Terms & Conditions

What Curbox is

Curbox is a screen time and digital wellbeing app for Android. It helps you block apps and websites, run focus sessions, reduce distractions, and see your own usage. It is a personal tool that runs on your own phone. It is not a medical product, a parental control service, or a guarantee of any outcome.

How Curbox works, in short

Curbox uses Android's Accessibility service to see what is on your screen so it can block, count, or warn. Everything happens on your device. The app does not connect to the internet, and it does not send your information anywhere. For the full details on data, please read the Privacy Policy that ships alongside these terms.

Using the app responsibly

You agree to use Curbox only for managing your own device and your own habits, and only in ways that are legal where you live. Please do not use the app to interfere with someone else's phone without their knowledge and consent, or to do anything harmful or unlawful.

You are responsible for the choices you make inside the app, such as which apps you block, how strict your limits are, and which optional features you turn on.

Permissions you grant and what they do

Curbox needs strong permissions to work. By turning them on, you are giving the app permission to act on your behalf. Here is what each one is for, so you know exactly what you are agreeing to. You can turn off any permission at any time in your phone's settings. If you do, the related feature will stop working, and that is normal and expected.

The two Accessibility services. Curbox runs two Accessibility services, and they are the foundation of the whole app.

• The App Blocker service watches which app or website is open and acts on it in the moment. It powers app blocking, website and keyword blocking, short video (reel) blocking, focus mode, and the warning and mindful message screens. To stop you from opening something on your block list, it can press back or home for you or show a block screen on top. By enabling it, you are allowing the app to take these actions for you.
• The Usage Tracking service measures how long you spend in apps and on websites and counts short videos, so the app can show you your usage. It reads screen information for this purpose only and stores the results on your device.

Both services read screen content while they run. They do this only to block and to measure, only on your device, and never to send anything anywhere. Without Accessibility access, Curbox cannot function.

Run as a foreground service. Curbox keeps its blocking and tracking running in the background as a foreground service with a visible notification, so the system does not shut it down while you are relying on it. By using the app you accept that it runs in the background to keep your blocks and tracking active.

Display over other apps. Curbox draws block screens, warnings, mindful messages, and the reel counter on top of other apps. This is how a block actually appears in front of you.

See other apps installed. The app lists your installed apps so you can choose what to block, track, or focus on, and so it can match the app in front of you against your block list.

Notifications. Used to keep the foreground service visible and to tell you what the app is doing, such as that a focus session is active.

Do Not Disturb access. Used by the Auto DND feature to switch Do Not Disturb on and off on your schedule. It changes nothing else.

Vibrate. Used for small haptic feedback inside the app.

Camera. Used only for QR or barcode unlocks, if you set one up. The camera runs live only while scanning and turns off right after. No photos are taken, saved, or sent.

You are responsible for choosing which of these permissions to grant and for the way you set up the features that rely on them.

Optional features and third-party tools

Some features are optional and rely on tools outside of Curbox:

• Shizuku. If you connect Shizuku, Curbox can use it for features like grayscale mode or pausing apps. Shizuku is a separate project with its own terms. We are not responsible for how Shizuku works or for anything that happens through it.
• QR and barcode unlocks. You can set an unlock that asks you to scan a code with your camera. You are responsible for choosing a code that works for you.

When you use these tools, you do so at your own risk and under their own rules.

No guarantees

We built Curbox with care, but we offer it "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, whether spoken or implied. We do not promise that:

• the app will block everything perfectly or catch every case,
• it will run without bugs or interruptions,
• it will work the same on every device or every version of Android,
• it will help you reach any particular goal.

Apps, browsers, and Android itself change often. A block that works today might need an update tomorrow. Curbox is a helper, not a wall. Please do not rely on it for anything where failure could cause you serious harm.

Your data is your responsibility

Curbox stores your data on your device only. We never receive it, so we cannot recover it for you. If your phone is lost, reset, or damaged, or if you uninstall the app, your Curbox data may be gone for good. If your data matters to you, keep your own backups using your phone's tools.

Limit of responsibility

To the fullest extent the law allows, we are not liable for any loss or damage that comes from using or not being able to use Curbox. This includes lost time, lost data, missed notifications, things you could not access because they were blocked, or any indirect or knock-on effects. You use the app at your own risk.

Some places do not allow certain limits like these. If that is true where you live, the limits above apply only as far as the law permits, and nothing here removes rights you have that cannot be waived.

Open source and license

Curbox is open source. Your use of the source code is governed by the license included with the project. These terms cover your use of the app itself as installed on your device. If there is any conflict between these terms and the open source license regarding the code, the license controls for the code.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as the app changes. When we do, we will update the date at the top. If you keep using Curbox after an update, that means you accept the new terms. Because the app has no internet access, the best way to see the latest version is to check this document in the app's listing or its public repository.

Ending use

You can stop using Curbox at any time by turning off its permissions or uninstalling it. These terms stop applying to you once you uninstall the app, except for the parts that by their nature should continue, such as the limits on our responsibility.

Contact

If you have questions about these terms, please reach out:

• GitHub — github.com/nethical6/curbox
• Discord — discord.com/invite/Vs9mwUtuCN
• Telegram — t.me/curboxapp
• Email — questphone@proton.me

Thanks for using Curbox, and for taking your time back.