Welcome to Screen Challenge Buddy ("App", "we", "our", "us"). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, who can see it, and the choices you have.
PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS)What is it? Using Android's UsageStatsManager, the App reads how long you use your phone each day, how many times you unlock it, and how much time you spend in each app. From this it works out your daily totals, your history for recent days, your streak (days in a row under your limit), and your most used apps. App names and icons are read from Android's PackageManager to label them. We do not collect what you do inside any app, your browsing history, or the content of your apps.
When does it leave your phone? Tracking always runs on your phone. It is uploaded to our servers only while it is needed:
If neither applies, your screen-time data stays on your phone.
Why do we collect it?
We do not sell this data to advertisers or any third party.
What is it? Your display name, email address and user ID (via Google Sign-In), plus the answers you give during onboarding (for example, your goals and your chosen daily limit).
Why do we collect it? To manage your account securely, keep your settings and challenge history across devices, and contact you about your account.
Buddy subscription (Google Play): Buddy features are unlocked by a Google Play subscription. Google processes the payment; we never see your card details. We receive the purchase status, the plan, renewal and expiry dates, and the country of your Google Play billing account (used to show prices in your currency).
Challenge stakes (Dodo Payments): If you choose to put money on a challenge, our payment processor, Dodo Payments, sets up a $0 payment authorization (a mandate). We store only the reference to that mandate. A penalty is charged only if you fail a challenge (by going over your limit, or by not syncing within the grace period). We never store full card numbers or security codes.
What is it? Messages you send to your paired Buddy, reactions you add to messages, nudges you send, and suggested replies you choose to send. You can send up to 100 messages in any 24 hours and up to 3 nudges a day.
Why do we collect it? To let you and your Buddy support each other. Messages are visible only to you and your Buddy. They are stored in our secure database and may be reviewed by our moderation team if a report is made.
How pairing works: Pairing is by invitation only. You send an invite link or code to someone you know, or you accept one. Nothing is shared until the invited person taps "Accept and connect". Before anyone pairs, the App shows what will be shared: the person sending the invite sees it on the invite screen, and the person accepting sees it above the Accept button. Creating an invite or accepting one is your agreement to this sharing.
What your Buddy can see (and what you can see of theirs, since sharing is mutual), while your pair has buddy access:
This sharing is part of what the buddy feature is, so there is no separate setting to turn parts of it off.
What is never shared: What you do inside any app, your browsing history, your messages with anyone other than your Buddy, your contacts, photos, location, or any other personal data. Your solo challenges stay private to you.
How to stop sharing: Leave the pair. Go to the Buddy tab, open the menu (⋮) and tap "Leave pair". Your Buddy is notified and the pair ends 24 hours later, or straight away if your Buddy chooses to end it now. Once the pair ends, your Buddy can no longer see your data or your chat. If your pair's buddy access lapses without the pair ending, sharing pauses until one of you renews.
Reporting a Buddy: If your Buddy behaves inappropriately, open the menu (⋮) in your buddy chat, or their profile, and tap "Report and unpair". Your pair ends straight away, and your Buddy is only told that it has ended, not that you reported them. We keep a small record of the report: who reported whom, the reason you picked, your optional note, and when. We do not copy your chat into it. Only we can see it, and it is deleted when either of your accounts is deleted.
What is it? Your device's notification token, used to send push notifications (for example, a new chat message, a nudge from your Buddy, trial and subscription reminders, and challenge updates). The App also shows some notifications itself, without our servers, such as "yesterday's results are in" and updates about your Buddy's progress; to do this it checks your Buddy's shared figures in the background while your pair has buddy access.
Why do we collect it? To keep you informed about your Buddy and your challenges. You can turn notifications off in your device settings.
What is it? Crash reports, app performance data and usage events (for example, which screens are opened), collected through Firebase Crashlytics, Firebase Analytics and Sentry.
Why do we collect it? To find and fix bugs, keep the App stable, and understand which features are useful. We avoid sending precise screen-time figures in diagnostics.
What is it? If you ask us to review a failed challenge, we collect the text of your request, the challenge ID, its status and failure date, and when you submitted it.
Why do we collect it? To decide whether a penalty or a payment setup problem was caused by a technical error, and to process any refund. This data is used only to resolve your request.
REQUEST_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATIONS)What is it? Permission to be exempt from Android's battery-saving limits on background work.
Why do we request it? So background screen-time syncing and end-of-day checks run reliably. We do not collect battery information.
What is it? Invite codes and links you create or open. To connect you with the person who invited you without typing a code, the App may read the invite code from the link you opened, from Google Play's install referrer (when you installed the App from an invite link), or from your clipboard when you first open the App after onboarding (only to look for a copied invite code).
Why do we collect it? Only to connect you with the person who invited you. The App does not collect or upload any other clipboard content, and an invite code is cleared once it has been used. Invites expire after 7 days.
All data in transit is encrypted (HTTPS/TLS). Your data is stored in cloud databases run by our service providers (Google Firebase). Access is limited to what the App needs to work, and your Buddy can only read your shared figures while your pair has buddy access.
As described in Section 2E, your shared screen-time figures, streak and most used apps are visible only to your paired Buddy, and only while your pair has buddy access.
We do not sell your personal data. We use these providers to run the App:
These providers may use your data only to provide their service to us.
Chat messages are kept while your pair exists (including while buddy access is paused) and are deleted about 3 days after the pair ends.
Report records (see Section 2E) are kept until either account involved is deleted.
Shared figures (the ones your Buddy sees, including your app list) are replaced as new ones are synced, and deleted from our servers when your pair no longer has buddy access. Your daily limit setting is kept so it can be restored on a new phone.
Deleting your account: You can delete your account at any time from Profile → Account Management → Delete Account. This ends your pairing and permanently removes your profile data from our active databases. You cannot delete your account while a challenge is still running (see the Terms of Service).
Fraud prevention: To stop people deleting and re-creating accounts to avoid penalties, we may keep a non-reversible, anonymized fingerprint of your device identifier or payment method on a secure blocklist. It is used only for fraud prevention and legal compliance.
The App is for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18.
We may update this policy. We will tell you about important changes in the App and update the Effective Date above.
Questions about this policy or your data? Contact us through Help & Feedback in the App, or email support@screenchallengebuddy.com.