terms of use

who we are

ditchd is provided by [ditchd's owner: legal name to add], trading as ditchd, of [ditchd's owner: postal address to add] ("ditchd", "we", "us"). contact: hello@ditchd.app.

by installing or using ditchd, or creating an account, you agree to these terms. our privacy policy explains what we do with your data. if you don't agree to these terms, don't use ditchd.

the service

ditchd is a home screen (launcher) for android, with a companion app for linux and windows computers. it lets you set rules that limit, delay or block apps and websites, and lets you earn screen time ("dinos") through real activity such as walking, exercise and focus. fun kinds of app (social, short video, video, games and so on) get some free minutes a day, then cost dinos; the free minutes come down week by week. your account syncs your rules and dinos between your devices.

the account, and the activity history on it (what earned each dino, like a walk or a gym visit), are part of the service: ditchd needs them to keep your rules, dinos and stats the same on every device. so you need an account to use ditchd, and setup asks you to agree to these terms and, separately, to give your explicit consent to that history (see the privacy policy, "health"). you can withdraw that consent any time; the history is then deleted from your account, and the app offers to delete the account too.

we'll keep improving ditchd, which means features may change, be added or be removed. if we remove something you're paying for in a way that matters, we'll tell you in advance, and you can cancel.

who can use it

you must be at least 13 to use ditchd and create an account. if you're under 18, you should have a parent's or guardian's permission. ditchd is for your own devices: only install it on a device you own or are allowed to manage, and never on someone else's phone to control them.

how strict it is, by design

you choose ditchd because you want it to hold you to your own rules. so you understand and agree that:

• making a rule stricter applies straight away. making it easier waits (the wait you chose, at least a day, and longer the stricter you've set ditchd), then you confirm it on that rule's own page within 12 hours, or it stays as it is. effort can shorten some waits, but never a block from quitting something or raising a daily limit on an app or a kind of app.
• your free minutes for fun apps come down every week, as setup explains. after them, time costs dinos, and the price rises the more you use that day.
• deleting your account waits 7 days, like uninstalling. being signed out never switches anything off.
• if you switch on the uninstall guard, uninstalling ditchd waits 7 days, whichever way you try it, while you have a trial or subscription. with no trial or subscription, you can uninstall straight away.
• trying to get round ditchd (for example by force-stopping it or changing the clock) can cost dinos or lock things for a while, as the app explains.
• we can't and won't switch your rules off for you on request. that's the point of ditchd. every wait ends on its own. if there's a genuine emergency, write to us and a person will look at it.

ditchd explains each of these before you turn it on. read those screens properly.

safety

ditchd never blocks, covers or delays emergency calls and sos, the phone app, incoming calls, crash or fall detection, or your phone's emergency information, in any mode or setting. calls and alarms always ring when ditchd silences notifications.

even so, ditchd can make other apps harder to reach, and that includes apps you might need in a hurry. before you rely on ditchd, make sure any app you need for your health, safety, work or caring responsibilities (for example a medical, insulin or carer's app, two-factor authentication or a work messaging app) is set to "always allowed". don't use ditchd's wake-up alarm as your only alarm for anything critical.

not medical advice

ditchd is a self-control and productivity tool. it isn't a medical device and doesn't diagnose, treat or prevent any condition, including addiction, adhd, anxiety or depression. exercise prompts (such as push-ups or holds) are optional: only do what's safe for you, and stop if anything hurts. if you're worried about your health or your relationship with your phone, talk to someone you trust, a doctor or another professional.

subscriptions, trial and cancelling

subscriptions are not on sale yet. these terms will apply when they are.

• free trial. new accounts get a 14-day free trial. no card is needed, and nothing is charged when it ends: you only pay if you choose to subscribe. one trial per person and per phone: a trial already used on a phone or account can't be started again with a new email.
• price. after the trial, ditchd costs £4.99 a month or £49.99 a year, including vat where it applies. the price you'll pay, and how often, is always shown in google play before you buy. if you subscribe during the trial, you're charged that day.
• payment through google play. subscriptions are sold and billed through google play, under google play's terms. they renew automatically at the end of each month or year, at the same price, until you cancel.
• cancelling. cancel any time in the play store app: profile → payments and subscriptions → subscriptions → ditchd → cancel. you keep everything until the end of the period you've paid for, and you're not charged again. uninstalling ditchd or deleting your account doesn't cancel a subscription.
• price changes. we'll tell you at least 30 days before a price changes, and google play will ask for your agreement where the law requires it. if you don't want the new price, cancel before it applies.
• when access ends. when a free trial ends without a subscription, nothing is charged and ditchd takes a break: it stops blocking and earning, keeps everything you set up, and can be uninstalled straight away. if a paid subscription ends, ditchd keeps working for 7 days, then takes the same break. subscribing again carries straight on, exactly where you left off. it's never a trap: not paying never holds your phone.
• free periods. we may give some people free months or years, for example as a reward. these don't renew unless we say so.

your right to cancel (uk consumers)

the law normally gives you 14 days to change your mind about buying something online. ditchd is digital content that starts working on your phone the moment you subscribe, so when you subscribe you ask for it to start straight away and agree that you lose that 14-day right once it has. we confirm this by email after you subscribe.

that doesn't touch your other rights. if ditchd is faulty or not as described, you're entitled to a repair or replacement, or some or all of your money back (consumer rights act 2015). for a purchase you didn't mean to make, google play offers refunds within 48 hours of buying (see google play's refund policy); after that, email us and we'll help.

your account

• use an email address you control. you sign in with links we email you, so anyone with access to your email can get into your account: keep it secure.
• you're responsible for what happens on your account. tell us at once if you think someone else has used it.
• there's no signing out in the app: ditchd always belongs to an account. if you're signed out by something else (another device, an expired sign-in), your rules keep working and ditchd asks you to sign in again.
• you can delete your account at any time. in the app (settings → account → delete my account) it waits 7 days first, like uninstalling, and you can keep it any time before then; once it's deleted, ditchd takes a break on your devices, like when a subscription ends. or email hello@ditchd.app. see the privacy policy.

acceptable use

don't:

• use ditchd to monitor, restrict or control another person's device without their knowledge and consent;
• reverse engineer, resell or copy ditchd, except as the law allows;
• attack, overload or try to get unauthorised access to our servers or other people's accounts;
• abuse the free trial (for example with many accounts or by spoofing device ids), or abuse rewards and free periods;
• use ditchd for anything illegal.

found a way round ditchd? tell us at hello@ditchd.app. that's welcome, not a breach. cheating your own dino balance is your own business, but it doesn't count towards any reward we offer. we may suspend or close an account that breaks these terms. we'll tell you why, unless the law stops us, and you can reply.

dinos and rewards

dinos are a way of counting effort and screen time inside ditchd. they have no cash value, can't be bought with money, sold or transferred to someone else, and can be lost (for example, as a penalty for tampering, or if you delete your account). meteors and rewards are for motivation. the rewards we offer, and how many meteors they take, can change; a claim we've accepted is honoured.

our software and your content

ditchd, its design and its code belong to us or our licensors. we give you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use ditchd on devices you own or control, for as long as you follow these terms. open-source parts are under their own licences, listed in the app.

what you write in ditchd (journal entries, commitments, your own routine activities) stays yours. you let us store and sync it only to provide the service.

website category lists come from third parties (ut1 blacklists, cc by-sa 4.0; hagezi dns blocklists, gpl-3.0). they may block a site you need or miss one you wanted blocked; you can allow or block sites yourself.

availability

we work hard to keep ditchd reliable, but we can't promise it will always work, block everything you want blocked, or work on every phone. it needs android 8 or newer. phone makers and android updates can change how blocking behaves. ditchd keeps working on your phone without an internet connection; syncing between devices needs one.

our liability

• nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else the law doesn't allow us to limit. nothing affects your legal rights as a consumer, including your rights if digital content is faulty, or if it damages your device or other digital content because we didn't use reasonable care and skill.
• we're responsible for loss or damage that was foreseeable when you agreed to these terms and that we caused by breaking them or by not using reasonable care and skill. we're not responsible for loss nobody could have foreseen.
• ditchd is for personal use. we're not responsible for business losses (such as lost profit or business opportunity).
• because ditchd is designed to restrict your access to apps and websites, we're not responsible for loss caused by ditchd doing what you set it to do, such as missing a message or being unable to open an app you blocked or didn't mark as "always allowed".

ending these terms

you can stop using ditchd at any time: cancel your subscription, delete your account and uninstall the app (after any wait you set has passed, or straight away once you have no trial or subscription). we may stop providing ditchd, with at least 30 days' notice where we reasonably can; if you've paid for a period we can't provide, we'll refund the unused part.

changes to these terms

we may update these terms, for example when subscriptions launch or the law changes. we'll update the date at the top and, for changes that matter, tell you in the app or by email at least 14 days before they apply. if you don't agree, you can cancel before then, and we'll refund any part of a paid period you haven't used.

law and disputes

these terms are governed by the law of england and wales. if you live in scotland or northern ireland you can also bring proceedings there, and if you live elsewhere you keep the protection of the mandatory consumer laws of your country. contact us first: most problems can be sorted out by email. if not, you can use the courts, including the small claims track.

contact

hello@ditchd.app
[ditchd's owner: legal name to add], [ditchd's owner: postal address to add]