FocusHound
Privacy Policy
FocusHound is made by 3 Step Chef LLC (“we”). This policy explains what information the app and website handle and why. The short version: there is no account, we do not track you for advertising, and the apps you block, your name, your hound’s name and your steps stay on your phone.
What we do not collect
FocusHound has no sign-up and no login. We do not collect your contacts or your precise location, and we see your email address only if you write to us. The app contains no advertising, and we do not sell personal information or share it with advertisers.
Analytics
We use in-app analytics to understand how FocusHound is used and to make it better. This is product analytics, not advertising: it is not used to advertise to you, and it is not shared with advertisers or ad networks.
What we collect: which screens and features you use; your answers to the setup’s questions: which apps pull you in (from the setup’s list) and when, about how many hours a day you spend on your phone, your age band, what you’ve tried before, what you’d rather be doing (and, if you write it in, what that is), how you heard about FocusHound, whether you allowed Screen Time access, how many apps, categories and websites you chose to block (a count, never which ones), whether you chose Normal or Strict, whether you allowed notifications, and how many days before a trial ends you want a reminder; once a day, a summary of how the app is set up (how many schedules are on and how many of them are Strict, whether Screen Time access and notifications are allowed, your subscription’s status, and the hours guarded so far); whether you open the subscription screen, how long it took to load, and whether you start a trial or a subscription and which plan; when the app asks Apple to show its rating prompt; your answer if you answer the app’s short feedback question, and any note you choose to send with it; and an error report, with technical details, if the app crashes or fails. It is tied to a random identifier generated by the app on your device and to the subscription service’s anonymous identifier described below, together with basic device information (such as model, operating system version, app version, screen size, language, and time zone). It is never tied to your name or email address, and we do not use it to identify you across other apps or websites. If you installed the app after seeing one of our ads, the ad network, campaign, ad group, ad and keyword that led to the install, the date of the click, and the country or region the campaign ran in are recorded with this analytics data and with the subscription service described below; they describe the ad rather than you, carry no click identifier, and contain no personal information. Analytics data is kept for up to 12 months.
Earlier versions also collected your work hours and break plan, and versions before 1.3 the description of your business and the tasks you typed in. The current version asks for none of these, and what was collected is kept on the same schedule.
What analytics never includes: your name, your hound’s name, your step counts, or which apps and websites you chose to block (unless you write them in yourself). We do not record your screen; if that ever changes, this policy will say so first.
Information that stays on your device
Your first name (if you give one), your hound’s name, your schedules, focus sessions, walks and breaks, your settings and your answers are stored on your device and are deleted when you delete the app; the copies described under Analytics and Subscriptions are what remain with us and our service providers. The apps and websites you choose to block are handled by Apple’s Screen Time framework on your device. We never receive that list, and it never leaves your phone; we receive only how many apps, categories and websites you chose.
When you walk your hound, the app reads your step count from your iPhone’s motion sensor, with your permission, to count the walk. Your steps stay on your phone and are never sent to us or anyone else.
Website analytics
On our guides and How FocusHound works page, we count page views, which sections appear on screen, and clicks on links to the App Store. These events include the page’s address without query strings, the referring website’s domain when available, a broad screen-size category, and a new random identifier for each page load. We do not use cookies or browser storage for this measurement, record your screen, collect text you type, or connect website visits to your identity in the app. The analytics event uses a placeholder instead of your IP address and disables location enrichment; the service still receives the network connection needed to deliver the event. We respect your browser’s Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals. A section appearing on screen does not tell us whether you read it, and an App Store click does not tell us whether you installed or purchased the app.
Subscriptions
Subscriptions are billed by Apple through the App Store. We never see your payment details. To show the subscription screen and confirm your subscription status, the app uses a subscription service, Superwall. It receives an anonymous app-generated identifier, a device identifier that Apple gives our apps on your iPhone, basic device information (such as model, operating system version, language, and time zone), an approximate location (country, region and city) that it works out from your IP address, your purchases and subscription status from Apple, which subscription screens you see and close, your answer if you answer its one-question survey, whether Apple still offers you an introductory offer, and the ad details described under Analytics. It does not receive your name, your hound’s name, your answers or your steps. Earlier versions sent it your onboarding answers and, if you gave one, your first name; the current version clears them there when it starts.
Service providers
We use two service providers: PostHog, for analytics, and Superwall, for the subscription screen. They process this information on our behalf, only to provide their service to us, under terms that require them to protect it.
Permissions
FocusHound asks for Screen Time access, to block the apps you pick; for notifications, which are optional; and for Motion & Fitness at your first walk, to count its steps. You can change each in iOS Settings.
Children
FocusHound is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or export personal information, or to object to how it is used, including analytics data and subscription records. Deleting the app removes everything stored on your device. For anything else, including analytics data and subscription records, email hello@focushound.app and we will respond. Where the law asks for a legal basis, we rely on performing our contract with you and on our legitimate interest in improving and running a secure service.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new date.