Privacy Policy

Beacon ("we," "us," or "our") is operated by John Cain. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and share information when you use the Beacon iOS application and website at beaconfocus.app.

Information we collect

Account information

When you create an account, we collect your email address (if you sign up with email or password), Firebase Authentication user ID, and display name. Your display name may be visible to other members of Circles you join.

If you use Sign in with Apple and choose to hide your email, Apple may provide a private relay address (for example, an @privaterelay.appleid.com address). We use that relay address for account authentication and essential account-related communication routed through Apple.

We also store whether you accept inbound Beacons from Circle members (acceptInboundTethers) and your subscription status on your public user profile, including proActive, proPlusActive, and related subscription-tier fields. Circle members can see whether you are on Free, Beacon Pro, or Beacon Pro+ so the app can enforce Focus and Monk gates (for example, whether you can Focus or Monk with another member). We do not receive your payment card number or full billing details.

Subscriptions (Beacon Pro and Beacon Pro+)

Beacon Pro and Beacon Pro+ are optional auto-renewing subscriptions billed through your Apple ID via the App Store. They are separate products in the same App Store subscription group. Apple processes payment; we do not collect or store your payment card number or bank details.

To provide paid features and show your tier to Circle members, the app:

• Checks your subscription entitlements on your device using Apple's StoreKit APIs
• Publishes subscription-status fields such as proActive and proPlusActive on your public user profile (users/{uid}) when your entitlement changes

Subscription management (cancel, renew, upgrade, refund requests) is handled through Apple. See Apple's terms for purchase and refund policies.

Screen Time and app blocking

Beacon uses Apple's Screen Time and Family Controls APIs to block apps and categories you select. Your app and category selections are stored on your device and in a shared app group for extensions. We do not access your passwords, messages, or the contents of other apps—only the identifiers of apps you choose to block.

Screen Time authorization may require Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode. Beacon does not collect, receive, or store biometric data. Apple handles that verification entirely on your device.

Focus activity

We store focus session data, circle membership, activity logs, and statistics aggregates in Firebase Firestore. This data powers features like Circles activity feeds, streaks, leaderboards, and Beacons.

To power Circle leaderboards, the app may publish a summary of your focus statistics (such as streak and focus minutes) about once per day to users/{uid}/stats/summary, which Circle members can read for ranking within shared Circles.

Push notifications

If you enable notifications, we store a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) device token in your private user profile to deliver push notifications.

Analytics and advertising

The Beacon app does not use Firebase Analytics, third-party advertising networks, or cross-app tracking for analytics purposes.

Website

Our marketing website is static and does not use cookies or analytics at this time. Circle invite pages may log standard web server access data through our hosting provider.

How we use information

• Provide and improve the Beacon app and its features
• Enable social features within Circles (activity feeds, Beacons, challenges)
• Send push notifications you have opted into
• Respond to support requests
• Protect against abuse and enforce rate limits
• Verify Beacon Pro and Beacon Pro+ subscription status and unlock paid features
• Indicate to Circle members your subscription tier for Focus, Monk, and related social features
• Publish daily stats summaries for Circle leaderboards

Third-party services

Beacon uses the following third-party services:

• Google Firebase — Authentication, Firestore database, Cloud Functions, Cloud Messaging, and App Check
• Apple — Sign in with Apple and Screen Time / Family Controls APIs
• Apple App Store / StoreKit — In-app subscription purchase, renewal, and entitlement verification (payments processed by Apple, not Beacon)

These providers process data according to their own privacy policies. Data may be processed in the United States and other countries where Google and our service providers operate.

International data processing

If you use Beacon from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States and other countries where our service providers operate. Those countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in your country.

Data sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share personal information with third parties for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Circle members can see your display name, focus activity within shared Circles, and related social features. We may disclose information if required by law or to protect our rights and users' safety.

Data retention and deletion

You can delete your account at any time in the app under Settings → Delete account. When you delete your account, we remove your authentication record, your public and private user profile, your circle memberships, scheduled session invites, and related account data through our server-side deletion process.

Some historical records may remain in systems we do not fully purge on deletion—for example, anonymized or de-identified activity log entries, challenge-related documents, deactivated session history tied to Circles, or server-side rate-limit records. Where retained, this data is no longer linked to an active account and is not used to identify you.

Deleting your Beacon account does not automatically cancel an active Beacon Pro or Beacon Pro+ subscription. You must cancel any Beacon subscription in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions on your iPhone (or the App Store subscriptions page). After account deletion, we remove your profile and subscription-status fields (such as proActive and proPlusActive) as part of account cleanup; Apple may retain purchase records according to its policies.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights regarding your personal information, including:

• Access — request a copy of personal information we hold about you
• Correction — request correction of inaccurate information (you can also update your display name in the app, subject to app limits)
• Deletion — delete your account in the app, or contact us for help
• Opt-out of sale/sharing — we do not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising

California residents: we do not sell personal information as defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). You may contact us to exercise applicable rights. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

If you are in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you may have additional rights under applicable data protection law, including the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. Our legal basis for processing includes performing our contract with you (providing the app), your consent where required, and our legitimate interests in operating and securing Beacon.

To exercise any of these rights, email beaconfocussupport@gmail.com with the subject line "Privacy request." We may need to verify your identity before responding.

Children

Beacon is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us personal information, contact us and we will take steps to delete it.

Security

We use industry-standard measures including Firebase security rules, App Check, and server-side validation for sensitive operations. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated policy on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. Continued use of Beacon after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact us

For privacy questions or requests, contact beaconfocussupport@gmail.com.