The short version
- Solo promises work without an account, and stay on your iPhone.
- The apps and websites you choose stay on your iPhone as private Apple Screen Time tokens. We never receive them or your detailed usage.
- Shared promises need an account, so we store what's needed to run them: your account, your pairing, the promises you both confirm, and the requests between you.
- We don't sell your information, show ads, or track you across apps and websites.
- You can unpair, block, turn off notification previews or delete your account.
Who we are
Pinky Promise is created and operated by Prarthan Agarwal, an independent developer (prarthanagarwal.com). In this policy, "we" and "us" mean the Pinky Promise service. For any privacy question or request, email hey.prarthan@gmail.com.
What stays on your iPhone
Pinky Promise uses Apple's Screen Time frameworks (Family Controls, Managed Settings and Device Activity). When you pick apps, categories or websites, Apple gives the app opaque tokens instead of the app names. Those tokens stay on your iPhone so the app and its extensions can apply your promise. They are never sent to our servers.
Screen Time usage is measured on your iPhone only to enforce daily limits and approved Pinky Passes. It is never uploaded as a timeline or shown to anyone.
Solo promises, including their settings, are stored only on your iPhone. Using Pinky Promise on your own doesn't create an account or send us your promise.
Information we collect for shared promises
When you choose to make promises with another person, you sign in and we store the following to provide the service:
Account
- A stable identifier from Sign in with Apple, plus the name and email address Apple shares with us if you allow it. The email may be a private relay address.
- The display name you choose, and an internal account ID.
- Session records that keep you signed in on your devices.
Your partnership and promises
- Who you're paired with, the roles you chose, and pairing requests.
- The names you type for your app groups (for example, "Social apps") and how many items each includes. Not which exact apps.
- Promise settings, schedules, confirmations and changes.
- Pinky Pass requests and offers, the reasons and messages you write, decisions, and timestamps. Together these make up your shared history.
- Blocks you create.
Pairing codes expire after 15 minutes, work once, and are stored only in a protected form.
Devices and notifications
- A device registration and Apple Push Notification service (APNs) token so we can send you notifications, and your per-device notification preview choices.
Protection status
- A simple status your iPhone reports about Screen Time protection, such as whether permission is granted, how many groups are shielded, and when it last checked in. Your partner can see whether protection looks set up. This is a helpful signal, not proof of what a device is doing.
Security records
- Limited records of sensitive actions (such as sign-ins, pairing attempts and account changes), used to protect accounts and investigate abuse.
Purchases
- Whether your pair has an active Shared plan, and related subscription status. Apple processes payment; we never receive your card details.
Support
- Anything you send when you email us, such as your address and message.
What we don't collect
- The identities of the apps, categories or websites you select.
- Your Screen Time usage history or activity timeline.
- Your location, contacts, photos, messages or browsing history.
- Advertising identifiers. The app contains no ads, trackers or analytics SDKs.
How we use information
We use the information above only to:
- Sign you in and keep your account secure.
- Pair you with the person you choose and run your shared promises.
- Deliver requests, decisions and Pinky Passes, and notify you about them.
- Check your Shared plan and restore purchases.
- Prevent abuse, fix problems and answer support requests.
- Meet legal obligations.
We don't use your information for advertising or sell it to anyone.
What your partner can see
Your partner sees your display name, the promises you both confirmed, the names you gave your app groups, Pinky Pass requests, reasons, replies and offers, your shared history, and whether protection on your iPhone looks set up.
They never see which exact apps or websites you chose, your usage, your screen, or anything about your solo promise. Think before you write personal details in reasons or messages, because your partner will read them.
Notifications
Notifications can include app-group names, request messages and replies, which may appear on your Lock Screen or a paired Apple Watch. You can turn each of these previews off per device in the app, and turning one off applies right away. Pairing codes, individual app identities and Screen Time tokens are never included in notifications.
Service providers
We rely on a small number of providers to run Pinky Promise:
- Apple: Sign in with Apple, push notifications, Screen Time, and App Store payments.
- Cloudflare: hosting for our servers, database and background tasks.
- RevenueCat: subscription management. It receives your internal account ID and purchase information from Apple so we can confirm your Shared plan.
These providers process information on our behalf under their own terms and privacy policies. We may also share information if the law requires it, or to protect the safety of people or the service.
How long we keep information
- Account and partnership information is kept while your account is active.
- When a partnership ends, its shared history is kept for a 30-day recovery period. Either person can permanently delete an ended promise and its requests sooner from the app.
- Security records are kept for up to 90 days.
- Device tokens are kept until the device is removed or its token is replaced.
- When you delete your account, we end any partnership and remove your account and shared history from our live systems. Copies in backups may remain for a limited time until those backups expire.
Your choices and rights
- Turn notification previews on or off for each device.
- Unpair or block someone at any time, without their approval.
- Turn off Screen Time access for Pinky Promise in iOS Settings.
- Delete your account in the app from Partner & Account. Deleting your account doesn't cancel an Apple subscription; manage that in your Apple ID settings.
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete or export your information, or to object to how it's used. Email hey.prarthan@gmail.com and we'll help. We may need to confirm it's your account first.
Security
We use encrypted connections, keep sessions in the iPhone Keychain, and check who is allowed to see each piece of shared information on our servers. No system is perfectly secure, so please keep your iPhone and Apple ID protected too.
Age requirement
Pinky Promise is for people aged 13 and older. If you're under the age of majority where you live, please use it with a parent or guardian's permission. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, email hey.prarthan@gmail.com and we'll delete it.
International processing
Our providers may process information in countries other than where you live. When they do, we rely on their safeguards for international transfers.
This website
This website doesn't use cookies, analytics or advertising. Like any website, our hosting provider may briefly process technical information such as your IP address to deliver pages and keep the site secure. Pairing links keep the invitation code in the part of the link that your browser never sends to our server.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top of this page. If a change is significant, we'll also take reasonable steps to tell you, such as a notice in the app.
Contact
Questions or requests: hey.prarthan@gmail.com. You can also visit Support.