Privacy policy
Your usage data never leaves this phone.
1. In one paragraph
ByIntent runs locally on your iPhone. It sends no network requests to any server, uses no analytics service, no third-party SDK and no advertising identifier. Your rules, your usage events and the apps you picked in the system picker all stay on this one device. We — the developers — cannot see any of it.
That is not a nice sentence on a policy page but a technical fact about this build: there is no networking code in the app or in its four system extensions.
2. What we record
ByIntent records “events” locally, which is how the numbers you see in the app are computed. Each event holds:
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| Event id | A locally generated random identifier used for deduplication. It carries nothing about you |
| Occurred at | When the event happened, plus the time-zone offset |
| Target token | The opaque identifier iOS provides. It is not an app name and cannot be turned back into one |
| Event type | Open attempt, chose not to open, granted access, threshold reached, rule change, focus start/end, review, permission lost/restored |
| Policy version | The version number of the rule snapshot in force at that moment |
| Account mode | Always “adult self-management” in this release |
| Duration (optional) | Minutes of use or of a pass |
| Reason (optional) | After an emergency pass you may tap Work / Family / Travel / Other — or simply ignore it |
Besides events, the device stores: the rule values you set (quota, counts, windows), the guard list and essential-apps allow list you picked in the system picker (as opaque iOS tokens), your palette preference, and the commitment-mode switch and self-declarations.
3. What we never record
- No content inside apps: no chats, posts, videos or search terms — iOS never hands us those.
- No app names. We only ever receive opaque tokens and labels the system renders itself.
- No screenshots, no screen recording, no screen-content analysis.
- No location, contacts, calendar, photos, microphone, health data, keyboard input or browsing history.
- No advertising identifier (IDFA), no profiling, no cross-app tracking.
- No free text. The session review has three fixed answers (did it / didn’t finish / rather not say).
- No account sign-in or sign-out events — identity actions are kept out of the behavioural event log.
4. Where the data lives
On your iPhone: the app’s own sandbox database, plus an App Group container the system extensions read and write (rules file, state file, event file, palette file). These files are protected by iOS data protection.
- Nothing is uploaded. This release has no server and no upload path.
- Nothing is synced. iCloud sync is off in this release and the app says so plainly. The tokens you pick in the system picker are, by Apple’s design, device-bound anyway.
- No telemetry. Anonymous telemetry is off in this release and the app says so plainly. If it is ever switched on, it will be a default-off, separately consented switch — never folded into one blanket consent.
- Retention. Events stay on the device until you delete them; this release neither uploads nor auto-prunes them. If a retention cap is introduced later, we will update this policy and explain it in the app.
- Deleting the app removes its sandbox and App Group container, and everything in them.
5. Screen Time and permissions
ByIntent uses the following system permissions, each requested only when it is needed:
- Screen Time (Family Controls) — required. It is what lets you pick the apps to guard in the system picker, and what lets ByIntent appear when you open them. What we receive is a set of opaque tokens, not a list of apps. We do not detect which apps you have installed.
- Notifications — optional. One reminder each when a plan ends, when a quota is close, and for the weekly digest. Nothing is re-sent, and declining does not affect how rules are enforced.
The system’s Screen Time statistics belong to iOS. ByIntent can embed Apple’s report view inside the Insights screen, but cannot read or store any number in it — that is Apple’s boundary, not our choice.
You can revoke the authorization at any time under Settings → Screen Time. When you do, ByIntent stops claiming to protect you and shows a repair screen instead; recorded data is unaffected.
6. Sign in with Apple
Signing in is entirely optional — every core feature works without an account.
- Signing in only establishes a local identity: the user identifier Apple returns, plus the name and email you chose to share.
- These credentials live in the device Keychain, marked this-device-only, so they are not synced to the iCloud Keychain and never enter the App Group (all four system extensions are unable to read them).
- Signing in makes no network request and changes none of your rules.
- “Sign out” clears the signed-in state on this device only; rules, history and the guard list all stay.
7. Export and deletion
- Export. Settings → Data & deletion → Export events writes out the raw
events.jsonlfile, with exactly the fields listed in section 2. Where it goes is up to you. - Deletion. “Delete all history” on the same screen clears every event on this phone. It asks for confirmation and cannot be undone. Rules and the guard list are kept.
- Export and deletion are free forever and will never sit behind a paywall.
8. Subscriptions and payment
This website sells nothing and collects no payment information. If a subscription ships later, every purchase will happen inside the app through Apple’s in-app purchase; payment methods, billing and refunds are handled by Apple, and we never receive your card details.
The core — intent gate, basic limits, emergency passes, export and deletion — stays free.
9. Minors
This release is the adult self-management edition, intended for people aged 18 and over. It is not directed at children and we do not knowingly collect information from them. The family and minor modes are not shipped yet; before they are, an assessment of age assurance, guardian consent and children’s privacy has to be completed.
If you believe a minor has provided us with information, write to support@byintent.app.
10. Your rights
Because the data only exists on your device, you can exercise these yourself without asking us:
- Access and portability: export
events.jsonlfrom within the app. - Erasure: “Delete all history” in the app, or delete the app itself.
- Withdraw consent: revoke Screen Time authorization or notification permission in system settings.
- Object and restrict: ByIntent does no profiling, no automated scoring, and puts your data to no advertising use whatsoever.
If your jurisdiction grants you further rights, or you would like our help, write to support@byintent.app.
11. Third parties
ByIntent integrates no third-party analytics, advertising or crash-reporting SDK, and shares, sells or rents your data to no one. The only outside party involved is Apple: system permissions, Sign in with Apple and any future in-app purchase are handled by Apple’s platform services under Apple’s own privacy policy.
If you have opted in to sharing crash and usage statistics with developers in your iOS settings, Apple collects and aggregates that; we see only Apple’s aggregate reports, which contain nothing that identifies you.
12. Changes
As features change, fields and purposes change with them. Any material change updates the effective date at the top of this page; if a change involves new collection or a new purpose, we will ask for your consent again inside the app rather than let an update slip it through.
13. Contact
Privacy questions, data requests, or a case where this page does not match what the app actually does — all welcome at support@byintent.app.
ByIntent is a general wellness tool that supports self-management. It is not intended to screen for, diagnose or treat any condition.