The short version
First Then is a private beta run by one person. There is no analytics, no advertising, and nothing is sold to anyone. What you block and how much you use your phone never leaves your device. Your study decks and the things you type at the unlock screen do go to a server, because that is how the quiz works.
What stays on your device
- Which apps and websites you block. Chosen through Apple's Screen Time picker. Apple's design means the app is handed opaque tokens, not app names — even First Then cannot tell which apps you picked.
- Your usage figures. Screen time totals and per-app breakdowns are rendered inside an Apple system extension and are technically unable to leave it. They are never uploaded.
- Your active passes and cooldowns. Stored in an app group container on the device.
What is stored on the server
The backend is Supabase (Postgres and authentication).
- Your email address. Used only to sign you in with a six-digit code and to tie your decks to you. There is no password.
- Your decks. The terms, meanings and example sentences from any file you upload, plus the deck's name and language. Row-level security means only your own account can read them.
- A small amount of app state. Your settings and quota counters, so they survive reinstalling.
What the gatekeeper sees
When you try to unlock something, the conversation is handled by a large language model. The messages you type and the deck items being quizzed are sent to Anthropic's API to produce the reply. Anthropic does not train its models on API traffic and deletes it within 30 days under their commercial terms.
The gatekeeper is deliberately given as little as possible: it receives the study items and your messages, and it is not told which app or website you are trying to get into.
Sign-in codes are sent through an email provider on our behalf. They see your email address and the code, nothing else.
How long things are kept
Your decks and account stay until you delete them. You can delete any deck yourself from your decks page, which removes its items immediately. To delete your account and everything attached to it, email the address below and it will be done by hand.
Children
First Then is not intended for anyone under 13, and no account should be created for one.
Changes
If this policy changes in a way that matters, the date at the top changes and beta testers get an email.
Getting in touch
Questions, or a deletion request: info@firstthen.app.