TetherKids Privacy Policy
Effective date: October 6, 2026 · Last updated: October 6, 2026
TetherKids ("the app", "we") is a family-safety app for iPhone made by Sivakumar Thirugnana. It helps parents set screen-time limits and content restrictions, filter websites, see where family members are, and get alerts, and it gives children a way to send an emergency alert. This policy explains what the app does with information. If you have questions, contact us at support@tetherkids.app.
1. Who this applies to
The app is used by a family: one or more parents and one or more children, each on their own iPhone. Parents decide whether to install the app on a child's iPhone and set it up. The app is meant for use with a parent's involvement. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children ourselves; see "Children's privacy" below.
2. What the app handles and where it goes
| Information | Why | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Precise location, and a short location history (about the last 7 days) | Show family members on the family map, trails, and arrival/departure alerts | Your family's iCloud (Apple CloudKit), visible only to the family members you invite. Never to us. |
| Device name, role (parent or child), battery level, a random device ID | List who is in the family and tell phones apart | Your family's iCloud |
| Alerts: arrived/left a place, SOS, DNS protection switched off, concerning-content flags (category and time only) | Notify parents | Your family's iCloud |
| Settings and rules (limits, content restrictions, filter categories, allow/block lists, places) | Apply and sync parental controls | The iPhone, and your family's iCloud so a parent's phone can set them on a child's phone |
| Screen Time use of apps and categories | Show usage and apply limits | Handled by Apple's Screen Time system on the device. The app itself cannot read it, and it is not sent anywhere by us. |
| Website names looked up by the DNS filter | Block unwanted sites | Checked on the iPhone. Allowed lookups are sent to Cloudflare's public DNS service (see section 4). |
| Emergency contacts (name and number you choose) and the SOS text and call | Prepare an emergency text with a map link and start the call | Stored on the child's iPhone only. The text and call are sent by iOS, using your carrier. |
| Passcodes | Lock the app and settings | Stored on the iPhone only, as a one-way hash. Face ID/Touch ID is handled by iOS; the app never receives biometric data. |
3. Screen safety (concerning-content flags)
If a child starts "Screen safety", the app checks what is on the child's screen on the iPhone itself for sensitive images and for certain concerning phrases. The screen content is analysed in memory and discarded. It is not saved, not uploaded, and not seen by us. When something matches, only a flag is kept: the kind of concern, the time, and the last known location. Flags appear on the child's iPhone and to the parents. iOS shows a recording indicator while this runs, and the child can stop it, which sends parents a notice.
4. Third-party services
- Apple (iCloud/CloudKit, push notifications, Maps address suggestions, Screen Time, Contacts picker). Apple handles this under its own terms and privacy policy. Typing a place name asks Apple Maps for suggestions. The Contacts picker returns only the number or address you choose, and the app never gets access to your whole address book.
- Cloudflare public DNS (1.1.1.2 and 1.1.1.3). When the built-in DNS filter is on, domain names that pass the filter are sent to Cloudflare to be resolved, together with the phone's network address. Cloudflare's family resolvers block malware and, if enabled, adult content. See Cloudflare's privacy policy. These requests contain website names only.
- Block lists and country data. The app downloads free block lists from GitHub (the StevenBlack hosts project, MIT licence) and country IP data from DB-IP.com (IP Geolocation by DB-IP, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0). These servers can see the phone's network address when the download happens.
- NextDNS (optional). If a parent chooses NextDNS instead of the built-in filter, DNS lookups go to the NextDNS profile the parent entered, and the app calls NextDNS's API with the API key the parent entered (kept in the iPhone's Keychain). NextDNS's own privacy policy applies.
We do not use advertising, analytics, crash-reporting or tracking services.
5. Permissions the app asks for
- Location (Always, precise): so family members can see each other even when the app is closed. A blue location indicator shows while it is on. It can be turned off in the app or in Settings.
- Screen Time / Family Controls: to apply limits and restrictions. On a child's iPhone this is approved through the parent's Family Sharing.
- VPN configuration: the DNS filter and country control run on the iPhone as a local network filter. Traffic is not routed through our servers.
- Notifications: to alert parents. Face ID: to open the app on a parent's iPhone. Screen recording (broadcast): only if Screen safety is started on the child's iPhone.
6. How long information is kept, and your choices
- Location trails older than about 7 days are deleted. Alerts and settings stay in the family's iCloud until the family or the device is removed.
- In the app: Family > Leave the family (or Delete the family for everyone for the phone that created it) removes the shared data. A parent can remove a device from the list. Turn off location sharing at any time. Deleting the app removes everything stored on that iPhone.
- You can also use Settings > your name > iCloud > Manage Account Storage > TetherKids > Delete Data.
- Because we hold no copy of your data, we cannot look up, export or delete it for you. You control it in the app and in iCloud.
7. Children's privacy
TetherKids is operated by parents for their children. We do not collect personal information from children, and the app has no accounts, advertising or tracking. Information about a child (such as location and alerts) is shared only inside the family, through the family's iCloud, and is controlled by the parents. By setting up TetherKids on a child's iPhone, the parent confirms they are the child's parent or legal guardian and agrees to this use. A parent can stop all sharing and delete the data at any time as described above.
8. Security
Data travels through Apple's CloudKit, which encrypts it in transit and at rest. Passcodes are stored only as hashes. The app locks behind a passcode (and optionally Face ID on a parent's iPhone), and a child's iPhone needs a parent's passcode or approval to change settings. No system is perfectly secure, and this is software-level protection, not a substitute for supervising a child's device.
9. Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR, UK GDPR or California law) you may have rights to access, correct, delete or move personal information. Because we do not collect or hold your information, you exercise these directly in the app and in iCloud, and with the third parties above. Contact us at support@tetherkids.app if you need help. We do not sell or share personal information.
10. Changes and contact
If this policy changes, we will update the date at the top and describe material changes in the app's release notes. Contact: Sivakumar Thirugnana, support@tetherkids.app.
This page is a template drafted for the app's behavior. Have it reviewed against the laws that apply to you before relying on it.