Privacy Policy

1. Overview

Quietly is designed to work primarily on-device. The routines you build, the apps you choose to shield, and the reflections you write are kept on your iPhone and in Quietly's own private storage area — not on a Quietly server.

We can't honestly say that absolutely nothing ever leaves your device, because a few ordinary things involve other parties. Your progress is mirrored into your own iCloud so a reinstall doesn't start you from zero. If you subscribe, your purchase is handled by Apple. And if you choose to export or share the testing feedback Quietly stores locally, that leaves your device because you sent it. Each of these happens only through your own action or through Apple's standard systems, and they're described below.

Quietly also collects a limited amount of diagnostic and usage information, described in section 4. That information is not linked to your identity. Quietly does not sell your information and does not use it for advertising or cross-app tracking.

2. Information stored on your device

The following is stored locally on your iPhone or in Quietly's private App Group container (a protected storage area that Quietly's app and its blocking extensions share). It is not uploaded to us:

• Your blocking routines, schedules and settings
• Opaque app and category selection tokens (see below)
• Your pass history and current active-pass state
• Your friction preferences and progress
• Reflection answers and intentions you type
• Your “Apps for a better moment” choices
• Your onboarding progress
• Locally saved testing feedback, which can include your message and, to help us reproduce issues, the app version, build number, iOS version and general device model (for example, “iPhone 15 Pro”)

Some of this — your progress and your setup — can also be mirrored into your own iCloud, which is described in the next section.

3. iCloud backup of your progress

Quietly mirrors your progress into your own private iCloud key-value storage, so reinstalling Quietly or moving to a new iPhone does not start you from zero. This copy lives in your iCloud, not on a Quietly server — we never receive or read it.

It includes your protected-day history, the goal you are working toward, and your setup — your routines and the settings around them.

It never includes your app selections. The tokens Screen Time gives Quietly are opaque and tied to one install, so they cannot move to a new device; after a reinstall you pick your apps again. Reflection answers are not backed up either.

The backup is on by default and runs only while you are signed in to iCloud. You can turn it off any time in Quietly's Settings. Turning it off deletes the copy Quietly has placed in iCloud.

4. Information Quietly does not collect

To let you shield apps, Apple hands Quietly your selections as opaque tokens. A token is a meaningless reference — it lets Quietly apply a shield, but it does not tell Quietly which app or category it stands for. As a result, Quietly does not receive:

• The names of the apps or categories you select
• Your browsing history
• The content of your messages
• The contents of your screen
• Your passwords
• Anything you view inside other apps

Quietly collects a limited set of diagnostic and product-interaction data, together with a device identifier and crash reports. It is used to find faults and to understand which features are used. This information is not linked to your identity, is not sold, and is not used for advertising or cross-app tracking. It never includes selected-app tokens, app identities, the contents of your screen, or anything you have typed. Coarse events (for example, “a routine was enabled”) may also be written to Apple's local unified log on the device to help with debugging.

Quietly does not sell personal information, and does not use personal information for advertising or cross-app tracking.

5. Screen Time and Apple services

Quietly's blocking is built on Apple's Screen Time technologies — specifically Family Controls, Managed Settings and Device Activity. These let you pick apps and categories and let Quietly shield them. As described above, Apple provides your selections to Quietly only as opaque tokens, so your actual app names and activity stay private to Apple's systems and your device.

You can revoke Quietly's Screen Time permission at any time in iOS Settings. Please note that revoking it prevents Quietly's blocking features from working — without the permission, Quietly can no longer apply or maintain shields.

6. Subscriptions

Quietly Premium purchases and subscriptions are processed by Apple through StoreKit and the App Store. Quietly can determine your subscription entitlement status (whether Plus is active) so it can unlock the right features, but it does not receive your credit-card or banking details.

Apple's handling of your purchase is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy.

7. Notifications

Notification permission is optional. If you allow it, trial reminders and other relevant reminders are scheduled through Apple's notification system. You can disable notifications at any time in iOS Settings, and Quietly will keep working without them.

8. Support communications

When you email support@blackwallbe.eu, we process the contents of your message, your email address, and anything you choose to include so that we can answer your request, keep the support records we reasonably need, and comply with our legal obligations. Support email is handled through our email systems — it is not stored only on your device.

9. Third-party links

As a positive alternative to a blocked app, Quietly may offer to open a third-party app or website that you have chosen. Those third parties have their own privacy practices, and once you are in their app or on their site, Quietly does not control what they collect or how they use it. We'd encourage you to review their policies.

10. Data retention and deletion

Most of your app data lives only on your device, and you can remove it by deleting the app. Your iCloud backup is the exception: it stays in your iCloud after you delete Quietly and comes back if you reinstall. To remove it, turn off iCloud backup in Quietly's Settings. You can also revoke Quietly's Screen Time and notification permissions at any time through iOS Settings.

Support emails are an exception, since they reach our email systems. We keep support correspondence only for as long as we need it to handle your request, maintain reasonable support records, and meet legal obligations, after which it is deleted or archived in the ordinary course.

11. Security

Quietly keeps your information on your device and in its private App Group container, protected by the standard security features that iOS provides for app storage. The progress backup sits in your own iCloud, protected by Apple's security for your iCloud account. We aim to collect as little as possible and to keep sensitive selections as opaque tokens rather than readable data.

No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure, and we make no claims of formal certification or end-to-end encryption. We take reasonable measures appropriate to the limited information involved.

12. Children's privacy

Quietly is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

13. EEA/UK privacy rights

If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, data-protection law gives you rights over your personal data. Depending on the circumstances, these include the rights of access, correction, deletion, restriction of processing, and objection to processing.

There is an important practical point: most of your Quietly data exists only on your own device and in your own iCloud, and is never sent to us. We therefore cannot retrieve, produce or delete that data for you — but you remain in full control of it and can remove it by deleting the app, by turning off iCloud backup in Quietly's Settings, or by revoking permissions in iOS Settings.

For information we do hold — principally your support correspondence — or for any privacy question, please contact us at support@blackwallbe.eu and we will help.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your relevant data-protection authority (in the EEA, your national supervisory authority; in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office).

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Quietly evolves. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date at the top of this page, and for significant changes we will make the update reasonably clear. Continuing to use Quietly after an update means the revised policy applies.

15. Contact

Quietly is published by Blackwall BE, which is the data controller for the limited personal data described in this policy:

Blackwall BE
Tabakvest 87/4759
2000 Antwerp, Belgium
support@blackwallbe.eu

Questions about this policy or your privacy? Email us at support@blackwallbe.eu and we'll get back to you.