Privacy policy
Effective
The short version.
- De:activate runs on your device. There is no account and no server for the app.
- It reads Apple Health and never uploads it. The only thing it can write is a State of Mind entry, when you log how you felt and allow it.
- The AI, camera, motion and microphone features run entirely on your device. Nothing is recorded, kept or sent.
- Apple hides your blocked apps behind opaque tokens, so we cannot see which apps you block.
- Location is used only to tell whether you arrive at or leave a place you add. No routes, no history.
- No ads, no tracking and no analytics in the app.
- We do not sell or share data. This website uses no cookies, analytics or trackers.
Who we are
De:activate is an independent app for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. The operator of the app and this website is the controller of any personal data described here. Legal entity name and postal address will be added before launch. For any privacy question or request, email [email protected].
What the app uses, and where it stays
| Data | What for | Where it lives | Leaves your device? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Health data you allow (steps, workouts, sleep, mindful minutes, time in daylight) | Checking your goals and showing progress | Read from Apple Health when needed. Only the result (goal met or not, today's progress) is kept on your device | No |
| The apps, categories and websites you block | Blocking them | Held by Apple's Screen Time system. The app only receives opaque tokens it cannot read | No |
| Your activations, settings, streaks, pending changes, unblock balance | Running the app | On your device | No |
| Group names, blocked websites, whether blocking is on (no Health data) | Keeping your iPhone and iPad in step | Your own iCloud key-value storage, only if iCloud is on | Only to your iCloud, by Apple |
| How you felt (State of Mind), only if you log it | Your weekly reflection, and Apple Health if you allow it | On your device and in Apple Health | No |
| Front camera, only during a push-up challenge | Counting reps with Apple's Vision framework | Analysed frame by frame in memory. Never saved | No |
| Motion (iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods), only for Hands off and challenges | Noticing when your iPhone is picked up; counting squats, plank time and push-ups | Read live on your device. Only the count or result is kept | No |
| Your voice, only when you describe an activation by speaking | Turning speech into text for the on-device model | Apple's on-device speech recognition. No audio is kept | No |
| What you type or say to the AI (Describe it, Haggle, weekly reflection) | Drafting activations, counter-offers and your reflection | Apple's on-device model (Apple Intelligence) | No |
| Location, only if you use Places | Checking whether you are at a place you set | Evaluated on your device by iOS. We do not receive or store it | No |
| Your purchase | You buy the app once in the App Store | Handled by Apple. We receive no name, payment details or Apple ID | Apple processes it |
| Emails you send us | Answering you | Our email provider | Only if you write to us |
| Your email on the waitlist | Telling you when the app launches | Our web host in the Netherlands (TransIP), encrypted | Yes, only if you submit it |
Health data is sensitive and has extra protection under GDPR Article 9. Because it stays on your device and we never receive it, we cannot access it. We still behave as if we could: the app reads only what your activations need, only after you say yes, and never uses it for anything else.
Apple Health
The app reads only these types from Apple Health:
- Steps
- Walking and running distance
- Flights climbed
- Active energy
- Exercise minutes
- Stand hours
- Workouts (type and duration)
- Mindful minutes
- Sleep (the asleep stages)
- Time in daylight
- Your daily Activity rings summary (whether Move, Exercise and Stand are closed)
- The app reads a type only if you use it in a workflow or check. You choose what to share in Apple's permission sheet. You can change that any time in Settings > Health > Data Access & Devices.
- The app writes to Apple Health only one thing: a State of Mind entry when you log how you felt and have allowed it in Apple's permission sheet. It never writes or changes any other Health data.
- Data you type in by hand is ignored by default. To count it, turn on "Count Health data you type in" in the app's Settings. That switch takes 24 hours to apply.
- To suggest sensible goals (Calibrate), the app reads your daily totals for the last 28 days and suggests a goal from them. That happens on your device; nothing is sent.
- Health data is not used for advertising, marketing or profiling, is not given to anyone, and is not stored in iCloud.
- Data from other apps and wearables reaches the app only through Apple Health.
- If you do not allow access, blocking still works. Health-based goals simply show no progress.
Screen Time and location
Screen Time tokens
The app uses Apple's Screen Time technology (Family Controls, ManagedSettings, DeviceActivity) to block the apps you choose. You authorise it for yourself only. Apple shows you which apps you picked; we only get hidden tokens, so we cannot see which apps you chose and we do not measure how long you use any app. You can revoke access in iOS Settings > Screen Time.
Places
Location is optional and only used if you create a Place. iOS checks it on your device and tells the app when you arrive at or leave the place. The app keeps no route or location history. Coordinates are not sent to us or to any server. Turn it off any time in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
AI, camera, motion and microphone
Each of these is optional, asks for Apple's permission the first time, and is processed only on your device. Nothing is recorded, uploaded or shared, and we never receive it.
- On-device AI. Describe it, Haggle and the weekly reflection use Apple's on-device foundation model. Your words and numbers do not leave the device, and are not used to train any model. The model only suggests: the app's own limits decide what opens. Without Apple Intelligence, simpler built-in versions are used.
- Camera. The front camera is used only while you do a push-up challenge. Frames are analysed in memory with Apple's Vision framework to count reps, then discarded. No photo or video is saved.
- Motion. Hands off uses your iPhone's motion sensors to notice when it is picked up. Challenges read motion from your iPhone, Apple Watch or AirPods to count squats and time a plank. Only the result is kept.
- Microphone. Used only while you speak an activation, with Apple's on-device speech recognition. No audio is stored.
- State of Mind. If you answer "How did that feel?", the answer stays on your device and, if you allow it, is saved to Apple Health as State of Mind.
iCloud sync
If you are signed in to iCloud, the app uses Apple's iCloud key-value storage to keep your groups, blocked websites and on/off state in step between your own iPhone and iPad. That data goes to your private iCloud account, under Apple's terms and privacy policy, and we cannot read it.
What we do not do
- No account and no sign-in.
- No advertising and no ad networks.
- No analytics, crash-reporting or tracking SDKs in the app, and no cross-app or cross-site tracking.
- No selling, renting or sharing of data, because we do not hold it.
- No profiling or automated decisions with legal effects. Blocking follows only the activations you set.
The waitlist
Joining stores only the email address you type, the time you joined and where you came from (for example "website"), so we can tell you when the app launches. The list is kept on our web host in the Netherlands, outside the public website. Each address is encrypted before it is saved, and the key that can read it is kept offline by us, not on the server. To stop abuse, the server also keeps a scrambled, one-way code of your connection for one hour; it is never stored next to your address. You can leave at any time on deactivate.cc/unsubscribe: your address is deleted at once. We keep only an anonymous count of sign-ups (the day someone joined and, if they left, the day they left), which can't be linked back to you. We delete the list after launch.
This website
This site is static. It sets no cookies, uses no analytics and loads nothing from third parties, so there is no cookie banner. It is hosted by TransIP in the Netherlands and delivered through Cloudflare, which protects it against attacks and serves it quickly. Both may keep short-lived technical logs (such as IP addresses) for security and operation, as all web services do.
Legal basis (GDPR)
- Health data: your explicit consent (Art. 9(2)(a)), given in the app and in Apple's Health permission sheet. You can withdraw it at any time.
- Running the app and your purchase: performance of our contract with you (Art. 6(1)(b)).
- Waitlist: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)), withdrawn by asking us to delete your address.
- Support emails: our legitimate interest in answering you (Art. 6(1)(f)).
Your rights and choices
You have the right to access, correct, erase, restrict and port your personal data, to object to processing, and to withdraw consent at any time. Because the app keeps your data on your device, you can do most of this yourself:
- Stop Health access: iOS Settings > Health > Data Access & Devices, or in the app's settings.
- Delete what the app stores: see "Deleting your data" below.
- Stop Screen Time access: iOS Settings > Screen Time.
- Waitlist and emails: write to [email protected] and we will answer within one month.
You can complain to the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) or to the authority in your own country.
Deleting your data
- In the app: go to Settings > Privacy > Delete all De:activate data. This is only possible when blocking is off. Switching blocking off takes 24 hours, by design.
- Delete the app: this removes all data stored on your device.
- iCloud: to remove the synced groups, websites and on/off state, switch off iCloud for the app in the iCloud section of the iOS Settings app.
- Waitlist: remove your address yourself on deactivate.cc/unsubscribe, or email [email protected] and we will remove it.
How long we keep data
- In-app data stays on your device until you delete it or delete the app.
- Waitlist emails are deleted after launch, or at once when you leave on the unsubscribe page. The anonymous count of joins and departures (days only, no addresses) may be kept.
- Support emails: up to 12 months after the issue is closed.
Security
Data stays in your device's protected storage. The app does not send Health or Screen Time data over any network. Keep a passcode set on your device: the shield screen of a blocked app can show your goal progress.
The website and waitlist are served only over HTTPS. Each waitlist address is encrypted with a 3072-bit RSA public key (OAEP) before it is stored, outside the public website, in a folder only our hosting account can open. The key that can decrypt the list is not on the server, so the server cannot read the addresses back. Nothing on the website ever returns stored addresses.
Children
The app is for people aged 16 and over and is not directed at children. If you think a child has given us personal data, write to us and we will delete it.
Recipients and international transfers
Apple provides the App Store, payments and iCloud under its own privacy policy, and may process data globally. We transfer no Health or Screen Time data because we never receive it. Cloudflare, which delivers this website and forwards email sent to us, is a US company; it processes data under the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. Our providers receive only what you send them.
Changes
If this policy changes in a meaningful way, we will update this page and the date above, and tell you in the app before it applies. We would never take data off your device without asking you first.
Wellbeing note
The app is a wellness tool, not medical advice or care. If you feel unwell or unsafe, contact a healthcare professional or emergency services (112 in the EU).