Privacy Policy
Effective 10 October 2026
The short version. Which apps you block is known only to iOS. Your sessions, blocks and streaks stay on your iPhone. We use a few service providers to run subscriptions, understand how the app is used, fix crashes, measure our ads and answer support chats. We don't sell your data, and Serein never reads your advertising ID.
Serein ("the app") is a focus and screen time app for iPhone, published by Solvoto ("we", "us"). This policy explains what data the app handles, why, and who else processes it.
Screen Time and app blocking
Serein uses Apple's Screen Time frameworks (Family Controls, Managed Settings and Device Activity) to lock the apps you choose. By Apple's design:
- When you pick apps, iOS gives Serein sealed tokens, not app names or identifiers. We can't read, list or send which apps you picked.
- Blocking is enforced by iOS on your device. No blocking decision leaves your iPhone.
- Screen time figures shown in the app are drawn by iOS inside a sandboxed extension. They never reach our code or our servers.
Stored only on your iPhone
Your focus sessions, blocks and their schedules, streaks, statistics, chosen scenes and sounds, and settings are stored on your device. Deleting the app deletes them.
What we collect, and who processes it
| What | Why | Processed by |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase and subscription status, with a random app user ID | To know whether your subscription is active, and to restore it | Apple; RevenueCat |
| Usage events, such as screens reached in setup, sessions started, blocks created, paywall views and purchases, with device type, iOS version, rough location from IP address and a random app instance ID | To understand how the app is used and improve it | Google Firebase Analytics (Google) |
| Crash reports and error details, including device type and the app's recent activity log | To find and fix bugs | Firebase Crashlytics (Google) |
| App installs and opens, finishing setup, and trial and subscription events, with the device's vendor identifier and an anonymous Meta install ID | To measure whether our ads on Meta's platforms lead to installs and subscriptions | Meta, directly from the app and from RevenueCat's servers |
| Messages, photos or voice notes you send in a support chat, your app user ID, and whether you use Study or Control mode | To answer your question and match billing questions to a purchase | Crisp |
| If you use Friends: your first name from Sign in with Apple, your group, this week's and last week's study minutes and sessions, and whether you're studying right now | To show your group's weekly board | Google Firebase (Authentication and Firestore) |
| App settings fetched from our server, such as feature switches | To change small app settings without an update | Firebase Remote Config (Google) |
We never send block names, the names of apps you lock, or anything you type into the app (other than support chats) to these services.
Advertising and tracking
Serein doesn't show ads. To measure our own ads, the Meta SDK reports installs and a few in-app events, and RevenueCat reports trials and subscriptions to Meta. Serein doesn't ask for permission to track and never reads your device's advertising identifier (IDFA). Meta attributes installs through Apple's privacy-preserving ad measurement (SKAdNetwork) and its own aggregated measurement. We don't sell your personal data.
Accounts
Serein doesn't need an account. Friends is optional and uses Sign in with Apple; you can hide your email from us when you sign in, and we only use your first name. Delete your Friends account at any time in Settings › Delete account. That erases your profile and group membership and disconnects Sign in with Apple.
Notifications
Reminders, session endings, unlock countdowns and weekly reports are local notifications scheduled on your device.
Keeping and deleting data
- On-device data is deleted when you delete the app.
- Analytics data is kept by Google for no more than 14 months, then deleted.
- Friends data is deleted when you delete your Friends account, or when you leave a group (your membership in it).
- Support chats are kept so we can follow up. Ask us in a chat to delete yours.
- To ask for a copy of your data, or for it to be deleted, chat with us in the app or at getserein.app/support. Include your app user ID if you can (we can find it from inside a support chat).
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or move your personal data, and to object to or limit how it's used. Contact us to use these rights. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
Children
Serein is not directed at children under 13. It uses Screen Time's individual authorization, which is for managing your own device, not a child's.
Changes
If this policy changes, we'll post the new version here with a new effective date, and note material changes in the app's release notes.
Contact
Solvoto. Questions about privacy: chat with us in the app (Settings › Chat with us) or at getserein.app/support.