Cactus — Privacy Policy

Introduction

Cactus helps you block distracting apps and websites on a schedule you define. Privacy is central to that idea: your focus rules are yours, not a dataset for us to monetize. We built the app to run quietly on your device — without surveillance, without data harvesting, and without ads following you around. We mean it.

1. No tracking

Cactus does not collect, store, or transmit your personal data to us. We do not use analytics tools, crash reporters that phone home, or third-party SDKs that track how you use the app. We do not know which apps you block, when your schedules run, or how often you pause a rule. That is intentional.

2. No analytics

We have deliberately chosen not to integrate any analytics platform — no Firebase, no Mixpanel, no Amplitude, nothing. We cannot see aggregate or individual usage patterns. If something breaks, we learn about it from people who choose to reach out, not from silent telemetry.

3. Screen Time & what you choose to block

Cactus uses Apple’s Screen Time APIs (Family Controls, Managed Settings, and Device Activity) to apply the blocks you configure. You explicitly authorize access in Settings; without that permission, the app cannot enforce rules. The apps, websites, and categories you pick are represented with system-managed tokens on your device — we do not operate a separate cloud service that receives those selections.

Enforcement happens through iOS: scheduled intervals and shield screens are part of the operating system’s Screen Time infrastructure. Apple’s own privacy policy and Screen Time documentation describe how the platform handles related data.

4. Your rules on your device

Blocking rules (what to block, which days, start and end times, optional names, and pause state) are stored locally in shared app storage on your iPhone so the main app and system extensions can read the same schedule. This data is not synced to Cactus servers — there are no Cactus servers for it to sync to. Removing the app removes that local data from the app’s container, subject to how iOS manages app data.

5. No accounts, no backend

You do not create a Cactus account. There is no login, no user profile we host, and no central database of your habits. Everything needed to run your schedules lives on your device.

6. Changes to this policy

We may update this page occasionally. When we do, we’ll change the “Last updated” date above. Continued use of Cactus after an update means you accept the revised policy.

7. Contact

Questions? Reach out at support@kiln.page.