1. Introduction
At DontRot we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store and protect your information when you use our mobile application (the “App”). Please read it carefully to understand our practices regarding your data.
By downloading, installing or using the App, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and agree to its terms. If you disagree with any part of it, please do not use the App.
2. Information We Collect
2.1. Information Stored Locally on Your Device
A core privacy principle of DontRot is that your activity data stays on your device. Unless you enable the optional account sync described in section 2.8, none of it is uploaded anywhere. The App stores the following locally:
- Step count data: detected by your device sensors, by our own accelerometer algorithm, or read from Health Connect if you connect a smartwatch or fitness band
- App usage statistics: which apps you use and for how long
- Blocked application data: the list of apps you have chosen to block
- Earned and used time: screen time earned through activity and time spent in blocked apps
- Activity and habit records: exercises, water intake, reading, meditation, routes and any other activity you complete in the App
- Daily statistics and streaks, aggregated over time
- Your settings and preferences, including the step counting method you selected and whether Health Connect is enabled
2.2. Permissions We Request
- Activity Recognition: to count steps and convert them into earned time
- Motion Sensors: used by our own step detection algorithm on devices whose built-in step sensor is unavailable or unreliable
- Usage Access: to measure time spent in apps and apply the limits you set
- Accessibility Service: to detect when a blocked app opens and show the blocking screen. This service reads only the identity of the app in the foreground. It never reads, stores or transmits the content of your screen, your messages or anything you type
- Display Over Other Apps: to show blocking screens and break reminders
- Notifications: to show the ongoing service notification and activity reminders
- Battery Optimisation Exemption: so step counting keeps working with the screen off
- Camera (optional, only while you use a camera feature): see section 2.3
- Internet: for subscription verification, advertising, crash reports and analytics
2.3. Camera and On-Device Image Processing
Some optional features use your camera:
- Exercise detection: while you perform push-ups, squats, crunches or a plank, the camera detects your body posture to count repetitions
- Activity scanners: to verify certain habits, such as photographing a glass of water or grass
For all of these:
- Processing happens entirely on your device using Google ML Kit. Images are analysed in real time and are not saved to your gallery
- No image, video or camera frame is ever uploaded to our servers or to any third party
- The camera is used only while you are actively inside one of these features, never in the background
- These features are optional. If you deny the camera permission the rest of the App keeps working
2.4. Analytics and Crash Reports
The App uses Google Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics to understand how the App is used and to detect and fix crashes. This includes:
- Anonymous, aggregated usage events, such as which screens are opened, whether onboarding was completed, or whether a purchase screen was viewed
- Technical crash information: device model, operating system version, App version and the technical stack trace of the error
This data is anonymous and aggregated. It does not identify you personally, we never attach your name, email or any account to it, and it is not used to build an advertising profile of you. It never includes your health data, your app usage records, your activity history or the content of your screen. Processing by Google is governed by Google’s Privacy Policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy.
2.5. Advertising
The free version of DontRot shows advertisements provided by Google AdMob.
- AdMob may collect device identifiers and coarse (not precise) location data for ad delivery and measurement
- Ad interactions, such as views and clicks, are recorded by the ad network for reporting and payment
- In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland we show a consent form (Google User Messaging Platform) that lets you choose whether your data is used for personalised advertising. You can change your choice at any time from the App settings
- You can also limit ad personalisation from your device settings, or remove ads entirely with DontRot Pro
- Google’s practices: https://policies.google.com/privacy
2.6. DontRot Pro Subscription
If you purchase DontRot Pro, whether as a subscription or as a one-time lifetime purchase, the payment is processed entirely by Google Play Billing. We receive only:
- Subscription status (active or expired)
- Purchase and expiry dates
- Product type purchased
We never receive, process or store your payment details, such as card numbers. DontRot Pro users see no advertisements in the App.
2.7. Health Connect Integration
If you choose to connect a smartwatch or fitness band, DontRot reads from Health Connect, Android’s on-device health data store:
- Step count (free feature): used for a single purpose, converting your physical activity into earned screen time
- Workout data (only with DontRot Pro and only if you use the smartwatch workouts feature): exercise sessions, distance, calories burned and, when your watch app provides it, the GPS route of the workout. It is used only to display your workouts inside the App and convert them into earned screen time
In addition:
- We never request heart rate, sleep, weight, nutrition or any other health data type
- We never write to your health record. The App holds no write permission for any Health Connect data type
- Your health data never leaves your device. It is not uploaded anywhere, is never used for advertising or analytics, and is never sold or shared
- We request background read access so your steps keep counting while the App is closed
- The integration is optional and disabled by default. You can revoke access at any time in Health Connect, and DontRot will fall back to your phone’s own step counter
Your steps reach Health Connect through your watch’s companion app, for example Mi Fitness, Samsung Health, Garmin Connect or Fitbit. That app’s own privacy policy governs how it collects them. Google’s data practices: https://health.google/health-connect-android/.
2.8. Optional Account Sync (Cloud Backup)
You can optionally sign in with your Google account to back up your progress, so it survives phone changes and reinstalls. This is entirely opt-in: the App is fully functional without an account, and nothing described in this section happens unless you sign in.
If you sign in, we store the following, and only the following, in a single record linked to your account:
- Your display name (the one you set in the App, or the name of your Google account)
- Your time bank balance and available screen time
- Your daily effort summary: for each of the last 90 days, the activities you completed (activity type, amount, for example steps or kilometres, and the effort points they earned) plus your streak
- Your goals as configured in the Goals screen, including their completion history
- Lifetime totals: total steps, active days and earned minutes
- App version and platform, for compatibility
This data is stored in Google Firebase (Firebase Authentication and Cloud Firestore), acting as our processor, on servers located in the European Union (europe-west1, Belgium). Access rules ensure that each account can only ever read and write its own record.
What is never uploaded, with or without an account:
- Your app usage records: which apps you use, when, or for how long
- Your list of blocked apps and your blocker configuration
- Anything seen by the Accessibility Service
- Your health data from Health Connect
- Any image or camera frame
You can sign out at any time from the App settings; syncing stops immediately and your data keeps living on your device. To delete the backup record itself, contact us at the address in section 10 and we will remove it promptly. The backup is used exclusively to restore your progress and, in the future, for optional social features you explicitly join; it is never sold, shared with advertisers or used to build advertising profiles.
3. How We Use Your Information
Data stored on your device is used exclusively to:
- Track your physical activity and convert it into earned screen time
- Apply the blocks and time limits you have configured
- Show your statistics, streaks and progress
- Personalise your experience inside the App
If you enable the optional account sync, the backup described in section 2.8 is additionally used to restore your progress when you sign in on a new device.
We do not sell your data. We do not share your activity, health or app usage records with third parties beyond the processing described in section 2.8. We do not create advertising profiles from them.
4. Storage, Security and Retention
Your activity data is stored on your device using Android SharedPreferences for settings and a local SQLite database for statistics and history. We apply Android security best practices, including private storage modes; the overall security of that data also depends on your device’s own protection, such as your screen lock.
Your data remains on your device until you delete it, either by clearing the App’s data from your device settings or by uninstalling the App. Uninstalling removes all locally stored data. Anonymous analytics and crash data already sent to Google are retained according to Google’s own retention policies.
If you enabled account sync, your backup record (section 2.8) remains stored until you ask us to delete it, so that you can restore your progress after reinstalling. Signing out stops all syncing immediately.
5. Third-Party Services
The App uses the following third-party services:
- Google Play Billing, for purchases and subscription verification
- Google AdMob, for advertising to free users
- Google Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics, for anonymous usage analytics and crash reporting
- Google ML Kit, running entirely on your device, for camera-based exercise detection and scanners
- Health Connect, optional and on-device, for smartwatch data
- Google Firebase Authentication and Cloud Firestore, only if you enable the optional account sync, for sign-in and the backup described in section 2.8
The App does not integrate social networks. Beyond the optional backup described in section 2.8, it does not send your activity records to any server.
6. Your Rights and Choices
Because your activity data lives on your device, you have direct control over it. You can view your statistics inside the App, delete everything by clearing the App’s data or uninstalling it, and manage every permission from your device settings, bearing in mind that revoking some of them limits the corresponding features.
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, the GDPR grants you rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection and portability. If you are in California, the CCPA grants you the right to know, delete and opt out of the sale of your personal information; we do not sell personal information. To exercise any of these rights regarding data processed by us, contact us at the address in section 10.
7. Children’s Privacy
The App is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it promptly.
8. International Data Transfers
Unless you enable account sync, your activity data does not leave your device, so it is not transferred internationally. If you enable it, your backup record is stored in the European Union (see section 2.8). Data processed by Google for billing, advertising, analytics and crash reporting may be transferred and stored on servers outside your country in accordance with Google’s privacy policy and its data transfer safeguards.
9. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices or for legal or regulatory reasons. We will update the “Last Updated” date above and, for material changes, notify you inside the App. Continuing to use the App after a change means you accept the updated policy.
10. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:
Email: privacy@dontrot.com