is deleted, it is gone — which is exactly why export and encrypted backups exist as first-class features rather than afterthoughts.