Terms, conditions & GDPR
Last updated: 28 July 2026 · The full privacy policy and account-deletion instructions are separate pages.
Terms & conditions
1. What Tethr is
Tethr is an app that blocks distracting apps behind a real-world NFC tap. In pair mode, two people lock together and unlock by physically tapping their phones; in a circle, a group of up to ten family members or friends lock and unlock by tapping one shared anchor phone; in the solo Tethr Tags mode, one person locks their own apps to an NFC tag they own. These terms are an agreement between you and the Tethr developer (Ireland). By installing Tethr or creating an account you accept them.
2. What Tethr is not
Tethr is a commitment device, not a security product. The blocking is designed to slow you down, not to make leaving impossible: a tap proves the phones were together, not that both people agreed, and documented escape routes always exist. Do not rely on Tethr to restrain anyone, and do not use it to monitor, coerce or control another person. Pairing — and joining a circle — is for consenting participants only.
3. Eligibility
Tethr is not directed at children and is intended for users 16 and over.
4. Your account
Accounts are anonymous: a display name you invent and a credential stored on your phone. Because we hold no email address or phone number, a lost or reset phone means a lost account — we cannot recover it. Your partner can always dissolve the pair from their side, and you can leave a circle at any time.
5. Emergencies and escape routes
Emergency calls are never blocked, in any mode. Every lock can end without anyone else present: the logged break-lock (the people you locked with are notified), the offline unlock, the automatic release if the app can't check in for hours, and the optional hard time limit. These work on your phone itself, so no outage on our side can trap you. Do not use Tethr in situations where blocked — or unblocked — apps could cause harm.
6. Price
During closed testing Tethr is free. At public launch, Tethr is a paid app on Google Play: €0.99 per person, paid once at install — not a subscription, with no recurring charge and no in-app purchases. Pair mode is built for two — each partner needs the app on their own phone; a circle needs the app on every phone in it; the solo Tethr Tags mode needs only your own install. Google's stated refund rules apply. We won't retroactively charge existing owners if the price changes for new buyers.
7. Acceptable use
Don't attack, overload or attempt to gain unauthorised access to the service, and don't use it to harm others. We may suspend accounts that do. Rate limits protect the service for everyone.
8. Availability and liability
Tethr is provided "as is". We work to keep it reliable, but we don't warrant uninterrupted service, and app blocking on Android can be affected by the operating system, the manufacturer, or a determined user. To the extent permitted by law, our liability is limited to the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited, or your statutory consumer rights.
9. Ending the agreement
Leave any time: Settings → "Delete my account & data" in the app removes your account and data immediately (see account deletion). We may terminate accounts for breach of these terms.
10. Changes and governing law
If these terms change materially we announce it in the app, and the date above changes with it. These terms are governed by the laws of Ireland; EU consumers also keep the protections of their home country's law.
GDPR & data protection
The short version — the privacy policy is the complete statement:
- Controller: the Tethr developer, Ireland — hello@usetethr.app.
- What we store: your chosen display name, your pairing or circle membership, lock/unlock events, a push token, and the package names of apps you chose to block. No email, phone number, location, contacts, messages or browsing data. No ads, no third-party analytics.
- Legal basis: your consent, given at setup and withdrawable at any time by deleting your account.
- Retention: event history is purged automatically after 90 days; account data is erased when you delete your account; encrypted disaster-recovery backups age out within 60 days.
- Where: stored in the EU (Germany), on systems we operate ourselves, with Cloudflare providing transport security and Google Firebase delivering push notifications (EU–US Data Privacy Framework).
- Your rights: access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, and withdrawal of consent — write to hello@usetethr.app. You may also complain to the Irish Data Protection Commission (dataprotection.ie).
Contact
Tethr, Ireland — hello@usetethr.app. We read everything; expect a reply within a few days.