Anchor Privacy Policy

Anchor's core protection features (selecting apps to protect, setting daily limits, and blocking) work entirely on your device and do not require an account. Creating an account is only needed for optional cloud features: keeping your setup in sync across devices, subscribing to Anchor Pro, and using the Accountability Partner feature.

Account information. If you create an account, we collect the email address and password you provide. Your password is handled entirely by Firebase Authentication (a Google service) — we never see or store your raw password ourselves.

Protection settings. Which apps you've chosen to protect, the daily time limits you've set, and your protection on/off status. These are stored locally on your device at all times, and are also stored in our cloud database (see “Third-Party Service Providers” below) while you're signed in, so your setup can sync across devices and so an Accountability Partner you've invited can see your protection status.

App usage data. To enforce your daily limits, Anchor checks which app is currently in the foreground on your device, using Android's Usage Access permission. This check happens on-device to decide whether to show a blocking screen — we do not collect a browsing history of every app you open, only the protected-app usage needed to track today's limit, which may be synced to our cloud database if you're signed in and it's relevant to your protection status or an active Accountability Partner relationship.

Accountability Partner data. If you invite someone as your Accountability Partner, we collect their email address to send the invitation and, once they accept, link their account to yours. See “Accountability Partner sharing” below for exactly what this feature shares.

Subscription and billing data. Anchor Pro is purchased and billed entirely through Google Play Billing. We never collect or store your payment card details — Google processes all payments. We do receive purchase confirmation data from Google Play (such as whether an active "anchor_pro" subscription exists) so the app can unlock Pro features.

Device and diagnostic data. We generate a random device/session identifier (not your phone's hardware ID or advertising ID) to enforce that your account is only actively signed in on one device at a time. We also use Firebase Analytics (a Google service) to collect basic, non-identifying usage data such as app opens and general feature usage, to help us understand how Anchor is used and to fix problems.

Usage Access lets Anchor detect which app is currently open, so it can enforce your daily limits and trigger the blocking screen. "Display over other apps" lets Anchor show that blocking screen on top of a protected app. Notifications let Anchor tell you when monitoring is active or a limit is reached. None of these permissions let Anchor read the content of other apps, your messages, browsing content, or anything beyond "which app is currently in the foreground" — Anchor only ever sees app identity and timing, never in-app content.

We use the information above to: operate and maintain Anchor's core features; keep your protection settings in sync across your devices; verify and unlock Anchor Pro after purchase; operate the Accountability Partner feature; maintain the one-device-at-a-time security of your account; respond to support requests you send us; and understand aggregate usage to improve the app. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

The Accountability Partner feature is opt-in and exists specifically so a person you choose and invite can help hold you accountable to your own protection settings. Once you invite someone and they accept, they will be able to see: your email address, whether you're currently on the Free or Pro plan, the list of apps you've chosen to protect and their daily limits, whether protection is currently on, and any requests you send them (for example, to temporarily lift a limit) along with their approve/reject status.

Your Accountability Partner cannot see your general app usage outside of what's listed above, cannot see messages or content inside any app, and cannot see your location. You can end an active Accountability Partner relationship from within the app at any time (subject to any partner-configured restriction you agreed to when connecting, such as requiring a request to remove them).

Because you choose who to invite, you're responsible for only inviting someone you actually want to have this level of visibility into your protection settings.

Anchor Pro is a subscription sold and billed through Google Play. We use the Google Play Billing Library to check, on your device, whether an active "anchor_pro" purchase exists, and unlock Pro features accordingly.

Because Anchor currently has no backend server to verify purchases independently, Pro status is tied to whichever Google Play Store account is active on your device at the time, rather than being cryptographically bound to your Anchor account. In practice this means: Pro status follows you automatically when you sign into the same Anchor account on a new device using the same Google Play Store account; if a different Anchor account is used on a device that already owns an active Anchor Pro purchase, that account may also show as Pro; and if Pro doesn’t appear automatically after signing in on a new device, you can restore it manually using the "Restore purchases" option on the Subscription screen. We disclose this so you understand exactly how entitlement works today — we intend to tighten this in a future update.

To keep the Accountability Partner feature meaningful (so a partner is always looking at one clear, current state), Anchor allows an account to be actively signed in on only one device at a time. Signing in on a new device will require you to sign out elsewhere first, or will automatically take over after a period of inactivity on the previous device.

We rely on the following third-party services, each of which processes data on our behalf under its own privacy terms: Firebase Authentication and Cloud Firestore (Google LLC) — store your account and app data on Google Cloud infrastructure; Firebase Analytics (Google LLC) — basic usage analytics as described above; Google Play Billing (Google LLC) — processes all subscription payments. We do not use any advertising networks and do not share your data with data brokers.

We keep your account data for as long as your account is active. You can permanently delete your account and associated cloud data at any time from Settings > Delete Account, which removes your account, protection settings stored in our database, and your Accountability Partner relationship. Data stored only locally on your device is removed when you uninstall the app. Deleting your account does not cancel an active Google Play subscription — that must be cancelled separately through Google Play.

You can review and change your protection settings at any time within the app, revoke your Accountability Partner relationship at any time (subject to any in-app restriction you agreed to), and delete your account and data as described above. You can also contact us using the details below to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information.

Anchor is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures, including Firebase's authentication and access-control rules, to protect your information. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Because we use Google's Firebase and Google Play infrastructure, your information may be processed and stored on servers located outside your country of residence.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted in the app with an updated "Last updated" date. If a change is material, we’ll make reasonable efforts to bring it to your attention.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how your information is handled, contact us at developerkhurramnaseem@gmail.com.