BeBetter is an iPhone app that helps groups of friends spend less time on distracting apps through a shared weekly leaderboard. This policy explains what data the app and this website collect, why, where it is stored, and the choices you have. We have tried to write it in plain language.
The short version: the names of the apps you use never leave your phone. We sync only rounded daily minute totals for two buckets, “distracting” and “productive”, starting from the moment you give permission. We do not sell your data or use it for advertising.
Who we are
BeBetter is operated by [legal entity name and registered address, to be completed], the data controller for the personal data described here. You can reach us about anything in this policy at hello@getbebetter.app.
What we collect
Account information
- Your email address, used to sign in with a one-time code and to contact you about your account.
- Your display name and, if you add one, an avatar image. Members of your group can see these.
- Your time zone, so days and weeks start at the right local time.
Screen Time data
BeBetter uses Apple’s Screen Time frameworks (FamilyControls, DeviceActivity and ManagedSettings) with your explicit permission. This is the only data source the app requires. Here is how it works:
- When you set up the app, you choose which apps, categories or websites count as distracting and which as productive, using Apple’s system picker. Apple gives BeBetter opaque tokens for your selection, not app names. These tokens stay on your device and are never uploaded.
- On your device, the system notifies BeBetter when your combined usage of a bucket passes a threshold (every 5 minutes up to one hour, then every 15 minutes). The app records only the bucket, the date and the running total, for example “productive, 15 October, 30 minutes”.
- Only these per-day, per-bucket minute totals are sent to our servers. We never receive which app you used, when you opened it, what you did inside it, or your app-by-app usage.
- Nothing is backfilled. Usage from before you granted permission is never collected or scored, and nothing is collected while permission is revoked.
You can revoke Screen Time access at any time in iOS Settings. The app will then stop collecting data and show your score as incomplete rather than guessing.
Optional connections: Apple Health and Strava
You can choose to connect Apple Health and/or Strava. Both are optional, you can skip them during setup, and you can disconnect them at any time in the app. If you connect them, we read only the exercise information needed to show your activity (such as workout type, date and duration) from the time you connect onwards. We do not read other health records. Data from Apple Health is never used for advertising or sold, in line with Apple’s HealthKit rules. If you disconnect Strava, we delete the access token we hold for it.
Social and app activity
- Your group memberships, invitations you create or accept, and your daily and weekly points.
- Cosmetic “throws” you send or receive (sender, recipient, object and time), so we can show them and enforce daily limits.
- Your notification preferences and, if you allow push notifications, a device push token.
- Basic technical logs (such as error reports and request timestamps) kept for security and debugging.
This website
The public pages of getbebetter.app do not use advertising or tracking cookies. Our hosting provider keeps standard server logs (IP address, browser type, pages requested) for security and reliability. The internal admin area uses a strictly necessary sign-in cookie for BeBetter staff only.
What other members can see
People in your group can see your display name, avatar, points, rank, rank changes and throws you send them. They cannot see your app selections, your minute totals or anything from optional connections unless the app clearly shows you that a specific item is shared. Your day-by-day and monthly personal statistics are private to you.
Why we use your data
| Purpose | Legal basis (GDPR) |
|---|---|
| Running your account, calculating scores, showing the leaderboard and throws | Performance of our contract with you (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Collecting Screen Time totals and optional Apple Health / Strava activity | Your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)), which you can withdraw at any time. Where activity data could reveal information about your health, your explicit consent (Art. 9(2)(a)) |
| Push notifications | Your consent, managed in iOS Settings and in the app |
| Security, abuse prevention, rate limits and debugging | Our legitimate interest in keeping the service safe and working (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Meeting legal obligations | Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) |
We do not sell personal data, share it with advertisers, use it for profiling with legal or similarly significant effects, or use Screen Time or health data for any purpose other than providing BeBetter features to you.
Where your data is stored and who processes it
We use a small number of service providers who process data on our behalf under data processing agreements:
- Supabase (database, authentication and server functions) is our main processor and stores your account and app data. [Hosting region to be confirmed, e.g. EU (Frankfurt).]
- Vercel hosts this website.
- Apple delivers push notifications if you enable them.
If any provider processes data outside the European Economic Area, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses. All data is encrypted in transit, and access within our team is limited to people who need it.
How long we keep it
- Account, group and score data: for as long as your account exists.
- Daily minute totals: for as long as your account exists, so you can see your own monthly trends. [Retention period under review.]
- Technical logs: up to 30 days unless needed to investigate a security issue.
- When you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal data within 30 days, except where the law requires us to keep it longer.
Deleting your account
You can delete your account from the Settings screen in the app. This removes your profile, group memberships, minute totals, scores, throws and connection records. You can also ask us to delete it by emailing hello@getbebetter.app from the address on your account.
Your rights
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, you have the right to:
- access the personal data we hold about you and get a copy of it;
- correct data that is wrong;
- have your data deleted;
- restrict or object to certain processing, including processing based on legitimate interests;
- receive your data in a portable, machine-readable format;
- withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing that happened before;
- lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
To use any of these rights, email hello@getbebetter.app. We will reply within one month. Many controls, such as revoking Screen Time access or disconnecting Strava, are also available directly in the app and in iOS Settings. Similar rights may apply where you live even outside Europe, and we will honour them.
Age
BeBetter is intended for people aged 16 and over. [Minimum age to be confirmed.] We do not knowingly collect data from younger children. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
If we make material changes, we will tell you in the app before they take effect. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated. See also our terms of use.