Privacy policy

Last updated: October 11, 2026

This policy explains what ScreenEarned does with data, on this website and in the app. We've kept it short and in plain English.

1. Who we are

ScreenEarned is a small, independent project. You can reach us by email at info@arkbyte.dev.

2. The short version

The app works on its own on your child's phone, or with a parent account.
Your child's activity is only visible to you, and it's stored in the EU.
The free version shows short, child-safe ads that aren't personalised. Your data is never sold.

3. The website

Cookies and website statistics

We use Plausible, a privacy-friendly analytics tool without cookies, hosted by us on our own server in Spain (EU). It counts visits without identifying you.

What: Which pages are visited, the website that sent you here, and your country, browser and device type. Visitors are counted with a code that changes every day, so we can't recognise you on a later visit.
What not: No cookies, no personal data, no IP addresses stored, and nothing is shared with other companies.
Why: To see which pages are useful and fix what isn't.
Legal basis: Legitimate interest.
How long: Only totals are kept (such as visits per page per day). We keep these totals as long as the website exists. They contain no personal data.

We don't use tracking cookies, and this website has no ads. Apart from the statistics above, it loads nothing from elsewhere: the fonts are on our own server.

Server logs

What we keep: Your IP address, the time, and the page you asked for.
Why: To keep the website secure and fix problems.
Legal basis: Legitimate interest.
How long: 14 days. Then they're deleted automatically.

4. The app and the parent account

On the phone

Each child's nickname, age, colour and buddy.
Coins, your rules and the lesson results.
An activity history: which apps were used and for how long, lessons, and attempts to open settings.
Your parent PIN and recovery code, stored as a hash (not readable).

The app makes no cloud backup of the phone.

In your parent account

If you link a parent account, this is stored there: in our own database, on our own server in Spain (EU).

The nickname and birth year.
The apps you make a choice for, and newly installed apps (name and icon).
App usage per app, in minutes.
Lessons and results.
Lock events and attempts to get around the lock.
The phone's model and status.
Your email address.

Why: To show you the parent panel and carry out what you do there, like locking, giving a bonus or changing the rules.
Legal basis: The contract for the parent account, plus your consent as a parent.
How long: Individual events: 90 days. Day totals: 1 year. The account: until you delete it. We then delete everything within 30 days, including backups.
Who sees it: Only you. It's never sold or used for ads.

We use two Google services: Firebase Cloud Messaging, to send push notifications to your phone, and, in the free version, Google AdMob for the ads (see below). The push notifications contain no names or details, only a signal, after which the app fetches the information itself from our server.

Anonymous usage statistics

To improve the app, it sends anonymous usage statistics to our own server in Spain (EU). They're on by default, and you can turn them off in the parent settings or your parent account.

What: Which screens are used, lesson results as codes, which lock screen was shown, app categories (such as "video", not app names), and how reliably the app works.
What not: No names, no typed text, no app names and no location. The statistics use a random app ID, not your identity.
Legal basis: Legitimate interest.
How long: 2 months.

Permissions

The app asks for these Android permissions. This is what each one is for:

Notifications: To show your child how many minutes are left, and a warning just before time runs out.
Show over other apps (optional): To show a short warning at the top of the screen, for example when time is almost up.
Usage access: To see which apps are opened and for how long, so we can count down the coins and show you the times. We don't see what your child does inside an app.
Accessibility: To see which app is on the screen, so it can be locked straight away and Settings stay behind your PIN. We don't read any text, messages or passwords. Which apps are used only goes to your own parent account (if you link one) and, as a category, to the anonymous statistics you can turn off.
Notification access (optional): To put notifications of locked apps on hold, so your child can't use them to chat or watch. We only look at which app a notification comes from; we don't read, store or send the content.
Battery (optional): So the phone doesn't quietly switch the app off to save battery.
Device admin (optional): Only to stop your child removing the app without your PIN. We can't wipe or lock the phone or see your password.

Deleting your data

In the app and on the web you can choose "Delete activity history" or "Delete account and family". Removing the app (with your PIN) deletes everything stored on the phone.

5. Children

The app is set up and controlled by a parent. We ask children for no personal data. There's no chat and no contact with others.

COPPA (US): a parent creates the account, agrees to the terms and this policy, and links the child's phone. That is when a parent gives consent. The child's data (nickname, birth year, app usage and lessons) is only used to show it to the parent and carry out the parent's actions, never for ads. The anonymous statistics use a persistent identifier only to run and improve the app; parents can turn them off.

6. Ads and payments

Ads (free version)

The free version shows a short ad from Google AdMob when your child opens an app with coins. The ads are not personalised: they're requested as child-directed and rated G.

What AdMob gets: Technical data such as the IP address, the device type and whether an ad was shown or tapped, to show and count ads and prevent fraud.
What AdMob doesn't get: Your child's name, age, apps or lessons. No advertising ID.
Without ads: With the ad-free subscription the app shows no ads and AdMob isn't contacted.

Payments

The ad-free subscription is paid through Google Play. We only store the status, the plan and the dates on your family account; we never see your payment details.

7. New features

If we add something that uses more data, we'll update this policy first and ask for your consent again.

8. Your rights

You can ask us to see, correct or delete your data, and you can withdraw your consent at any time (for example by turning off the statistics).

You can also complain to a data protection authority. Ours is the Portuguese CNPD (Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados, www.cnpd.pt). You can also go to the authority in the EU country where you live, or to the ICO in the UK. Parents in the US: please contact us.

9. Changes

When we change this policy, we update the date at the top. If the change matters for you, we'll tell you on this website, and by email if you have a parent account.