Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Pauseway is developed and operated by Jookwang Jung (“Pauseway,” “we,” “us”). We are the controller responsible for the limited information described in this policy. You can reach us at jaykaysm@gmail.com.

This policy covers the Pauseway iPhone app and its extensions (the “App”) and the website at pauseway.me (the “Site”). Third-party services we rely on, such as Apple, Google, and RevenueCat, also have their own privacy policies, linked below.

2. Information kept only on your device

To work, the App stores the following in an Apple “App Group” container on your iPhone, shared only between the App and its own Screen Time extensions. None of it is sent to us.

• Your selection: opaque tokens that Apple’s Screen Time picker creates for the individual apps you choose. If you also tick categories or websites in Apple’s picker, Pauseway discards them.
• Protection state: whether Screen Time access is granted and whether shields are applied.
• Social Pass state: the pass length you chose (10, 20, or 30 minutes), when a pass started, and internal identifiers that keep Apple’s usage threshold in step with the App.
• Progress counters: local counts such as how often you turned back at a shield, passes started, ads requested or completed, and in-app unlocks you abandoned. Daily counts are kept for the last 14 days; all-time totals are kept until you delete the App.
• Preferences: your accent color, onboarding status, and how the shield should look.
• Plan cache: whether you currently have Pauseway Pro, so the App keeps working offline for up to three days before re-checking.

Deleting the App removes this container and everything in it.

3. Screen Time data

Pauseway uses Apple’s Family Controls, Managed Settings, and Device Activity frameworks with “individual” authorization — you authorize Pauseway for yourself on your own iPhone.

• Apple shows you its own picker. Pauseway receives only opaque tokens, never app names or bundle identifiers, and does not try to work out what they are.
• Shields are applied by iOS. When a Social Pass reaches its limit, iOS tells Pauseway’s extension that the threshold was reached; Pauseway learns that it was reached, not what you did.
• The “today” minutes you see next to each app are drawn by Apple’s Device Activity report extension inside a privacy sandbox. Pauseway’s app cannot read, store, or transmit those numbers.

Pauseway does not request Apple’s separate “App and Website Usage” data access.

4. Free plan, rewarded ads, and consent

On the Free plan, a Social Pass costs one rewarded ad served by Google AdMob. Pauseway does not start Google’s ad software when the App opens. It starts it only after you ask to watch an ad and, where required, after Google’s consent form (Google User Messaging Platform) has been completed.

When you request an ad, Google may collect or process:

• approximate location derived from your IP address;
• a device identifier — the Apple advertising identifier (IDFA) only if you allow tracking, otherwise identifiers limited to Pauseway;
• advertising data and how you interact with the ad;
• crash, performance, and other diagnostic data; and
• your consent choices.

Google uses this to deliver the ad, confirm you earned the reward, prevent fraud, measure performance, and — only where you have allowed it — personalize ads. Pauseway itself receives only whether an ad loaded and whether the reward was granted.

Tracking permission. Pauseway shows Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt only when a Free user first asks for an ad. Declining is fine: you can still watch ads and use every feature, and Google will not receive the IDFA.

Consent in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland. Google’s consent form asks for your choice before ads are requested. You can change it any time from Settings → Ad privacy choices in the App when that option is shown.

Pauseway Pro subscribers never request ads, so Google’s ad software is not used for them.

Learn more in the Google Privacy Policy and how Google uses information from apps that use its services.

5. Subscriptions (Pauseway Pro)

Apple processes all payments. We never receive your name, card, or billing details.

RevenueCat verifies purchases and tells the App whether Pro is active. Because Pauseway has no accounts, RevenueCat’s software creates a random anonymous ID. Pauseway does not give RevenueCat your name, email, advertising identifier, or Screen Time information. RevenueCat receives App Store transaction and receipt details, the anonymous ID, and basic technical information such as App version, iOS version, device model, country or App Store storefront, and language, which it uses to validate purchases and provide subscription status. See the RevenueCat Privacy Policy.

We can view purchase records in RevenueCat and App Store Connect (for example, that an anonymous customer started a yearly plan) to support customers, prevent fraud, and keep financial records. These records are not linked to your identity.

6. Apple services

Pauseway relies on Apple frameworks and the App Store, including Screen Time, StoreKit, and notifications. Apple processes information under its own terms and the Apple Privacy Policy. If you share crash reports or analytics with app developers in iOS Settings, Apple may provide us with de-identified crash and usage reports through App Store Connect and TestFlight.

7. Notifications

Pauseway asks for notification permission when you start your first Social Pass. Notifications (for example, “Social Pass finished”) are created on your iPhone by the App. Pauseway does not use a push-notification server and sends no notification content to us.

8. When you email us

If you contact support, we receive your email address, your message, and anything you choose to attach. We use it only to answer you and improve Pauseway. Please don’t send passwords, payment details, or screenshots that show private information. Email is handled by our email provider (Google Gmail).

9. This website

pauseway.me is a static site hosted on Google Firebase Hosting. It sets no cookies, uses no analytics or advertising tags, and loads its fonts from this domain rather than a third-party font service.

Like any web host, Firebase Hosting processes your IP address, browser user agent, and the pages requested in order to deliver the site, protect it from abuse, and keep short-lived server logs. If you choose a different accent color on the home page, that choice is saved only in your own browser’s storage.

10. Data at a glance

This mirrors the App Privacy section of our App Store listing.

11. Sharing and sale

We do not sell personal information and we do not share your on-device data with anyone. Information reaches Apple, Google, or RevenueCat only as described above, to run Screen Time controls, show rewarded ads, or verify subscriptions. These companies act under their own policies and, where applicable, as our service providers or processors.

We may disclose information if required by law, to protect the rights and safety of users or others, or as part of a transfer of the Pauseway business, in which case this policy will continue to apply to the information transferred.

12. Legal bases (EEA, UK, Switzerland)

• Contract: to provide the App, Social Passes, and Pauseway Pro you asked for.
• Consent: for personalized ads and for any use of device storage or identifiers that requires consent, collected through Google’s consent form and Apple’s tracking prompt. You can withdraw consent at any time.
• Legitimate interests: to deliver non-personalized ads where permitted, prevent fraud and abuse, secure our services, and answer support requests.
• Legal obligation: to keep financial and tax records.

13. How long information is kept

• On your device: until you remove the selection or delete the App; daily progress counts roll off after 14 days.
• Google and RevenueCat: according to their own retention policies.
• Support emails: as long as needed to resolve your request, and no longer than 24 months unless the law requires otherwise.
• Website logs: short-term, under Firebase Hosting’s standard retention.

14. Your choices

• Decline tracking, or turn it off later in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
• Change ad consent from Settings → Ad privacy choices in the App, when shown.
• Upgrade to Pauseway Pro to stop ad requests entirely.
• Change or clear your app selection in Pauseway at any time.
• Turn off notifications in iOS Settings → Notifications → Pauseway.
• Remove Pauseway’s Screen Time access in iOS Settings, or delete the App to erase all of its on-device data.
• Manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings.

15. Your rights

Depending on where you live (for example, the EEA, UK, Switzerland, South Korea, or US states such as California), you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal information, to object to or restrict certain processing, to withdraw consent, and to complain to your local data protection authority.

Because Pauseway has no accounts and keeps your activity on your device, we usually hold no information that identifies you. For data held by Google or RevenueCat, you can use their tools, or email us and we will help — for subscription records, sharing the date and plan of your purchase lets us locate the anonymous record and ask RevenueCat to delete it. We respond within 30 days, and we will not treat you differently for exercising your rights.

16. Notice for US state residents

In the past 12 months, the categories of personal information processed in connection with Pauseway were: identifiers (device identifiers, IP address, anonymous purchase ID, and email if you write to us), commercial information (subscription purchases), internet or network activity (ad interactions), approximate geolocation, and inferences Google may draw for advertising where you allowed it. Sources are you, your device, Apple, Google, and RevenueCat.

We do not sell personal information for money. When you allow tracking, Google’s use of identifiers for personalized ads may count as “sharing” for cross-context behavioral advertising or “targeted advertising” under some state laws. To opt out, decline or turn off tracking, use Ad privacy choices where shown, or switch to Pauseway Pro. We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information to infer characteristics about you.

17. International transfers

Our service providers may process information in the United States and other countries. Where required, they rely on safeguards such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses and the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

18. Children

Pauseway 1.0 is intended for adults managing their own phone use. It is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age in your country), is not part of Apple’s Kids category, and does not ask anyone for a name, contact details, or precise location. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, email us and we will delete it.

19. Security

On-device data is protected by iOS app sandboxing and the security of your iPhone. Network traffic to Google, RevenueCat, and Apple is encrypted in transit. No method is perfectly secure, but by keeping your Screen Time data on your device, we avoid holding it at all.

20. Changes to this policy

We will update this policy when Pauseway’s features, partners, or legal requirements change, and revise the effective date above. If a change materially affects how your information is handled — for example, a future Family feature that syncs between devices — we will tell you in the App before it takes effect.

21. Contact

Questions, requests, or complaints: jaykaysm@gmail.com. Please include “Privacy” in the subject line.