Privacy Policy

To make our privacy policy easier to understand, we've summarized key points here. Please scroll down for the full Privacy Policy.

What data do we collect?: Depending on how you use our service, we may collect your email, purchase details, licence usage and information you share on our official social media channels. We collect anonymized statistics on how you use our website and process your block page settings using cookies. Our web server security logs may temporarily retain your network information and web server requests. We do not collect your app settings, web history, search history or which websites and apps were blocked.
Who else collects data?: Payment information may be collected by Paddle, our Merchant of record, to facilitate transactions. Information collected through support forms and our support email is handled by Freshworks to provide software support. Network information, connection metadata and web server requests may be collected by Cloudflare and GreenGeeks since they host, provide content delivery, and secure our website.
Do you share my data?: If you subscribe to our newsletter, we may share your email and information necessary to send and deliver our newsletter to Amazon Web Services. We may also need to share your data for legal reasons. We do not sell, rent, or transfer your data for any other reason.
Where is my data stored?: The data we collect is securely stored on servers we manage. Our company and our servers are located in Canada. Paddle, our merchant of record, is located in the United Kingdom. We use other service providers based in the United States.
Why does your extension require permissions to transfer data, read, and modify data on all web pages?: Although sensitive data could be accessed using the requested permissions, our extension is not designed to do this. The extension will only read and modify web pages in order to block websites according to your settings. Permission to transfer data is required to transfer usage data from the extension to the desktop app. This usage data is used to calculate breaks and is never sent off your device.
Why do you require full disk access on macOS?: Apple does not provide an API to determine if certain extension permissions are enabled for our Safari extension. When enforcing the extension requirement, our software will need to read Safari extension settings to ensure our extension has the correct permissions. The Safari extension settings are stored in files located in a protected folder path that requires full disk access permissions.

Introduction

Effective date: 15 October, 2026

This Privacy Policy ("Policy") explains how Cold Turkey Software, Inc. ("Cold Turkey," "us," "we," or "our") collects, uses, and protects your information and other data across our services ("Services").

Our Services include our website (https://getcoldturkey.com), hereinafter referred to as our "Website"; our software products (Cold Turkey Blocker, Cold Turkey Writer, Cold Turkey Micromanager, and browser extensions), hereinafter referred to as our "Software"; and other related services, hereinafter referred to as "Service."

By using our Services, you agree to the collection and use of your information in accordance with this Policy.

Information We Collect

Our company is focused on selling you valuable software, not selling your data. We collect the minimum amount of information needed to provide, monitor and improve our Services.

Unless otherwise specified, we do not collect your Software settings, web history, search history or which websites and apps were blocked. We also do not track your behaviour across our Website or any other website.

We collect and store the following information indefinitely, or until you request deletion, to fulfill our one time payment obligation:

Email Address. We store your email address when you make a purchase, request discount codes, or opt-in to our newsletter;
Purchase Details. We store information about which products were purchased and any associated licences, including product keys or similar;
Licence Usage. We log the number of times you request and use a licence, including product keys, download links or similar.

Cookies

Cookies are files stored on your device that contain small amounts of data. Cookies are collected and processed by our servers but not stored or used to identify you. We use cookies for the following purpose:

Functional Cookies. When our Software blocks a website, you may be redirected to a block page hosted on our Website. Functional cookies are used on the block page to store block page specific settings. These settings include custom block text, colours and other options you configure on the block page.

Website Analytics

We use Matamo, self-hosted analytics software, to keep track of page views, referrer, load times, dwell times, and basic software information like operating system and browser versions. It is configured to anonymize the last two octets of your IP address and operates without tracking cookies. This allows us to understand general website traffic trends without identifying you.

Security Logs

Our web server automatically creates security logs which will temporarily store the following information for up to 2 months:

Network Information. Our security logs may include your IP address other connection metadata. IP addresses suspected of abuse may be stored longer than 2 months;
Web Server Requests. Our security logs may include web resource requests, URL parameters, and server responses. The normal operation of our Software may cause the following to be temporarily retained in our security logs:
- Extension Install Page Parameters. When loading the extension install page, the reason for why an extension failed to meet the install requirement may be included in a URL parameter.
- Block Page Parameters. When loading the block page, information such as software version, whether you purchased the Software, whether you enabled the "Pause for a Cause" feature, and whether the block page is being loaded in the top-most frame of your browser may be included in URL parameters;
- Checking for Updates. When launching Our Software, it may contact our server to check for updates.

Information Collected by Service Providers

We use third party service providers to facilitate our business operations or to provide a service on our behalf. Our service providers may collect, process, store, and share your information with us.

Payment Processing

Cold Turkey partners with Paddle to act as a Merchant of Record on our behalf. Paddle provides a payment service to facilitate financial transactions, distribute products/product key(s), and address payment inquiries.

Payment information (including name, location, contact details, and billing information) may be collected by Paddle in accordance with their privacy policy.

Help Desk Software

Cold Turkey uses Freshdesk to provide help desk software.

Information you provide through support forms and our support email (including name, contact details, operating system/browser information, ticket details, and attachments) may be collected by Freshworks in accordance with their privacy policy.

Hosting Provider

Cold Turkey uses GreenGeeks for our Virtual Private Servers used to host our Services.

Network information, connection metadata and web server requests may be collected by GreenGeeks in accordance with their privacy policy.

Content Delivery Networks

Cold Turkey uses Cloudflare to help operate, secure, and improve our Website and Service.

Network information, connection metadata and web server requests may be collected by Cloudflare in accordance with their privacy policy.

Social Media

Cold Turkey uses official Reddit and Bluesky channels as a way to help communicate with our users. We may, from time to time, collect information you provide in posts, comments, and polls on these channels.

Information Shared With Service Providers

Other than the following service providers, we do not sell, rent, or transfer your information.

Email Services

Cold Turkey uses Amazon Simple Email Service (Amazon SES), provided by Amazon Web Services, Inc. ("AWS"), to deliver our newsletter emails.

Your email address and information necessary to send and deliver these messages may be shared with AWS in accordance with their privacy policy.

Disclosure

In extraordinary circumstances, we may disclose your information if such action is necessary to:

To comply with a legal obligation;
To protect and defend the rights or property of Cold Turkey;
To prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with our Services;
To protect the personal safety of users or the public;
To protect against legal liability.

How We Use Your Information

We use your information for the following purposes:

To facilitate transactions and deliver licences, including product keys, download links or similar;
To activate our Software and resend licences, including product keys, download links or similar;
To help secure our Services, prevent abuse, and maintain availability;
To send emails with our newsletter, if you opted in;
To help provide software support and fix software bugs;
To display the block page correctly, according to your settings;
To identify trends and make informed decisions on how to improve our Services.

How We Store and Secure Your Data

Information collected by us is stored on servers managed by us. We take the following precautions to ensure your data stays safe:

We use industry-standard encryption and secure server configurations to protect your data;
Our server software is regularly updated to ensure we have the latest security patches;
We protect against malicious or abusive traffic by using firewalls and a content delivery network;
Our security logs, website analytics software, Matomo, and newsletter software, Sendy, are hosted on our servers.

The security of your data is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

International Data Transfers

Cold Turkey Software, Inc. is based in the province of Ontario, Canada. Your data is processed and stored in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, Canada. Our service providers may process and store your data in other countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States.

Your data may be transferred to and maintained on computers located outside of your province, state, country or other governmental jurisdiction where personal data protection laws may differ than those from your jurisdiction.

Your consent to this Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.

Cold Turkey will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Policy and no transfer of your data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of your personal data.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right to Access. You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (your email and licence information);
Right to Rectification. You can ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data;
Right to Erasure. You can request that we delete your data from our server (this will result in the loss of access to our Software or Service);
Right to Withdraw Consent. If you subscribed to our newsletter, you can unsubscribe at any time using the link provided at the bottom of the email, or by contacting us directly;
Right to Non-Discrimination. We will not charge you different prices for exercising your privacy rights.

Children's Privacy

Our Services are designed for a general audience and are not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without verifiable parental consent, we will take immediate steps to delete that information from our servers.

Links To Other Sites

Our Services may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third party link, you will be directed to a third party website. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit.

Changes To This Policy

We may update our Policy from time to time. We will notify you of changes by updating the "effective date" at the top of this Policy.

You are advised to review this Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

Contact

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Policy, please contact us:

By email: felix@getcoldturkey.com;
By visiting: https://getcoldturkey.com/support/.