For support, privacy questions, or account and data deletion requests, contact ethanmdowns@gmail.com.
Distracted helps people stay off their phones together by creating lock-in sessions, joining sessions with friends or groups, tracking locked-in time, and participating in challenges and rewards. This Privacy Policy explains what information Distracted collects, how it is used, and what choices users have.
Distracted may collect the following information when you use the app or website:
Distracted may collect limited first-party usage and operational events to understand how the service is being used and to maintain reliability. These events may include app or website opens, lobby or session creation, session starts and joins, timestamps, platform information, screen context, and related technical or debugging information. This information is not used for third-party advertising or cross-app tracking.
Distracted may request access to Camera to scan QR codes for joining sessions and Bluetooth to support proximity-related session features. Bluetooth proximity features are used only to support the app’s lock-in/session experience.
Distracted may also request foreground Location access when you choose to verify that you are physically present at a participating venue for a challenge or reward. Location is used for that venue check-in and is not used for continuous or background location tracking. The service may process location and verification information, including the time of the check-in and whether the device was within the eligible venue area, to determine whether activity qualifies for challenge or reward credit.
We use the information we collect to create and manage user accounts, let users create and join lock-in sessions, track individual session participation time, display session results, support QR code session joining, support challenges and reward progress, verify eligible venue check-ins, show leaderboards where available, administer and fulfill rewards, understand basic product usage, improve app functionality, debug errors, maintain app security, and prevent misuse.
Distracted uses Firebase services, including Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, and Cloud Functions, to support authentication and to store and process account, session, challenge, reward, leaderboard, and operational information. Information is stored so the app can maintain user accounts, session history, challenge progress, reward status, and service functionality over time.
Distracted also uses service providers such as Resend for operational and administrative email delivery. These providers may process the limited information necessary to provide their services, such as an email address and relevant message or activity context.
We do not sell user personal information. We do not share user information with third-party advertisers or data brokers.
We may share information with service providers that help operate Distracted, such as cloud infrastructure, authentication, database, and email-delivery providers. These providers receive information only as needed to perform services for Distracted.
Some information may be visible to other users depending on how you use the app. For example, your display identity and session activity may be visible to users participating in the same session. Locked-in time or progress may appear on applicable leaderboards or challenge views. Limited account and reward information may be available to authorized administrators when needed to administer or fulfill a challenge or reward.
We may share information if required to comply with applicable law, legal process, or enforceable government request.
Distracted does not currently use third-party advertising tracking and does not track users across apps or websites owned by other companies for advertising purposes. Distracted may collect first-party product and operational analytics, such as opens, lobby creation, session starts or joins, and feature usage, to understand the product and improve reliability.
Distracted may be used in school, classroom, family, or group settings. The app is intended to support positive behavior around phone use and real-world presence.
If Distracted is used by a school, teacher, parent, or organization with minors, that organization or adult user is responsible for obtaining any required consent and using the app in compliance with applicable laws and policies.
Distracted is not intended to collect sensitive student records, grades, or classroom performance data. Classroom or group uses may track locked-in time, participation, challenge progress, or reward eligibility.
We retain account, session, challenge, reward, leaderboard, and operational information for as long as reasonably needed to operate the app, maintain user progress and history, administer rewards, maintain security, and provide the app’s core functionality. Some information may be retained where reasonably necessary for fraud prevention, security, legal obligations, or recordkeeping.
Users may delete their account using the account-deletion controls available in Distracted or request deletion of their account or associated data by contacting us.
Users can choose whether to create or join sessions, participate in challenges, use social or leaderboard features where available, or grant Camera, Bluetooth, and Location permissions. Some app features may not work properly if permissions are declined. Location permission is only needed for features that verify presence at participating venues.
Users may request access to or deletion of their account or associated data by contacting us at the email address above.
We use Firebase and reasonable technical safeguards to help protect user information. However, no system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
We may update this Privacy Policy as the app changes. If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and, when appropriate, provide notice in the app, on the website, or through the App Store listing.
For support, privacy questions, or account and data deletion requests, contact:
Ethan Downs
Email: ethanmdowns@gmail.com