Privacy Policy | Appcognito

Appcognito is built privacy-first, and this policy is short because we collect very little. Appcognito is a focus and app-blocking app for Android, published by Seozial. The guiding rule is simple: the data that reveals your habits and weak spots stays on your phone.

The short version: Appcognito has no account. Your block lists, activity and settings stay on your device and never reach us. We do not track you, show ads, or sell data. The only things the app ever sends are ones you choose (like entering the giveaway), one privacy-preserving check that keeps the free trial fair, and, if you turn on the optional AI focus feature with your own key, screen text to the AI provider you chose. All explained in section 5.

1. Our privacy principles

On-device by default. The features that need to understand your behaviour run locally on your phone.
No account. You never create a login, so there is no profile of you on a server anywhere.
Data minimisation. We do not request information a feature does not strictly need.
No surveillance economy. No ads, no third-party trackers, no selling or sharing of personal data.

2. Information handled on your device

The following is created and used entirely on your phone and is never transmitted to us:

Block lists and settings: the apps, sites, keywords and limits you choose, plus preferences like theme and your first name.
Activity and streaks: focus sessions and your Aurith streak, shown only to you.
On-screen text: for optional features that read the screen (keyword blocking and the Off-topic study feature), on-screen text is checked locally in real time. Keyword blocking reads visible text only and never captures the screen. The optional Off-topic feature can additionally take a screenshot of the current screen and read text inside images and videos using on-device text recognition (OCR); that screenshot is processed in memory and discarded immediately, never saved. None of this leaves your phone unless you turn on Off-topic Strict mode, explained in section 5.
Installed apps and usage: read locally so you can choose what to block and see your screen time.

3. Permissions, and exactly why each is used

Android asks for your consent before any sensitive capability is used. We request only what a feature needs, when you turn it on. None of these permissions send your data to us or anyone else.

VPN service Core

Powers the local, on-device firewall that blocks apps and sites. Traffic is filtered on your phone and never routed through our servers.

Usage access Core

Reads which apps you use so you can set limits and see honest on-device insights. The data stays on your phone.

Accessibility Optional

For optional features that read the screen: keyword blocking, and the Off-topic study feature. On-screen text is checked locally in real time. Off-topic can also capture a screenshot of the current screen to read text inside images and videos (on-device text recognition); that screenshot is processed in memory and immediately discarded, never saved. Nothing leaves your phone unless you turn on Off-topic Strict mode, which sends the text it reads to the AI provider you set up.

Display over other apps Core

Shows the block screen on top of an app you have chosen to limit.

Notifications Optional

Sends focus reminders and streak nudges. You stay in control of what you receive.

Device admin Optional

Enables uninstall protection, and only if you turn it on. It can be removed any time in settings.

Bluetooth and location Optional

Only for automations you create that depend on a device, Wi-Fi network or place. To switch blocking on and off even when Appcognito is closed or after a restart, location can run in the background. It is checked live on your device to match your rules, and is never recorded or sent anywhere.

Optional permissions stay off until you enable the feature that uses them, and you can revoke any permission at any time in your Android settings.

4. Processed on your device, never collected

This is the heart of how Appcognito works. To block distractions, the app does need to look at some things on your phone in the moment, but that processing happens entirely on the device and the result is never stored by us or sent anywhere. We do not "collect" this data in any meaningful sense, because it never leaves your phone.

Which app is open is checked locally so a block can be applied, then discarded. We never receive it.
On-screen text is read locally by two optional features you turn on. Keyword blocking scans visible text only to decide whether to block; it is never saved, screenshotted or transmitted, and it cannot see content shown only as a picture or video. The Off-topic study feature goes a step further: to tell whether you are on your chosen topic it reads on-screen text and, when that is not enough, captures a screenshot of the current screen and reads the text inside images and videos with on-device recognition (OCR). That screenshot exists in memory only, is used to extract words, and is discarded straight away; it is never saved and never uploaded as an image. In Moderate mode all of this stays on your device; only in Strict mode is the extracted text sent onward, to the AI provider you set up (section 5).
Your usage and screen time are calculated on-device for your own insights. The numbers stay on your phone.
Your Wi-Fi network or location, only for automations you create that depend on a network or place, is checked live on-device. With your permission this includes the background, so a rule can switch blocking on or off when Appcognito is closed or after a restart. It is matched against your own rules and then discarded. It is never recorded, mapped, or sent anywhere.
Your name, block lists and settings live in local storage on your device, not on a server.

And there are things we simply never touch at all: no contacts, no photos, no messages, no advertising identifiers, and no third-party analytics or ad SDKs in the app. The app sends a small amount of data to us in only the narrow, purpose-limited cases described in the next section (an email you choose to give us, and a one-way check to keep the free trial fair). Outside those, your personal data never reaches us, so there is nothing for us to profile or sell.

5. The limited data the app sends to us

Outside your device, the app contacts our database (Supabase) in only the cases below. Each is for the single stated purpose, is never linked to your block lists or activity, and is never used for tracking, profiling, advertising or resale.

Giveaway entry, only if you enter. If you choose to enter our Pro giveaway (such as Mindful Monday), we store the email you type for one reason: to email you a promo code if you are selected in the draw. That is its only use. It is never sold, never used to track or profile you, and you can ask us to delete it at any time. If you win, redeeming the code starts Pro through Google Play. We do not process that payment; Google handles billing. The subscription is governed by our Terms & Conditions, including the 90-day free period and how to cancel before renewal.
News and updates, only if you subscribe. Separately, and as a distinct opt-in from the giveaway, if you sign up for Appcognito news we store that email solely to send you those updates (our newsletter). It is never sold, and you can unsubscribe or ask us to delete it whenever you like.
Free-trial reinstall check. Appcognito offers a 7-day free trial with no account and no card. To keep that fair, we need to know whether a device has already used its free trial, otherwise the same phone could claim it over and over by reinstalling. So when you claim the trial, the app reads your Android device identifier (the "Android ID"), hashes it on your device with SHA-256 and a fixed salt, and sends only that one-way hash to our database, along with the length of the trial granted. We store nothing else: not the raw identifier, and not your device name, model, type or any other device information. The hash cannot be turned back into your device ID, it is not linked to your name, email or activity, and it is used for exactly one thing, checking whether this device already claimed the free trial. It is never used to track, profile or advertise to you, and it is never sold.

These are stored with our database provider, Supabase. You can contact us to delete a giveaway or newsletter email at any time.

Optional AI focus feature ("Off-topic"), using your own key

Appcognito includes an optional automation called Off-topic that helps you stay on a study topic while you use apps you have allowed. It is off by default and you turn it on yourself. Setting it up, and its Strict mode, use a third-party AI provider (OpenRouter) with your own API key, which is stored encrypted on your device. Before it starts, the app tells you plainly what it will do, and it only begins after you enable it.

How it reads your screen. While the feature is active and you are in an allowed app, it reads on-screen text every few seconds. When that text alone is not enough, for example when content is shown inside an image or a video, it captures a screenshot of the current screen and extracts the text from it using on-device text recognition (OCR). The screenshot is held in memory only, used to read the words on it, and discarded straight away. It is never saved to your device and never uploaded as an image, and there is no screen recording.
Moderate mode stays on your phone. In Moderate mode, the words read from your screen are matched against your chosen topic entirely on your device. Nothing is sent anywhere. Setting up the topic once does use the AI to build the word list, but ongoing checking does not.
Strict mode, and what is sent, and to whom. If, and only if, you choose Strict mode, the text read from your screen is sent to OpenRouter so the AI can judge whether you are on your chosen topic. This goes directly from your device to OpenRouter using your key. It does not pass through us, and we never see, store or process it.
Your choice, your risk. Because this uses a third-party service you set up, any data sent in Strict mode is handled under OpenRouter's own terms and privacy policy, not ours. Any breach or misuse on their side is outside our control and is at your own risk. We do not run any private AI model of our own.
Turn it off any time. Disable the automation or remove your key and it stops immediately: no screen reading, no screenshots, and nothing sent anywhere.

6. Purchases

Appcognito Pro is sold through Google Play Billing. Google processes the payment and tells the app whether you have an active entitlement. We never see or store your payment details, and we keep no backend record of your purchase. Google's handling of payment data is governed by the Google Privacy Policy.

7. This website

This marketing website is separate from the app. The only personal details it stores are ones you choose to give us, and only for the purpose you gave them:

Email sign-ups are opt-in. If you enter your email, it is because you asked to hear from us, so we use it only to send Appcognito news, launch updates and the occasional promotion or newsletter. It is never used to track or profile you, never sold, and you can unsubscribe or ask us to delete it at any time.
Feedback you send through our feedback form is stored only so we can read it, act on it, and reply if you chose to add your email. We use it to improve Appcognito, not to track you, and sending feedback does not sign you up for any marketing.

Both are stored with our database provider, Supabase, and you can ask us to delete either at any time.

To understand how the site performs, we use Google Tag Manager, which can load analytics such as Google Analytics. How these analytics cookies behave depends on where you are, and you are always in control:

In the EU and UK, analytics cookies are off by default. We show a cookie banner and load them only if you choose "Accept".
Elsewhere, analytics cookies are on by default to help us improve the site, and you can turn them off at any time using the "Cookie preferences" link in the footer.

Whatever your region, you can change your choice at any time with the "Cookie preferences" link, and if you decline, no analytics or advertising cookies are set. Essential cookies needed for the site to work are always allowed. This applies to the website only; it never has access to anything inside the app, which stays on your device. Our hosting provider may also keep standard technical request logs (such as IP address and user agent) for security and reliability.

8. Data security

Your data is protected by your device's own security, including its lock screen and encryption. Sensitive values such as your app-lock PIN are stored using Android's secure keystore. Because nothing is uploaded, there is no central database of users for an attacker to breach.

9. Data retention and deletion

Your app data lives on your device for as long as the app is installed, and uninstalling removes it. You can also clear specific data from within the app. For the little we do hold: email us and we will delete any email you gave us for the giveaway or for updates. The free-trial reinstall check stores only a salted, one-way hash that is not linked to your identity; it is kept solely to keep the trial fair, and we will delete it on request where we can identify the entry.

10. Children's privacy

Appcognito is for general audiences, including parents who set it up on a child's device. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children, because we do not collect personal information through the app at all.

11. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct or delete personal data, or to object to its processing. Since your app data never leaves your device, you already hold and control it directly. For the limited data we do hold, an email you sent us or the anonymous free-trial hash, contact us to exercise any of these rights.

12. Changes and contact

We may update this policy as Appcognito grows, including making it stricter or clarifying how something is handled. When we do, we will revise the date above, and any material change to how data is handled will be made clear. Continuing to use Appcognito or this website after a change means you accept the updated policy. Questions? Email apps.help@seozial.com.