Privacy Policy

Last updated: 26 October 2026 · Applies to the FocusGuard app for Windows and Mac, the FocusGuard browser extensions (including on Chromebooks), the guardian dashboard and cloud service, and this website

FocusGuard helps parents and guardians manage a child’s computer and browser use. It has three parts: an app on the child’s Windows PC or Mac, a browser extension, and the FocusGuard cloud service, which runs the guardian dashboard. On a Chromebook there is no app: the browser extension alone links the Chromebook to the guardian account.

A guardian account is required

Setting up FocusGuard links the child’s device to a guardian account in the FocusGuard cloud. This is required: setup can’t be finished without it, because the guardian dashboard, remote rules and requests all run through the cloud.

What we collect about the child

When a device is linked, the cloud stores:

• Activity events: the domain of sites visited (for example youtube.com, not the full address), the names of apps used, the category FocusGuard assigned, whether it was blocked or allowed, and how long it lasted.
• Usage totals: daily time counts per category and rule.
• Requests: when the child asks for more time or for access to a blocked site, the site’s domain, the reason the child typed, and the guardian’s decision.
• Focus and coaching sessions: goals the child types, how the session went, and counts of blocks and check-ins.
• School assignments: if a guardian connects a school account, the child’s courses, assignments and submission status.
• File names: the names and folder locations of files in the child’s Downloads and Desktop folders, shown in the guardian’s reports.
• Device health: whether FocusGuard is running and protected.

On a Chromebook FocusGuard sees only browser tabs, so it collects no app names and no file names. The rest of the list applies.

The guardian can also enter a free-text description of the child to tailor rules. We store it, along with earlier versions.

Artificial intelligence and other services we use

• Site classification (OpenAI). When FocusGuard meets a site it doesn’t recognise, it sends the page’s full web address and page details such as its title to FocusGuard’s classification service, which uses OpenAI to decide what kind of site it is. This is on by default for linked devices. We rely on it while we finish classification that runs entirely on the child’s device; when that is ready, we’ll update this policy.
• Screen classification (OpenAI), off by default. If a guardian turns on visual classification, FocusGuard sends screenshots of the child’s screen to OpenAI to judge what’s being shown. This is Windows and Mac only; the Chromebook extension can’t take screenshots.
• Guardian assistant features (OpenAI). Text a guardian types into natural-language features, including the child description, is sent to OpenAI to interpret it.
• Email (Postmark), payments (Stripe), hosting (Cloudflare).

OpenAI processes this data only to provide the service to us. Under OpenAI’s terms for its API, data sent through it isn’t used to train OpenAI’s models. We don’t sell data or share it with advertisers.

How long we keep it

Within these periods, we may use this history for a short time to fix bugs and improve FocusGuard, for example to check why a site was wrongly blocked.

Deleting the guardian account deletes all of the above for every child in the household.

On the device

FocusGuard also keeps activity data on the child’s computer (Windows: ProgramData\FocusGuard; Mac: /Users/Shared/FocusGuard). Uninstalling FocusGuard keeps this data by default so that a reinstall can pick up where it left off. To erase it:

• Windows: run FocusGuardSetup.exe --uninstall-wipe --confirm as an administrator, or choose Start fresh when reinstalling.
• Mac: run the uninstaller with --erase-data.

Chromebook: the extension keeps its settings and recent activity in Chrome’s extension storage. Removing the extension deletes them.

Erasing local data doesn’t delete the guardian account or its cloud data. Delete the account for that.

Private browsing

FocusGuard doesn’t monitor private browsing. It turns it off: on supported browsers (Chrome and Edge on Windows, Chrome on Mac) it sets browser policy so Incognito or InPrivate windows can’t be opened, and private browsing can’t be used to get around the guardian’s rules.

Chromebook: an extension can’t turn Incognito off on a family Chromebook. Google accounts supervised with Family Link can’t open Incognito windows; for other accounts, a school or organisation administrator can turn Incognito off. If Incognito is available and the extension is allowed to run there, FocusGuard applies the same rules in Incognito windows; otherwise those windows are outside FocusGuard. The guardian dashboard shows what a Chromebook can and can’t enforce.

Browser extension permissions

This website

If you join the Chromebook waitlist or sign up for product updates, we store the email you provide (and optional platform or campaign source) in FocusGuard’s own database so we can send product updates. If you create an account but do not finish download or setup, we may send a short reminder. For an account download, we record the platform/release, whether a download was authorized or started, a two-letter country code, and any campaign source parameters. Download-event history is automatically deleted after 30 days; expired one-time download-token records, which store only a SHA-256 hash of the token, are deleted after 7 days. Account deletion removes both sooner. We do not sell these addresses or use them for ad networks. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails, or email [email protected] to be removed.

Children

FocusGuard is used by parents and guardians to supervise their own children. The guardian creates the account, consents on the child’s behalf, and can review or delete the child’s data from the dashboard or by contacting us.

Contact

Questions about this policy: [email protected]

Support page: Support