Self-accountability by design
Monitoring Disclosure
AnchorVow is first-party self-accountability. You install it on your own device, accept an upfront disclosure, and invite your own adult accountability partner. Nothing here is covert: the app is visible, the notification is persistent, and you opt into every capability before it starts.
First-Party, Not Surveillance
You self-install AnchorVow on a device you own, and you invite your own accountability partner, who must be an adult (18 or older). AnchorVow is not a tool for monitoring someone else and is not stalkerware. Every capability described below is opted into by the person running the device, after an upfront in-app disclosure and consent step that comes before any protected setup begins.
What AnchorVow Collects
- DNS filter and VPN state: AnchorVow runs a local DNS-filtering VpnService that forwards queries to the AnchorVow resolver over encrypted HTTPS (DoH). It does not intercept traffic, inject ads, or track unrelated activity.
- Heartbeat: a foreground service reports device protection status and timing so gaps in protection can be detected and surfaced to you and your partner.
- Tamper signal: AnchorVow records attempts to disable protection so circumvention is visible rather than silent.
- Daily questionnaire: your accountability check-in answers and optional notes, shared with your linked partner as the core service.
Nothing Hidden
- A persistent foreground notification is visible at all times while protection is active.
- The app icon stays in your device launcher; the app is never disguised or hidden.
- AnchorVow does not use Android Accessibility Services.
Device Admin Enforces Zero Policies
AnchorVow registers a device-admin receiver as a tamper signal only. It enforces zero policies: it sets no password rules, performs no wipe, applies no lock, and changes nothing about how your device operates. Its only purpose is to receive the platform enable and disable callbacks so an attempt to disable protection can be surfaced to you and your partner, consistent with the self-accountability model.
Consent Comes First
After you sign in, AnchorVow shows a monitoring disclosure and gates protected setup until you read, check, and accept it. Only then does the app request the system VPN consent dialog, start the DNS filter, activate the device-admin tamper signal, or request a battery-optimization exemption. You can review what is collected and shared at any time in our Privacy Policy.
Sharing With Your Partner
Accountability data is visible to the partner you choose to link, because partner visibility is the core service. This can include protection status, alerts, daily answers and notes, missed-check-in notices, and tamper signals. You choose whom to invite, and you can schedule account deletion in the app, which follows the recovery-window process described in our Privacy Policy.