Privacy Policy

Who we are

FocusWorld is an iOS app developed by Faissal Metalsi. This policy explains how the app handles information. The app has no account and keeps your progress on your device. It uses a server of ours only for anonymous usage statistics, the optional Focus Together mode and the optional invite-a-friend program, and your progress can also sync to your own private iCloud, which we cannot see, so there is very little to explain.

What stays on your device

Everything you do in FocusWorld is stored locally on your iPhone:

• Your focus sessions and total focus time
• Coins you earn, eggs you hatch, and characters you unlock
• Your world and its progress
• Your chosen modes, buddy, and settings

If you are signed in to iCloud, your progress (collection, coins, eggs, and preferences) is saved in your own iCloud account and synced between your own devices. It is stored in your private CloudKit database, which only you can access. We, the developer, have no access to it and cannot read it. Names you type yourself (such as your name and your buddy's nickname) are stored as encrypted fields. You can turn this off or remove the data in your iCloud settings (see “Your data and deletion”).

Screen Time and app limits

To help you focus, FocusWorld can use Apple's Screen Time and Family Controls framework to limit apps you choose. The selection of apps stays on your device under Apple's management. It is never sent to us or to anyone else, and we never see which apps you pick.

Invite a friend (adults only)

Adults (18+) can share an invite code. When you create or enter a code, the app sends our server (hosted by Cloudflare) a one-way hash of a random ID of your device (not your identity), whether you are an adult, and the number of focus minutes you built up after entering the code. We use this only to give both people coins after 5 hours of focus. No name, e-mail, phone number or location is sent, and nothing is used for tracking or advertising. The data deletes itself after 90 days (the one-time-use record after 180 days). In Settings you can erase the code you entered and your progress from your device.

Focusing together

FocusWorld has an optional Focus Together mode, where you focus at the same time as family or friends you invite with a code. It uses a server, hosted for us by Cloudflare, and it runs only while you are in a shared session.

When you start or join a together session, the app sends only what the group needs: a random ID for your device (not linked to your identity), your buddy's display name (for anyone under 18 this is the character's name, never a nickname), whether you are focusing or on a break, and the preset cheers you tap. There is no chat. The only text you can write is an optional group name (up to 24 characters) if you start a group and are 18 or older; it is checked by the app and by the server, and it is hidden from everyone in the group as soon as anyone under 18 joins; everyone in the group then sees a standard name instead. Group names are not stored after the session ends. Your name: if you have set a name on the Me tab and you are 18 or older, the app also shares that name with your group, so they see it instead of your buddy's name. This is on by default and you can turn it off at any time with the name switch on the Samen start screen (the app shows it in Dutch). It is checked by the app and by the server, it is kept on the server only for the duration of the session and deleted when the session ends, and it is never shared with or shown to anyone as soon as someone under 18 is in the group (everyone then sees buddy names). People under 18 never share their name. We do not send or store your email, phone number, or location.

This data is temporary. A group and its session are deleted automatically after they end, and nothing is kept for the long term. Because there is no account, there is nothing to sign in to and nothing of yours to delete afterwards.

Anonymous usage statistics

To see how many people use FocusWorld and whether it keeps working well, the app sends a few anonymous signals to our own statistics server (hosted for us by Cloudflare): a random install ID that the app creates itself (not your Apple ID or advertising ID, and it is gone when you delete the app), the app version, the iOS version, your country as set on your device, whether the app or a widget was opened, and a “session started” event when you open the app (at most once every 30 minutes). Nothing about your focus sessions, apps, names or purchases is sent, and the data is not linked to your identity. It is used only by us, to count active installs and usage, never for tracking or advertising, and it is not shared with or sold to anyone.

Purchases

Coins and the optional FocusWorld Plus subscription are in-app purchases handled entirely by Apple through the App Store. We never receive or store your name, payment card, or billing details. Apple's processing of a purchase is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy.

No tracking, no ads, no third-party SDKs

FocusWorld contains no advertising, no third-party analytics or crash-reporting services, and no tracking SDKs. Our only statistics are the anonymous usage signals described above, which go to our own server. We do not build a profile of you and we do not share anything with advertisers or data brokers.

Children

FocusWorld is designed to be safe for all ages. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children. In line with EU consumer-protection principles, purchases are protected by a monthly spending limit, Apple's Ask to Buy, and a parental gate, and every price is shown in euros alongside the fact that coins can also be earned simply by being offline.

Your data and deletion

Your progress lives on your device, so there is nothing on our side for us to look up or export. The only data we ever receive is the anonymous usage statistics described above (tied to a random install ID, not to you, so we cannot look them up per person; deleting the app ends them), the temporary Focus Together session described above (including, unless you turned it off, the name you chose to show), which deletes itself when the session ends, and, if you use the optional invite-a-friend program, the hashed identifiers and focus minutes described in that section, which delete themselves within 90 to 180 days. You are always in full control: in the app, Settings → Erase everything clears your progress from this device, and deleting the app does the same. You can remove any synced copy from iCloud in Settings → your name → iCloud → Manage Storage (or stop syncing for FocusWorld under Settings → your name → iCloud → Saved to iCloud).

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we will post the new version on this page with an updated date above.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email fmetalsi@icloud.com.