Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

SideKick is developed and operated as a solo independent app. References to "we," "us," or "our" mean the individual developer. Our contact email is caazamar@gmail.com.

2. What Data We Collect and Why

We separate data into two categories: data that never leaves your device, and data that is transmitted to third-party services we use to operate the app. (The optional "Get a Sidekick" pairing feature is covered separately in Section 7.)

2.1 Data Stored Locally on Your Device Only

The following data is created and stored exclusively on your device. It is never transmitted to us or any third party.

Data	Purpose
App blocking selections (which apps/categories you choose to block)	To apply and manage shield screens via Apple's Screen Time API
Focus schedules (times, days, goal statements, app selections)	To automatically activate blocking on your chosen schedule
Brain dump items (text and voice-transcribed notes you capture)	To store your thoughts in your local inbox for later processing
Focus tasks (titles, status, priority)	To manage your task list within the app
Energy check-in logs (energy level, timestamp)	To track your energy patterns and display insights
Session and block counts (how many times you opened blocked apps, session durations)	To calculate focus scores and display progress
Onboarding selections (goal, challenge type)	To personalise your plan and shield messaging
App settings and preferences (friction duration, cool-down settings, color scheme)	To remember your configuration between sessions
Sleep data (read from Apple HealthKit — optional)	To show sleep-focus insights. Never written back to HealthKit. Entirely optional.

2.2 Data Transmitted to Third-Party Services

We use two external services to help us maintain a stable, quality app. Neither receives personally identifiable information.

Sentry (Crash Reporting)

• What it collects: Crash reports, error stack traces, device type, iOS version, app version, and a randomly generated anonymous device identifier.
• What it does NOT collect: Your name, email, IP address (Sentry scrubs IPs by default in our configuration), your blocked app selections, your tasks, your brain dump contents, or any health data.
• Why we use it: To detect and fix crashes so the app remains stable. Without crash reports, we would not know when something breaks.
• Data residency: Sentry is operated by Functional Software, Inc. Data may be processed in the United States.
• Sentry's privacy policy: sentry.io/privacy

TelemetryDeck (Anonymous Analytics)

• What it collects: Anonymous, hashed signals such as "app opened," "onboarding step reached," "onboarding completed," and "shield bypassed." TelemetryDeck hashes all identifiers using a double-hashing method that makes it cryptographically impossible to identify individual users.
• What it does NOT collect: Any content you create (tasks, brain dump items, schedule names), your blocked app list, your health data, or any information that could identify you personally.
• Why we use it: To understand which features are used and how onboarding performs, so we can improve the app. We see counts and trends, never individuals.
• TelemetryDeck's privacy policy: telemetrydeck.com/privacy
• GDPR / CCPA: TelemetryDeck is designed to be used without consent banners under GDPR because it does not process personal data. See their legal documentation for details.

3. Permissions We Request

Permission	Used For	Required?
Screen Time (Family Controls)	Applying and removing app blocking shields	Yes — core feature
Notifications	Daily summary alerts, energy check-in reminders, unblock window expiry alerts, focus schedule alerts	Optional — you can decline
Microphone	Voice input for Brain Dump capture	Optional — Brain Dump works via text without it
Speech Recognition	Converting spoken Brain Dump entries to text	Optional — only used if you tap "Speak instead"
HealthKit (Sleep)	Reading sleep analysis to show sleep-focus correlation insights	Optional — all other features work without it

You can revoke any permission at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security. Revoking Screen Time access will disable app blocking. Revoking other permissions disables only the specific feature that relies on them.

4. Data We Do Not Collect

• ❌ No account creation or login
• ❌ No cloud storage or syncing of your personal data (one exception: if you opt in to "Get a Sidekick", four anonymous daily stats are stored in Apple's CloudKit — see Section 7)
• ❌ No advertising or ad tracking of any kind
• ❌ No sale of data to any third party, ever
• ❌ No location tracking
• ❌ No contact list or address book access
• ❌ No camera access
• ❌ No photos library access
• ❌ No screen recordings or screenshots
• ❌ No tracking across other apps or websites (no ATT / IDFA usage)

5. In-App Purchases and Subscriptions

SideKick offers auto-renewing subscriptions ("SideKick Pro") processed entirely through Apple's App Store via StoreKit. Current pricing:

• Monthly: $8.99 per month
• Yearly: $59.99 per year

We do not have access to your payment card number, billing address, or any financial information. Apple handles all payment processing. Apple may collect purchase history and payment details — see Apple's Privacy Policy.

Your subscription status (active or inactive) is verified locally via StoreKit and stored on your device. We do not maintain a server-side record of who is subscribed.

6. Widgets and Extensions

SideKick includes home screen widgets, a Live Activity (Dynamic Island / Lock Screen), a Shield Configuration extension, a Device Activity Monitor extension, and a Notification Service extension. These components share data with the main app exclusively through Apple's App Group mechanism — a sandboxed, on-device storage container (group.com.azamgofur.focusforgeios.shared). No data leaves your device through these extensions.

7. Get a Sidekick (Duo Pairing) — Optional

SideKick includes an optional accountability feature that lets you pair with exactly one friend. It does nothing until you explicitly opt in through a consent screen inside the app, and none of what follows applies unless you do.

What is shared

When paired, the app syncs exactly four app-generated daily numbers between you and your sidekick: your shared duo streak, whether your shield was active that day, how many impulses you caught that day, and your focus minutes that day. Never shared: which apps you block, open, or use; anything you do inside any app; raw Screen Time data; your name, contacts, or any identifier.

Where it is stored

Duo records are stored in the app's Apple CloudKit public database — Apple-operated infrastructure; there are no third-party servers and no server operated by us. The records are anonymous: they contain no name, email, or profile, and are linked only through a randomly generated 8-character invite code. Only someone who has your invite code can associate with your records. The nickname you give your sidekick is stored only on your own device and is never uploaded.

Ending a pairing

Unpairing immediately deletes your shared stats from CloudKit and stops all sharing. Your former sidekick's copy of their own records is removed the next time they open the app. If you plan to uninstall the app while paired, unpair first so your duo records are cleaned up.

Using this feature requires being signed in to iCloud. Apple's handling of CloudKit data is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy.

8. Data Retention and Deletion

Aside from the optional Get a Sidekick data described in Section 7, all personal data is stored locally on your device and you are in full control:

• While the app is installed: Data is retained on your device until you delete it.
• Delete the app: Uninstalling SideKick permanently removes all locally stored data. If you are paired with a sidekick, unpair first to remove your duo records from CloudKit.
• In-app deletion: You can delete all app data from Settings → Data & Privacy → Delete All Data.
• Crash report data (Sentry): Retained by Sentry for 90 days, then automatically deleted. You cannot be individually identified within Sentry reports.
• Analytics data (TelemetryDeck): Retained as aggregate anonymous counts. Because no personal identifier is stored, individual deletion is not technically possible or meaningful.

9. Your Rights

All Users

• Access: All your personal data is visible within the app at any time.
• Deletion: Delete all data from within Settings or by uninstalling the app.
• Permission withdrawal: Revoke any permission via iOS Settings at any time.

European Economic Area (GDPR)

The personal data we process is minimal. For locally stored data, you act as both data subject and sole controller since it never leaves your device. For optional Get a Sidekick data, we act as data controller and Apple (CloudKit) as processor; the records are anonymous aggregates, and you can erase your records at any time by unpairing. For Sentry crash data, we act as data controller and Sentry as processor under a Data Processing Agreement. Under GDPR you have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict processing of, and port your data. Contact us at caazamar@gmail.com to exercise these rights. For Sentry data, because it is anonymised and not linked to your identity, individual erasure requests may not be technically fulfillable, but we will make reasonable efforts.

California Residents (CCPA / CPRA)

We do not sell or share personal information with third parties for cross-context behavioural advertising. You have the right to know what personal information we collect (detailed in Section 2 above), the right to delete, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights. To submit a request, contact caazamar@gmail.com.

10. Children's Privacy

SideKick is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. The app is designed for individuals aged 13 and older who manage their own devices. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child under 13 has installed the app, please uninstall it. Because all data is local, uninstalling removes all associated data. Contact us at caazamar@gmail.com if you need assistance.

Users aged 13–17 should review this policy with a parent or guardian before use.

11. Security

Your data is protected by iOS's built-in sandboxing, encryption at rest (iOS Data Protection), and App Group entitlement restrictions that limit access to authorised app components only. Aside from optional, anonymous Get a Sidekick records (stored on Apple's CloudKit over encrypted connections), we do not transmit your personal data over the internet, which eliminates the largest category of data breach risk. Crash reports sent to Sentry travel over TLS-encrypted connections.

12. International Transfers

Your personal data (tasks, schedules, brain dump items, health data) does not leave your device and is therefore not subject to international transfer. Optional Get a Sidekick records are stored on Apple's CloudKit infrastructure, which may process data in the United States under Apple's safeguards. Crash report data processed by Sentry may be transferred to and stored in the United States. Sentry maintains appropriate safeguards for such transfers including Standard Contractual Clauses.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when features change or legal requirements evolve. Material changes will be communicated through an app update notice. The updated policy will be posted here with a new effective date. Continued use of the app after the updated effective date constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

14. Contact

Effective Date: July 11, 2026
Last Updated: July 11, 2026
Previous version effective: June 28, 2026