Focus Monke · Last updated 18 August 2026
Focus Monke is built to respect your privacy. Almost everything the app knows about you stays on your phone. A few things leave it — anonymous usage analytics, purchase records, and (only if you use it) the group study feature — and this page tells you exactly what those are, in plain language. We never sell your data, we don’t show ads, and we don’t track you across other apps or websites.
What stays on your device
The heart of the app is stored locally on your device (using Apple’s on-device storage) and is never uploaded by us:
- Your focus and meditation session history and stats.
- Your fish collection, banana balance, streaks, and progression.
- Your settings — sound preferences, reminder choices, and the rest.
- Your Screen Time / app-blocking choices (see below).
Screen Time & app blocking
If you turn on app blocking during focus sessions, Focus Monke uses Apple’s Family Controls / Screen Time framework. The apps and categories you choose to block are represented by opaque tokens that Apple provides — we cannot see the names of the apps you pick, and the selection is stored only on your device. Focus Monke uses this solely to shield the apps you selected while a session is running, and to remove that shield when the session ends. This data is never transmitted off the device.
Notifications
With your permission, Focus Monke schedules local notifications — a session-complete alert and any daily reminders you enable. These are scheduled on your device by iOS. We do not use push servers and cannot send you remote messages.
What leaves your device
Anonymous usage analytics
The app sends anonymous usage analytics to PostHog, a service that processes it only on our behalf. This includes a device identifier (Apple’s per-app “identifier for vendor” — not your name, not the advertising ID) and usage events like “session started”, “session completed”, “screen opened”, and purchase events with the product name. If you tap through to leave a review, the app records only how long you were away (capped at six hours — a relative duration, no timestamps) so we can tell whether the review page loaded properly. It never includes your group study name, anything you type, or any photo or face data. You can turn this off any time in Settings → “Share anonymous usage” — when sharing is off, the app stops sending analytics requests entirely, including the device identifier.
Purchases & subscriptions
Purchases (banana packs, Certified Diver) are handled by Apple’s App Store / StoreKit. Apple processes the payment; we never see your credit card or Apple ID. We also use RevenueCat as a service provider to process and keep a record of the purchases and subscriptions the app completes, tied to the same anonymous device-scoped identifier as our analytics, so we can support you and understand what was bought. RevenueCat also receives the Apple Search Ads attribution token — Apple’s privacy-preserving way of telling us which ad campaign, if any, led to your install; it contains no location, contacts, or browsing data — and a few app-set subscriber attributes, such as whether a free-week promotion was granted and when it expires.
Group study (only if you use it)
Group study rooms are, by nature, shared — so if you join one, a small set of information goes to our server and to the other people in your room:
- The display name you chose (or a friendly default if you didn’t pick one).
- Your country flag, taken from your device’s region setting — never GPS, never your actual location.
- Your monke’s look (cosmetics), any fish you show off, your chosen study topic, and your timer state (studying, paused, finished).
To make this work without accounts or sign-ups, the app creates an anonymous identity: a random ID stored securely on your device, which our server turns into a signed identity token that expires and rotates every 30 days. Invite links and friend connections you make are kept until you remove them. Our server also keeps a small set of operational records, each with a retention limit: room state while a room is active (public rooms wind down within about a day of going quiet), a “recently studied together” presence record for up to ~30 days after you leave a room, session receipts for ~48 hours (these contain no name), and device-integrity records (Apple App Attest) that we keep to fight abuse and fake clients — these are retained for up to 30 days and then pruned. If you never open group study, none of this is created and nothing in this section applies.
Home Screen widget
If you add the Focus Monke widget, the app writes a small snapshot of display data, such as your collection and streak, to a private, on-device app group so the widget can render it. This stays on your device.
Backup & iCloud
Backup is optional and only happens when you choose it. If you export a backup file, that file is created on your device and shared wherever you send it — you control it. If iCloud backup is enabled, a snapshot of your save is stored in your own private iCloud account, which is controlled by your Apple ID and governed by Apple’s Privacy Policy. We have no access to your iCloud data.
No ads, no tracking, no selling your data
Focus Monke contains no advertising, no cross-app tracking, and no data brokers. We do not use the Advertising Identifier, we do not link your data with other companies’ data to profile you, and we never sell or rent your information. Analytics exists so one developer can see which features people actually use — that’s it.
Data retention & deletion
Your core data lives on your device, so deleting the app deletes it. On the server side (group study only): the identity token expires within 30 days, presence records expire within about 30 days, device-integrity (App Attest) records are pruned within about 30 days, session receipts expire within about 48 hours, and invite/friend links stay until you remove them in the app. Analytics and purchase records work differently: events and records already uploaded to PostHog and RevenueCat are retained by those providers on our behalf under our configuration — deleting the app or switching off analytics sharing stops any new data from being sent, but does not delete what was already uploaded. If you’d like anything removed — your display name, friend links, your whole group-study identity, or your previously uploaded analytics and purchase records — email us at [email protected] and we’ll wipe it. You can also switch off analytics any time in Settings.
Children
Focus Monke is a focus timer for a general audience and is not directed at children. We don’t ask for names (a group-study display name is optional and can be anything), we don’t collect contact details, and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information through group study, email us and we’ll delete it.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the updated version will ship inside the app with a new “Last updated” date and will be reflected on this page.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Contact us at [email protected].