Privacy, built in. Not bolted on.

Every feature gets weighed against one question: does this need to know more about you, or can it just work? Most privacy pages exist to cover a company after the fact. This one exists because the questions came first: what does Fella actually need to block an app, and what should we simply never ask for. The blocking itself runs on Apple's own on-device frameworks, not a server we control, so the biggest privacy decision here was picking an architecture that keeps most of your data off our servers in the first place.

Fella runs on Apple's Screen Time frameworks (FamilyControls, ManagedSettings, and DeviceActivity) to let you choose which apps to block and enforce one 5-minute emergency unlock per session. That's the technical foundation. Beyond it, we only collect what keeps the app itself running: basic technical details like app version, device type, iOS version, crash reports, and subscription status, so we can fix problems and keep Fella working on your version of iOS. If you contact support, we'll have your email and whatever you tell us, because that's how replying to you works.

We don't sell your personal information, to anyone, for any reason. We don't use your blocked-app list to sell ads or build a profile of your habits. We don't collect your full App Store payment details: Apple never gives us your card number or Apple ID password in the first place. And we don't build the things that would need more of your data to exist: no social feed, no public profile, no leaderboard comparing your blocking streak to a stranger's.

Where it's technically possible, your blocking configuration and unlock state live on your device or inside Apple's own Screen Time frameworks, not in a database we maintain. Your blocked-app selections are never used for advertising or sold to anyone. And if you want to see, correct, or delete the information we do hold, email us and we'll handle it. That's not a favor, it's how this is supposed to work.

Fella's core blocking doesn't route through our servers checking every time you open an app. It runs on Apple's on-device Screen Time frameworks, the same sanctioned system Apple's own Screen Time feature uses, so the block itself doesn't depend on a live connection to check every app you open. We're not in the loop watching which app you tried to open and when; enforcement happens on your phone, using the permissions you granted directly to Apple.

On usefella.com, we use PostHog, hosted on servers in the EU, to understand which pages help people find Fella and which don't. We don't auto-capture everything you do: only specific actions we've chosen to measure, like which pages you visit or which buttons you click, not what you type or which apps you personally block. You can opt out of website analytics at any time from the Privacy Policy page, and it takes effect immediately. None of this is used to target you with ads.

Fella+ subscriptions are handled entirely by Apple through the App Store. Apple may tell us whether your subscription is active, expired, in a trial, or eligible for access, but we never see your full card number or your Apple ID password; Apple doesn't give that to any developer. A small number of service providers help us run Fella, things like hosting, support, and crash reporting, and they're only allowed to use your information to help provide the app, not for their own purposes.

You can manage Screen Time permissions any time in iOS Settings. You can manage or cancel your subscription from your Apple ID's subscription settings, no need to go through us. You can opt out of website analytics whenever you want. And you can ask us to access, correct, or delete your information by emailing [email protected], and we'll take it from there.

We kept Fella's feature set deliberately narrow: block a chosen set of apps, one emergency unlock per session, then lock again automatically. No dashboards, no streaks, no social layer. That's a product decision, but it's also a privacy decision: a smaller product needs a smaller amount of data to run. Every time we've considered adding something that would require collecting more about you to work, we've asked whether it was worth the trade. So far, mostly, the answer has been no.

Full legal Privacy PolicyWant the formal version? Read the full Privacy Policy.