Terms, conditions & GDPR
Last updated: 7 July 2026 · The full privacy policy and account-deletion instructions are separate pages.
Terms & conditions
1. What Tethr is
Tethr is an app for two people who choose to block distracting apps together and unlock them by physically tapping their phones. These terms are an agreement between you and the Tethr developer (Ireland). By creating an account you accept them.
2. What Tethr is not
Tethr is a commitment device, not a security product. The blocking is friction, not a prison: 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 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.
5. Emergencies and escape routes
Emergency calls are never blocked, in any mode. Every lock can end without the other person present: the logged break-lock (they 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 one-time purchase of €1.99 through Google Play Billing — a single payment, not a subscription, with no recurring charge. 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, 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.
- Where: stored in the EU (Germany), on systems we operate ourselves, with Cloudflare providing transport security.
- 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.