Your focus data stays on your PC.

FocusFlow is a desktop productivity app for Windows that enforces focus sessions by blocking distracting applications and locking your desktop. This policy explains what the app stores, what system access it uses, and how your data is handled.

Last updated: June 2026  ·  Applies to: FocusFlow — Deep Focus App Blocker for Windows (Desktop) v1.0.9+

Local-only storage

FocusFlow stores all data locally on your Windows PC in a SQLite database file at %USERPROFILE%\.focusflow\focusflow.db. This includes:

• Tasks, schedules, and recurring task rules
• Focus session history, durations, and notes
• Focus Launcher session configuration (kiosk mode settings, PIN hash, break preferences)
• App block rules, keyword blockers, and block schedules
• Daily allowance settings and usage logs
• Habit tracking data and streaks
• Daily notes and app settings
• Temptation log (which blocked apps were attempted and when)

None of this data is transmitted to or stored on any FocusFlow-operated or TBTechs-operated server. It never leaves your device except as described in the "Anonymous diagnostics" section below.

No account system or backend

FocusFlow does not require a user account, email address, or any form of registration. There is no FocusFlow backend service, cloud sync, or remote database. The app operates entirely offline and locally on your device.

Windows system access used

• Process enumeration and termination: FocusFlow reads the list of running Windows processes to detect blocked applications during focus sessions or always-on enforcement, and terminates them using Win32 APIs. It does not read process memory, file contents, or private data from other applications.
• Win32 API / JNA: Used to detect the foreground window (via SetWinEventHook and GetForegroundWindow), send close signals to blocked application windows, and manage the Windows taskbar state during Focus Launcher kiosk sessions. No keystroke logging, screen recording, or clipboard access is performed.
• Focus Launcher (taskbar control): During a Focus Launcher kiosk session, the app hides the Windows taskbar to create a distraction-free desktop. The taskbar is restored unconditionally when the session ends, when the app exits normally, when the JVM shuts down, and via a global crash recovery handler. At no point is the taskbar state stored off-device.
• Windows Firewall (optional): When network blocking is enabled for a specific app, FocusFlow adds an outbound block rule via netsh advfirewall. These rules are associated with the app's blocking session and are removed when blocking is disabled. This requires administrator privileges.
• Hosts-file blocking (optional): When website blocking is enabled, FocusFlow adds entries to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts to block specific domains. This requires administrator privileges. Entries are removed when blocking is disabled.
• System tray: Used to display a tray icon and provide quick controls (restore window, toggle blocking, quit) while the app runs in the background.
• Windows Registry (optional, opt-in): If the user enables "Start with Windows" in Settings, FocusFlow adds a single entry to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. This is an explicit user opt-in and can be removed at any time from the Settings screen.
• File system (user profile only): Used to read and write the local SQLite database, automatic backups, and crash log in %USERPROFILE%\.focusflow\. FocusFlow does not access files outside this directory except for the hosts file (when website blocking is enabled) and the registry key described above.
• Auto-backup: FocusFlow creates periodic rolling backups of your local database within the same .focusflow folder. These backups never leave your device.

Anonymous diagnostics

FocusFlow may send two types of anonymous diagnostic data to the developer via a private Discord webhook. Both are controlled by the single "Send anonymous diagnostics" toggle in Settings → Privacy, which is on by default and can be disabled at any time.

1 · Crash reports

If FocusFlow encounters an unhandled crash, it automatically sends a single anonymous crash report. This happens only on crash — never during normal use. The report contains:

• The exception class name and error message (e.g. NullPointerException: cannot read field)
• A truncated stack trace (up to 1,500 characters of code location info)
• Your Windows version and architecture (e.g. Windows 11 10.0)
• The Java runtime version bundled with the app
• The FocusFlow app version number

The crash report does not contain your username, file paths, task names, notes, blocked app names, habits, session history, or any other user-generated content. No device identifier or hardware ID is included. It is sent on a background thread and is silently discarded if the internet connection is unavailable.

2 · Feature usage telemetry

When the diagnostics toggle is on, FocusFlow sends anonymous feature usage events to help the developer understand which features are used and how the app performs in the real world. Events are sent on a background thread and silently discarded if offline. Examples of events sent:

• Focus Session — started / ended (planned duration, actual duration, completion rate, number of blocked app attempts during session; no task names or note content)
• Nuclear Mode — enabled / disabled (blocked escape-attempt count; no app names)
• Emergency Break — activated / deactivated (time budget snapshot; no content)
• Focus Launcher — entered / exited / break taken / hard-lock ended (durations only)
• Standalone Block — started / stopped (duration; no app names or content)
• Pomodoro — cycle completed (work/break lengths); settings saved (new durations only)
• Launch at Login — enabled or disabled
• Onboarding — completed (number of presets chosen, focus duration selected, theme; no preset names)
• Resource health — hourly JVM snapshot (heap %, RAM, thread counts, GC pause time) and threshold alerts (heap > 75 % or 90 %, threads > 150)

No event contains task names, note contents, blocked app names, usernames, file paths, IP addresses, device identifiers, hardware IDs, or any other personal or user-generated content. All data is received by TBTechs via a private Discord channel and is used solely for bug identification and app improvement. It is not shared with third parties, sold, or used for any purpose other than app stability and quality.

What FocusFlow does not collect

• No location data
• No camera or microphone access
• No keyboard input, clipboard contents, or screen recordings
• No passwords or credentials of any kind
• No payment data
• No task names, note contents, habit names, or any user-generated content — in any telemetry payload
• No blocked app names or website domains in any telemetry payload
• No file paths, usernames, IP addresses, or personal identifiers of any kind
• No device identifiers, hardware IDs, or fingerprinting
• No content from other applications
• No cloud accounts, sync, or remote database — all user data is stored locally

Your control over telemetry

The "Send anonymous diagnostics" toggle in Settings → Privacy controls all three types of outbound data: crash reports, resource health telemetry, and feature usage events. Turning it off immediately stops all outbound diagnostic communication. The toggle state is stored locally and persists across app restarts. No data is queued or batched for later sending — if the toggle is off, nothing is sent.

Windows App Package (MSIX) and Microsoft Store

The Microsoft Store version of FocusFlow is distributed as an MSIX package. The app declares the runFullTrust restricted capability, which is required to enumerate and terminate running processes and manage the Windows taskbar and firewall rules for focus enforcement. This capability is not used to collect, transmit, or store any data beyond what is described in this policy.

Microsoft may collect standard Store usage data (installs, updates, crashes) as part of its normal platform telemetry, independent of FocusFlow. This is governed by Microsoft's own privacy policy, not TBTechs'.

Your control

You can uninstall FocusFlow at any time through Windows Settings → Apps. To remove all stored data, delete the %USERPROFILE%\.focusflow\ folder after uninstalling. To remove any Windows Firewall rules added by network blocking, open Windows Defender Firewall → Outbound Rules and delete rules named "FocusFlow - Block [appname]". No data remains on any server because none is ever transmitted there.

Children's privacy

FocusFlow does not knowingly collect any personal data from anyone. Since no personal data is collected or transmitted, the app is appropriate for use regardless of age. Parents may use FocusFlow to manage focus sessions on shared or family devices.

Policy changes

This Privacy Policy may be updated at any time without prior notice. The latest version is always at this URL. We recommend reviewing this page when updating the app. Continued use of FocusFlow after any update constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

Open source

The Windows desktop source code is available at github.com/TITANICBHAI/FocusFlow-jvm. If the app's data handling changes in a future version, this policy will be updated to reflect it, and the change will be visible in the repository commit history.

Contact

For privacy questions or corrections, open an issue on the FocusFlow GitHub repository.