Privacy Policy
Effective date: August 7, 2026
SafeEyes Buddy ("the app", "we", "us") helps parents encourage healthy screen-viewing habits by measuring the distance between a child's face and the device screen and alerting when the screen is held too close. This policy explains what information the app handles, what it never collects, and the choices you have. It applies to the SafeEyes Buddy mobile app on Android and iOS.
1. Camera data — processed on-device only
The app uses the front camera to estimate the distance between the user's face and the screen. Each camera frame is analyzed on the device itself using Google's ML Kit face detection, which runs locally. Camera frames are:
- never recorded or saved — frames are discarded immediately after the distance is computed;
- never uploaded — no image, video, or biometric data ever leaves the device;
- never used for identification — the app detects that a face is present and how far away it is; it does not recognize whose face it is.
The only output of camera processing is a number: the estimated distance in inches or centimeters.
2. Information we collect
| Category | What it includes | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Account information | Name and email address from your Google or Apple sign-in, and a unique account identifier | Provided by Google or Apple when the parent signs in |
| Child profile | A first name (or nickname), an age, and the name your child chooses for their in-app buddy | Entered during setup — the profile by the parent, the buddy name by the child |
| Settings | Alert distance, sounds, vibration, daily screen-time goal, measurement unit, and similar preferences | Chosen by the parent |
| Usage statistics | Numeric monitoring data: session start/end times, minutes of screen time, number of too-close alerts, average distances, streaks and earned badges | Generated by the app while monitoring |
| Subscription status | Whether a subscription is active and which plan | Google Play or the Apple App Store |
Your parent PIN
If you turn on PIN protection, the PIN is stored on your device as a salted hash — never as the digits you typed, and never uploaded. It protects that phone, not your account, so it is not synced and cannot be recovered by us. Custom alert tones you choose stay on the device too, because the file path would mean nothing on another phone.
3. Information we do not collect
- No photos, videos, or audio recordings
- No biometric identifiers or face templates
- No precise location
- No contacts, messages, or browsing history
- No advertising identifiers — the app contains no ads and no third-party advertising or tracking SDKs
- No payment card details — payments are handled entirely by Google Play or the Apple App Store
4. Children's privacy (COPPA)
SafeEyes Buddy is a parental tool operated by a parent or legal guardian. Accounts belong to parents; children cannot create accounts and the app does not knowingly collect personal information directly from children.
- The only child-related information stored is a first name (or nickname) and age, entered by the parent to tune the distance estimate and screen-time guidance.
- Camera processing works the same for children as for adults: on-device only, nothing stored, nothing transmitted (see Section 1).
- A parent can review and delete all child-related information at any time by editing the profile or deleting the account (Section 8).
If you believe a child has provided personal information to us directly, contact us at the address below and we will delete it.
5. How information is stored
Monitoring history and settings are stored locally on your device. When you sign in, your settings and numeric usage statistics are additionally synced to your account using Google Firebase (Firebase Authentication and Cloud Firestore), hosted on Google Cloud servers located in the United States. Data in transit is protected with TLS encryption, and access is restricted by per-user security rules — your data is readable only by your signed-in account.
6. Third-party services
The app uses the following service providers, each only for the purpose described:
- Google Firebase (Authentication, Cloud Firestore) — sign-in and syncing your settings and statistics. Firebase privacy
- Google ML Kit — on-device face detection. Processing happens locally; frames are not sent to Google.
- Google Play Billing / Apple In-App Purchase — subscription processing. We receive only the subscription status, never payment details.
We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for advertising or marketing.
7. How long we keep information
Synced account data is retained while your account exists. Local data stays on your device until you delete the app's data or uninstall it. When you delete your account, the synced data described in Section 2 is deleted from our systems.
8. Your choices and rights
- Use without sync: monitoring history can stay entirely on-device; syncing only happens for signed-in accounts.
- Access and correction: settings and child profile details can be viewed and edited in the app at any time.
- Delete your account: in the app under Settings → Data → Delete account, or by following the steps at our account deletion page. Deletion removes your account and synced data.
- Camera permission: you can revoke camera access in your device settings at any time; monitoring simply stops working until it is granted again.
If you are a California resident, you have rights under the CCPA/CPRA to request access to and deletion of your personal information, and to not be discriminated against for exercising those rights. We do not sell or share personal information as defined by the CCPA. To exercise these rights, contact us using the details below.
9. Users outside the United States
The app is operated for a United States audience and data is stored on servers in the United States. If you use the app from elsewhere, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States.
10. Security
We use industry-standard safeguards: TLS encryption in transit, Google Cloud's protections at rest, and per-user Firestore security rules. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, but the most sensitive data — camera imagery — is never stored or transmitted at all.
11. Changes to this policy
If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated policy.
12. Contact us
Questions or requests about privacy:
Email: support.safeeyes@gmail.com