Shield SquadShield SquadLast updated: 28 October 2026
Shield Squad ("we", "us", "the app") is a child-protection app that blocks harmful websites on a child's Android device. It is designed for use by parents and guardians for children. This policy explains what information the app uses and how it is handled.
Contact: support@shieldsquad.co.uk
Shield Squad uses Android's VPN service to create a local, on-device DNS filter. When a website is looked up, the app checks the domain against a blocklist stored on the device. If the domain is on the list, it is blocked. Otherwise the request continues as normal. The VPN is used only for this filtering. Your traffic is not routed through our servers, and we do not see, record or store the websites your child visits.
Stored only on the device - Settings such as the blocked categories you choose, your plan (Silver or Gold) and bedtime settings. - A salted, one-way hash of your parent PIN. The PIN itself is never stored or logged. - The parent email address you enter for alerts, and, with Gold, an optional second parent email address. - A nickname for the child profile. - Cyber Quest progress: stars earned, the daily streak, the character your child has chosen, its nickname (up to 16 characters), equipped gear, and any rewards unlocked. This stays on the device and is not uploaded to us. - Your list of allowed sites. - For Gold users, a log of recently blocked domains, shown to the parent inside the app. It stays on the device and can be cleared.
Information sent from the device - Blocklist updates. The app downloads the current blocklist from Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore). This request does not include personal information. - Parent alert emails. If you turn on alerts, the app sends an email to the parent email address you entered (and to the second parent email address, if you add one with Gold) when (a) the child presses the "I Need a Grown-Up" button, (b) the shield is stopped, or (c) the child asks to unblock a site. The email may include the child's profile name, the time, and the blocked website and its category (for an unblock request). These emails are sent through EmailJS, a third-party email delivery service, which processes the recipient address and message content in order to deliver it. See EmailJS Privacy Policy. - Standard technical information (such as IP address) is received by Google Firebase and EmailJS when the app contacts them, as with any internet service.
We do not use advertising SDKs or advertising identifiers, and the app does not include analytics or crash-reporting tools.
Shield Squad is intended to be set up and managed by a parent or guardian. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. The child-facing screens contain no ads, no chat, no social features and no external links. Parent-only areas, including category settings, bedtime, plan and email changes, and stopping the shield, are protected by the parent PIN.
If you upgrade to Gold Shield (when purchases are available), the purchase is handled by Google Play. The app does not receive your payment card details, and we do not store them.
Almost all information is stored only on your device, and uninstalling the app or clearing its data removes it. Alert emails that have been sent remain in the recipient's mailbox and in EmailJS's delivery logs for the period set out in EmailJS's own policy. To ask about information we may hold, contact us at the address above.
The parent PIN is stored as a salted hash, repeated wrong attempts trigger a temporary lockout, and the blocklist database is read-only to the app. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect the information the app handles.
If we change this policy we will update the date at the top and, for significant changes, tell you in the app.
Questions or requests: support@shieldsquad.co.uk