PauseOwlPrivacy Policy
Last updated: 2 September 2026
PauseOwl lets a parent pause apps on their child's device. This policy describes
everything the app stores and why. It is short because the app does very little.
We have no accounts and no servers of our own
PauseOwl has no sign-up, no login, no email address and no password. We do not
operate a server that holds your data. Pairing information travels through
Apple's iCloud using CloudKit.
We collect no analytics
PauseOwl contains no analytics, no advertising, no tracking and no third-party
SDKs of any kind. The app is built entirely with Apple's own frameworks. Nothing
about your usage is reported to us or to anyone else.
What is stored, and what we can see
When you pair a parent device with a child device, a small record is created in
iCloud so the two devices can find each other. It contains:
Encrypted, and unreadable by us
- Which apps are paused. The list is encrypted on the parent's device with a key
- Any custom message you write for the pause screen, encrypted the same way.
- A random pairing identifier. It is not derived from you, your name, your email
- The reason chosen for a pause, from a fixed list: a break, dinner, resting
- The age band chosen for the child, so the pause screen uses age-appropriate
- Timestamps and version numbers used to keep the two devices in step.
that exists only on the paired devices.
Not encrypted, and technically visible to us
or your Apple Account.
eyes, going outside, family time, or bedtime.
wording.
We want to be precise rather than flattering: those last four are stored in a
database we could in principle read. They contain no names, no email addresses,
no Apple Account identifiers, no contacts, no location, no photographs and no
browsing or usage history. We do not read them, and we have no tools that
aggregate or analyse them.
What we never collect
PauseOwl does not collect your name, email address, phone number, location,
contacts, photographs, browsing history, or any record of which apps your child
opens or how long they use them. PauseOwl cannot see your child's activity. It
can pause apps; it cannot watch them.
Screen Time
Pausing apps uses Apple's Family Controls and Screen Time. The identifiers for
the apps you choose are handled by iOS and are opaque even to PauseOwl itself.
We never receive them.
Purchases
PauseOwl Family is a one-time purchase handled entirely by Apple. We never see
your payment details.
Deleting your data
Removing a child device frees its apps and marks the pairing as removed. The record itself is kept, not deleted: a child device that is switched off or offline has to be able to learn that it was removed when it next connects. Without that record it would go on pausing apps indefinitely.
What is kept is the pairing's identifier, the child's age group, the timing of the change, and the encrypted app list and message. The app list and any message you wrote are encrypted with a key held only on your own two devices. Delete PauseOwl from both and that key is gone with them, so what remains cannot be read by anyone, ourselves included.
There is no account to close.
Children
PauseOwl is a tool for parents. It is not directed at children and collects no
personal information from them.
Changes
If this policy changes we will update the date at the top.