Data & Privacy
Delete your Impulse account and data
This page explains how to request the deletion of your Impulse account and the data associated with it, and how to delete specific data without deleting your account. Impulse is a focus app — available as an iOS app and a browser extension — that blocks distracting apps and websites and tracks screen-time usage. Impulse is local-first, so most of your data stays on your device; you only have a server-side account if you signed in or joined a group/challenge. You are in control of your data and can ask us to remove it at any time.
How to request deletion
- Send an email to hello@impulsecontrolapp.com with the subject line “Account deletion request - Impulse”.
- Include the email address linked to your Impulse account so we can locate and verify it.
- We will confirm your identity and permanently delete your account and its server-side data. We’ll email you once it’s done.
Note: all the data stored locally on your device is removed immediately when you uninstall the app or extension. The steps above are for deleting the optional server-side account and data you created by signing in or joining a group/challenge.
Delete some data without deleting your account
You don’t have to delete your whole Impulse account to remove data. You can ask us to delete specific categories — for example your usage & analytics history or your blocking & impulse-control rules — while keeping your account active.
- Send an email to hello@impulsecontrolapp.com with the subject line “Data deletion request - Impulse”.
- Include the email address linked to your Impulse account and specify which data you want deleted (e.g. usage history, blocking rules, or accountability-partner email).
- We will verify your identity and delete the requested data, keeping your account and everything else intact. We’ll email you once it’s done.
You can also manage or delete much of this data yourself inside the Impulse app or extension — for example by removing blocking periods, impulse controls or blocked sites from Settings, or by exporting your data as JSON from the extension. The retention details below also apply to partial data-deletion requests.
What data is deleted or retained
When your deletion request is completed, the following data tied to your account is permanently removed from our backend (Supabase, hosted in the EU):
| Data type | Action | Details & retention |
|---|---|---|
| Account & profile | Deleted | Email, encrypted password, optional display name and your user/device identifier. Removed from the server when your request is verified. |
| Synced rules & settings | Deleted | Blocking periods, impulse controls and the site hostnames/rule names you synced. Removed with your account. |
| Statistics backup | Deleted | The daily aggregated per-site statistics backed up to your account. Removed with your account. |
| Group / squad data | Deleted | Nickname, role, streaks, verification status, group rules you created and your violation log. Removed with your account. |
| Local data on your device | On device | Your rules, limits and statistics stored locally (and, on iOS, the opaque app/website tokens) never reach our servers. This is removed when you uninstall the app or extension. Some local extension metrics are also auto-pruned after about 14 days. |
| Analytics (Mixpanel) | Retained | Anonymous/pseudonymous usage events tied to a random installation ID (not your name). Retained per Mixpanel’s policy and our configuration; contact us to have events for your installation ID removed. |
| Verification codes | Short-lived | Supervisor/unlock codes are stored only as a hash and expire server-side after ~5 minutes; they are single-use. |
Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Once your account is deleted you will need to create a new one to use the account-based features again. Because Impulse is local-first, if you never signed in you may have no server-side data at all — uninstalling removes everything.
Questions?
If you have any questions about deleting your account or your data, contact us at hello@impulsecontrolapp.com.