The Blocker

THE BLOCKER · PRIVACY POLICY

Your boundaries.
Your private life.

What stays on your device, what can be shared, and the choices you have. Written for the people who use The Blocker.

Updated 28 September 2026 · Applies to the app and this website

Privacy, at a glance.

The Blocker is developed by Hossam Hamouda, who is responsible for the information described here. Contact: hossam.hamoda@gmail.com.

  • No app account. You do not need to sign up.
  • No ads or advertising SDKs. We do not use an advertising identifier or sell your personal data.
  • No browsing history sent to us. Website rules and hostname checks work on your device.
  • Optional usage sharing. Version 2.8 can send product-usage events with a random installation identifier. You can switch it off.

What stays on your device.

Blocking and activity

Safari receives a content-blocking rule list; the content blocker cannot see the pages you visit. Your categories, custom blocklist, allowlist and schedules are stored in the app’s local shared storage.

The optional Stats web extension checks hostnames against your rules locally, stores blocked-attempt counts and times, and can show the rescue page during a challenge. It does not send visited or blocked websites to us. When usage sharing is enabled, a rough daily count range, such as 1–5, 6–20 or 20+, can be included in an event.

Your challenge

Your start day, personal reason, slip days, answers and blocked-attempt times stay on the device. Optional usage events can record actions such as joining, restarting, logging a slip or leaving, and the challenge day; they do not contain your written answers or reason.

Face ID and Touch ID

Apple performs biometric authentication. The app receives the authentication result, not your face, fingerprint or biometric template.

Optional usage sharing.

From version 2.8, the Share anonymous usage setting controls app usage reporting to our service at apps.hossamhamouda.com. Events help us understand setup, reliability and use of features; for example, opening the Pro screen or enabling Safari protection.

Events can include a random identifier for this installation, app and iOS versions, device type, language, App Store country and feature actions. This random identifier lets events from an installation be grouped, so this reporting is not the same as sending no data.

Event payloads do not include visited or blocked URLs, your free-text entries, name, email address or IP address. Like other internet services, the hosting infrastructure processes connection information when receiving requests.

If you buy Pro while usage sharing is enabled, the app passes the random identifier to Apple as an appAccountToken. Apple’s purchase notifications can then associate plan, price, country, trial, renewal, cancellation and refund information with that identifier. We do not receive your Apple Account credentials or payment-card details.

A detail worth knowing: turning off usage sharing stops future app usage events and removes the local event queue and identifier. Apple can still send notifications for a purchase previously linked to that identifier, including after you delete the app.

Apple & services you choose.

Purchases

Apple’s App Store and StoreKit process purchases and provide transaction and entitlement information needed to unlock Pro. Apple handles your payment and its own records under its policies.

Optional private iCloud sync

Pro can sync supported settings and rules through your private iCloud key-value storage. This uses your Apple Account. The developer cannot read that private iCloud content. Switching sync off stops future syncing; it does not by itself erase copies already in iCloud or backups.

Blocklist subscriptions

If you choose a remote blocklist, the app downloads it from that URL. Its host receives the normal download request and connection information. The Blocker does not add your browsing history to that request.

This website & messages to support.

This website sets no cookies, loads fonts locally and includes no advertising trackers or third-party analytics scripts. Our hosting server keeps technical request logs, which can include IP address, request path, time and browser information, to operate and secure the site. Logs are rotated rather than kept as a permanent browsing profile.

If you email support, we receive your email address, message and any attachments you choose to send. We use them to answer and handle follow-up requests through our email provider. Please avoid sending sensitive browsing details. Hosting and email providers process the information needed to deliver these services.

Retention, requests & changes.

Usage and purchase event records in our analytics service are retained for 180 days. Disabling sharing does not immediately delete records already received. Support messages are used for the support conversation and follow-up; you may ask us to delete them. Apple manages its own purchase records separately.

Use Your privacy choices for steps to switch off usage sharing, manage local features and request help with data. There is no The Blocker account to delete. We cannot remotely access or erase your device’s local data or private iCloud storage.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete or restrict use of personal information, object to processing, or complain to a relevant privacy authority. Email us to make a request. We may need limited information to verify it; if a random installation identifier can no longer be matched to you, we will explain that limitation.

We will update this page when our practices change and revise the date above. The app’s installed version may have different features; version 2.8 introduced the optional usage reporting described here.