Last updated: 22 September 2026

Proteo Defence ("the app", "we", "us") is a privacy and security app for iOS that provides DNS-based web protection, encrypted DNS, data-breach monitoring, and on-device integrity checks. This policy explains what data the app processes, why, and your rights.
We designed Proteo Defence to be privacy-first: the majority of its work happens entirely on your device, and we do not track you, show ads, or sell your data.
Who we are
Proteo Defence is provided by Proteo Defence AB, Kungsgatan 9, 111 43 Stockholm, Sweden. For any privacy question, contact us at info@proteo.se.

Summary

• We do not track you across apps or websites, and we do not use third-party advertising or analytics SDKs.
• DNS filtering happens on your device. Your browsing/DNS query history is stored locally on your device and is not transmitted to us.
• For breach monitoring, the email address or domain you choose to check is sent to our breach-lookup service, which queries Have I Been Pwned (HIBP). We do not build a profile from it.
• We do not sell, rent, or share personal data for marketing.

Data we process

1. Email addresses and domains you submit (breach monitoring)
   When you run a breach check, the email address or domain you enter is sent over an encrypted connection to our breach-lookup backend, which forwards a query to the Have I Been Pwned service to determine whether it appears in known data breaches.

• Purpose: app functionality (to return your breach results).
• Retention: our backend keeps a short-lived, in-memory cache of a checked email's result (up to 24 hours) purely to reduce repeat lookups and respect rate limits. It is not written to a persistent database and is discarded automatically.
• Rate limiting: to prevent abuse, our backend temporarily counts requests per network address. This count is held in memory only and expires automatically.
• We do not link breach queries to your identity, device, or advertising identifiers.

1. DNS and web-protection data (on-device)
   When you enable Web/VPN Protection, iOS routes your device's DNS lookups through an on-device network extension so the app can filter domains against the rule lists you enable.

• DNS filtering, allowlist/denylist matching, and the resulting query log are processed and stored locally on your device (in an app-private, App Group container). This data is not sent to Proteo Defence.
• You can view and clear the query log at any time inside the app.
• If you enable Encrypted DNS (DNS-over-HTTPS), your DNS queries are sent encrypted over HTTPS to the public resolver you select (Cloudflare, Quad9, or Google). If you disable Encrypted DNS, standard DNS is used to that resolver. Your DNS queries are handled by the chosen resolver under their privacy policy — see "Third-party services" below. Proteo Defence does not operate these resolvers and does not receive your DNS queries.

1. Rule lists (blocklists)
   When you enable a filtering rule list, the app downloads that list from its public source (e.g., community-maintained blocklists) directly to your device to keep filtering current. These are ordinary file downloads and do not include personal data about you.
2. Device integrity checks
   The app performs on-device security checks, including Apple's App Attest (hardware-backed app integrity) and local device-configuration signals. Results are evaluated on your device to show your protection status. App Attest involves Apple's attestation service under Apple's privacy terms; we do not receive personal data from it.
3. Diagnostic and technical data
   Standard, non-identifying technical information (such as an HTTP status or error) may be processed to operate the breach-lookup service and keep it reliable. We do not use third-party analytics or crash-tracking SDKs that profile you.

What we do not collect

• No advertising identifiers and no cross-app/website tracking (our App Privacy manifest declares NSPrivacyTracking = false).
• No contacts, photos, precise location, or microphone/camera data.
• No selling or sharing of personal data for advertising.

Legal bases (GDPR)
Where the EU General Data Protection Regulation applies, we rely on:

• Performance of a contract / your request (Art. 6(1)(b)) — to run the breach check or DNS lookup you initiate.
• Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) — to secure our service and prevent abuse (e.g., rate limiting).
  You provide email/domain checks voluntarily; you can choose not to use that feature.

Third-party services
We use the following processors/services strictly to deliver app functionality:

• Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) — breach data source queried by our backend. See haveibeenpwned.com/Privacy.
• Application hosting (Render) — hosts our breach-lookup backend. Requests are transmitted over TLS.
• DNS resolvers you choose — Cloudflare (1.1.1.1), Quad9 (9.9.9.9), or Google Public DNS (8.8.8.8) handle your DNS queries when you enable that feature, under their own privacy policies.
• Apple — App Attest / App Store services under Apple's privacy terms.
  We do not authorize these parties to use your data for their own advertising.

Data retention

• On-device data (query log, settings, cached rule lists) remains on your device until you clear it or delete the app.
• Breach-check results are cached in memory on our backend for up to 24 hours and are not persisted.

Security
Data in transit is protected with TLS/HTTPS. On-device data is stored in an app-private container protected by iOS. Encrypted DNS additionally protects your DNS queries from being read on the network.

International transfers
Our breach-lookup backend and the third-party services above may process requests on servers located outside your country. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for such transfers.

Children's privacy
Proteo Defence is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age in your jurisdiction) and we do not knowingly collect their personal data.

Your rights
Subject to applicable law (including GDPR), you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal data we hold, and you may object to or restrict certain processing. Because breach checks are transient and not stored persistently, and DNS/query data stays on your device, in most cases there is no personal data retained by us to export or delete. To exercise your rights, contact info@proteo.se. You may also lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (in Sweden, the Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten, IMY).

Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on this page with a new "Last updated" date.
Contact
roteo Defence AB, Kungsgatan 9, 111 43 Stockholm, SwedenEmail: info@proteo.seWebsite: https://proteo.se