Phones Down

Privacy Policy

Last updated July 16, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Phones Down (“Phones Down,” “we,” “us”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use the Phones DowniPhone app and related services (the “Service”). By using the Service, you agree to this Policy.

Information we collect

  • Account information. We sign you in with your email address using a one-time link or code (no passwords). We store your email to identify your account and send essential service messages.
  • Profile information. A username and an optional display name. We do not accept profile photos — your avatar is a monogram generated from your name, so there is no image to collect, store, or share.
  • Session and social activity. The focus sessions you start or join, their start and end times, the amount of time you stay off your phone, session outcomes, your friend connections, and the likes you give or receive.
  • Device and technical information. A device push token (so we can send notifications), app version, device model and operating system version, and basic diagnostic information. Our infrastructure providers may process your IP address to deliver the Service.
  • Your age is not collected. We never ask for your date of birth. The Service is for ages 13 and up, and when you sign up you confirm you are at least 13 — that confirmation is the only age check, and no age information is ever sent to us or stored.
  • No analytics in the app.The Phones Down app contains no third-party analytics or advertising SDKs, and does not track you. (This website is separate — see “Cookies and analytics on this website” below.)

How we use your information

  • Provide, maintain, and secure the Service and your account.
  • Measure time off your phone and power the activity feed, weekly leaderboard, streaks, and lifetime stats.
  • Send session and social notifications you have enabled.
  • Keep the community safe — enforce our rules, review reports, and act on abuse.
  • Fix problems you report to us, and improve the Service.
  • Comply with legal obligations.

Avatars

Your avatar is generated from your name — a monogram and a colour. The app has no photo picker and no way to upload an image, so we never receive, store, or display user photographs. The only content other people see from you is your username, your optional display name, and your session times.

How your information is shared

  • With other users. Your username, display name, session times, streaks, and likes are visible to your friends and, where applicable, to others in a shared session or on the leaderboard. Your email address is never shown to other users.
  • With service providers that operate the Service on our behalf: Supabase (authentication, database, and realtime), Apple (push notification delivery via APNs), and Resend (sending your sign-in codes). These providers process information only to provide their services to us. Google Analytics and Mixpanel are used on this website only — never in the app — and never in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland.
  • For legal and safety reasons when we believe it is necessary to comply with law or to protect users.

We do not sell your personal information.

Legal bases (EEA, UK, and Switzerland)

If you are in the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland, we rely on the following legal bases under the GDPR (and UK GDPR) to process your information:

  • To provide the Service you asked for — Article 6(1)(b), performance of a contract. Signing you in with your email, storing your username and display name, measuring your session times, and showing your sessions to the friends you chose to connect with. This is the Service itself: without this information there is nothing to provide. It also covers sending you the notifications you turned on, and storing the device token needed to deliver them.
  • To keep the Service safe and working — Article 6(1)(f), legitimate interests. Acting on reports and blocks, filtering objectionable usernames and display names, preventing abuse, and diagnosing faults. Our interest is in a service that is safe to use and stays up; we have weighed this against your rights and consider it proportionate, since it involves no profiling, no advertising, and no sharing beyond our service providers.
  • To meet legal obligations — Article 6(1)(c). Where we must retain or disclose information to comply with law.

We do not rely on consent for anything in the app, and the app contains no advertising, no tracking, and no profiling. Analytics on this website would rely on consent, which is why we do not load them at all for visitors in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland.

You have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your information, to object to or restrict processing based on legitimate interests, and to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority (in the UK, the ICO). You can delete your account and its data yourself at any time, in Settings.

Cookies and analytics on this website

This website (phonesdown.io) uses Google Analytics and Mixpanel to understand how people find and use the site — which pages they visit, where they arrived from, and whether they tap through to the App Store. Mixpanel stores a random identifier in your browser’s local storage so repeat visits can be counted as one person rather than several. Neither is used to build advertising profiles, and neither runs inside the Phones Down app itself — the app contains no third-party analytics.

If you are visiting from the EEA, the UK, or Switzerland, we do not load Google Analytics or Mixpanel at all. No analytics cookies or local-storage identifiers are written, and nothing is sent to either provider. There is nothing to opt out of, because nothing is collected. Elsewhere, you can block these entirely with your browser’s cookie or tracking-protection settings, or with any content blocker — the site works exactly the same without them.

Push notifications

If you enable notifications, we store a device token to deliver them. You can turn notifications off at any time in iOS Settings.

Data retention

We keep your information for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account, we delete your personal information from our active systems, except where we must retain limited records to comply with law or resolve disputes. Backups are purged on a rolling schedule.

Your choices and rights

  • Delete your account. You can permanently delete your account and associated personal data from within the app, in Settings.
  • Block and report. You can block other users and report abusive content or behavior from within the app.
  • Access and correction. You can update your profile in the app, or contact us to request access to or correction of your information.
  • Notifications. Manage or disable them in iOS Settings.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Children

The Service is intended for users aged 13 and over. It is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.

International users

We and our service providers may process and store your information in the United States and other countries, which may have different data protection laws than where you live.

Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app.

Contact us

Questions about this Policy? Email support@phonesdown.io.