Privacy policy
- Pause works entirely on your phone. It has no internet permission.
- We don't collect, sell, or share personal information. There are no accounts, ads, or analytics. We only receive what you choose to email us.
- Accessibility access is used only to notice when an app you selected is opening. Pause can't read your screen.
- Pause keeps a private history of your pauses on your phone for 30 days. You can clear it anytime.
Who we are
Pause is a digital-wellbeing app developed by Proteinslice ("we", "us"). This policy explains what information the Pause Android app handles and how. It also covers this website.
Information the app uses
Pause needs very little to do its job, and all of it stays on your device. We never receive any of it unless you choose to send it to us.
| Information | Why | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| The list of apps installed on your phone that you can open from your home screen (name and icon) | So you can choose which apps to pause | Read on demand; not saved |
The package names of the apps you select (for example, com.example.app) | To know when to show a pause | Saved on your device; excluded from backups |
| Your settings: pause duration, breathing guide on/off, cooldown length, whether setup is complete, and whether you agreed to the accessibility explanation | To remember your preferences | Saved on your device; excluded from backups |
| Which app is currently opening (its package name) | To decide whether to show a pause | Used in the moment; not saved (apart from pause history, below) |
| Pause history: for each pause of an app you selected, the app's name and package name, the time, and whether you chose Continue or Go back | So you can look back at your pauses: the summary on Pause's home screen and the history screen | Saved on your device for 30 days, then deleted automatically; excluded from backups |
| Recent "Continue" choices, used for the cooldown | So Pause doesn't ask again straight away | Kept in memory only; cleared when the app restarts |
Pause does not collect your name, email, contacts, location, messages, photos, browsing history, passwords, or any other personal or sensitive information. Pause history only covers pauses of apps you selected. Pause doesn't track the other apps you open or how long you use any app.
Accessibility service
Pause uses Android's AccessibilityService API for one purpose: to notice when an app you've selected comes to the foreground, so it can show a short pause before you continue. Pause is not an assistive accessibility tool and doesn't present itself to Android as one.
- The service listens only for "window changed" events and reads only the package name of the app that opened.
- It is configured so it cannot read window content. It can't see or record what's on your screen, what you type, or anything inside other apps.
- It doesn't perform actions in other apps, and it doesn't make automated decisions for you.
- The service itself stores nothing. When a pause for one of your selected apps ends, Pause adds it to your on-device pause history (described above). Nothing is transmitted.
- Pause explains all of this and asks for your explicit agreement before sending you to Android settings, and it does nothing with the service until you've agreed. You enable the service yourself in Android settings and can turn it off anytime, after which Pause simply stops pausing apps.
Permissions
- Accessibility service: described above. Granted only by you, in Android settings.
- App visibility: Pause asks Android only for apps that have a home-screen icon (plus the home screen itself), not every package on your phone.
Pause does not request internet access, location, contacts, storage, camera, microphone, notifications, or usage-access permissions. Exporting and importing history uses Android's file picker, so Pause can only open the file you choose.
Exporting and importing your history
You can export your pause history as a CSV file and import it again, for example on a new phone. The file contains each pause's time, app name and package name, and whether you continued or went back. Export saves the file where you choose, using Android's file picker. From then on, that file is yours: it is handled by wherever you save or share it, not by Pause. Import reads only the file you pick and adds its pauses to your history on this device.
Contacting us from the app
Pause's Contact page lets you send feedback or report a bug by email. It opens your own email app with a draft; nothing is sent unless you send it, and you can edit or delete anything in the draft first. To help us fix problems, the draft includes technical details: Pause's version, your Android version, device manufacturer and model, and language, whether accessibility access is on, whether you agreed to the accessibility explanation, and your Pause settings (including how many apps you selected). It does not include which apps you selected or your pause history. The Contact page shows these details before you write.
When you send an email, we receive your email address and whatever you wrote or attached. We use it only to reply and to improve Pause, keep it only as long as needed for that, and delete it if you ask.
Sharing and third parties
We don't share, sell, or transfer any information. The app itself never sends information off your device; information leaves only when you choose to export your history or email us. Pause contains no third-party analytics, advertising, crash-reporting, or tracking SDKs.
Backups
Pause excludes its saved settings, app selections, and pause history from Android's cloud backup and device-to-device transfer, so they stay on the phone where you created them. On a new phone you set Pause up again; you can bring your history along with export and import.
Keeping and deleting your information
Your settings stay on your device until you change them. Pause history is deleted automatically after 30 days, and you can clear it anytime from the history screen. To delete everything, clear Pause's storage in Android settings (App info → Storage → Clear storage) or uninstall the app. We don't receive your app data, so there's nothing for us to delete on our side, except any emails you sent us, which we'll delete on request.
Security
Pause never sends your information off your device by itself, which removes the main risks of collecting data. App data is stored in Pause's private storage, which other apps can't read.
Children
Pause is a general-audience app and isn't directed at children. It doesn't knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children.
This website
This website doesn't use cookies, analytics, or tracking, and it doesn't load third-party scripts or fonts. Like any website, the server that hosts it may keep standard technical logs (such as IP address, browser type, and pages requested) for security and reliability. These logs aren't used to identify or profile you.
Changes to this policy
If Pause's handling of information changes, we'll update this page and its effective date before the change reaches the app.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Email us at [email protected].