blockApp Privacy Policy
blockApp ("the app") is made by Tim of timBuilds, an independent developer. It blocks the apps and websites you choose, on schedules you set. It runs on Android, as a Chrome and Firefox extension, and on iPhone. This policy explains what it keeps and where.
The short version: blockApp keeps your setup on your own device. It has no server of its own, no ads, no analytics and no tracking, and nobody at timBuilds can see your information. It sends something off the device only if you turn on sync, and then only to a hidden folder in your own Google Drive.
What blockApp keeps on your device
- Your schedules: their names, the apps and websites they block, and their days, times and limits.
- For schedules that use them, the Wi-Fi name, or a place's centre and radius.
- Today's usage counts for each schedule, and up to 30 days of past daily totals.
- Earned-time settings (your productive apps, ratio and daily cap) and up to 30 days of earned minutes.
- A short record of recent app switches and screen on/off times for limited apps, so no minute is counted twice.
- On Android, a log of what blockApp decided (app names and times only), kept 30 days, for the Blocking check-up in Settings.
- In Chrome and Firefox, the names of blocked sites you tried to open and the quick checks you used, kept 30 days in the browser, so the extension can show which sites it blocked most.
You can see this on the app's "Your data" screen and delete past history there. Uninstalling blockApp, or removing the extension, deletes all of it.
What blockApp never keeps or sends
- Anything you type, and anything shown on your screen.
- A location trail or history of places. Location and Wi-Fi are checked on the device only to decide whether a schedule applies right now.
- Photos. The optional camera check for earned time (Android) judges one small picture a second, on the phone, to see whether a face is looking at the screen. Pictures are never saved or sent.
- A history of the websites you browse. Only blocked sites you tried to open are noted, and only in the browser.
Android permissions and what they're used for
- Usage access: to see which app is in front, so blockApp knows when to block and how many minutes a limited app was used.
- Accessibility service (optional, for earned time): only to notice that you tapped, scrolled or typed in the productive apps you chose. It cannot read what is on the screen or what you type, and blockApp keeps only the minutes earned.
- Location (only if a schedule uses a place): to check whether you are inside that place right now. Your location is never saved or sent; only the place you set is kept.
- Camera (optional, for earned time): the face check described above, on the phone only.
In Chrome and Firefox, the extension also notices whether the mouse and keyboard have been idle, for walk breaks, and saves nothing from it.
Website blocking
On Android, blockApp blocks websites with a filter that runs on the phone (Android shows it as a VPN). It checks only website names as they are looked up: names on your schedules get "no such site", and every other lookup goes on to your phone's usual lookup service, just as it would without blockApp. Nothing is recorded. In Chrome and Firefox, the extension compares the address of the page you open with your schedules, inside the browser.
Sync with Google Drive (optional)
Sync is off until you turn it on and sign in with Google. blockApp then asks Google only for access to
its own hidden app folder in your Drive (the drive.appdata permission). It cannot see, open
or change any of your other Drive files, your email or your contacts.
With sync on, each device copies to that folder: your schedules (names, apps, websites, days and times), earned-time settings, the times you started quick checks in the last day, how many minutes each schedule's apps were used this hour and today, and the minutes you earned today, plus a random device code and the codes of recently deleted schedules so deletions reach every device. Each device reads the other devices' copies so your limits match everywhere. Wi-Fi names and places are not sent.
That folder belongs to your Google account and is kept under Google's privacy policy. timBuilds has no access to it. To stop syncing, turn sync off in Settings. To delete the copies, open Google Drive settings, choose Manage apps, find blockApp, and choose Delete hidden app data, then Disconnect from Drive. You can also remove blockApp's access at any time at myaccount.google.com/permissions.
Use of Google user data
blockApp's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. blockApp uses this data only to keep your own devices in step. It is not sold, not used for ads, not shared with anyone, and not read by people.
App stores and platform services
blockApp is delivered through Google Play, the Chrome Web Store, Mozilla and Apple, which may collect information under their own policies. On Android, the Google Play services that handle "Sign in with Google" may send Google basic statistics about that sign-in. On iPhone, blocking runs through Apple's Screen Time on the device (the iPhone app is in testing).
Children
blockApp is not directed to children under 13 and does not knowingly collect information from them.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with a new effective date.