Our core commitment
Purus is a content-filtering browser for iOS. Your browsing stays on your device. Purus does not operate servers that collect, store, or transmit your browsing history, search queries, or any personally identifiable information. A small number of filtering features make limited, functional requests to third-party servers — never to Purus — and each one is described below.
1. What Purus Does
Purus is a web browser that filters explicit content, ads, and trackers on your device. Content filtering decisions — matching against block lists, keyword filters, and content rules — happen entirely on your device. Purus does not transmit your images, URLs, or browsing history to Purus servers or to any third party for analysis. A few filtering mechanisms make narrow, functional network requests as part of how they work; these are described in Section 3. An optional subscription add-on, PurusAI, provides an additional layer of real-time on-device image filtering — see below for details.
2. Information We Collect
What we do not collect
Purus does not collect, store, or transmit your browsing history, the URLs you visit, search queries you enter, images or content from pages you view, or any personally identifiable information.
Filter list updates
Purus can periodically fetch updated content filter rule sets from our servers to keep blocking rules current. This feature is not currently active in the app. When active, these requests contain no user-identifying information and no browsing data — only a standard request to check for and download updated rule files.
Redirect and shortened-link resolution
When Purus detects a shortened link (such as a bit.ly or t.co URL) or a URL containing a redirect parameter, it sends a single request directly to the destination server to determine where the link leads, so it can be checked against our filtering rules before you're taken there. This request goes to the destination site, not to Purus, and contains nothing beyond what any website normally receives when you visit it (such as your IP address).
Shortcut icons
When you add a website to your Shortcuts, Purus requests that site's icon from Google's favicon service using only the site's domain name. No other information is sent.
False positive reports
If you tap "Report it" on a blocked page, you may submit the blocked URL directly through the app. This submission is voluntary.
Optional search suggestions
If you enable "Search Suggestions" in Settings, partial text you type into the search bar is sent to your selected search engine (Google or DuckDuckGo) to retrieve autocomplete suggestions as you type. This feature is off by default. When disabled, suggestions are generated only from your own on-device search history, which never leaves your device. Your use of this feature when enabled is subject to your selected search engine's own privacy policy.
Voice search
If you use the microphone to search by voice, your speech is processed entirely on-device using Apple's on-device speech recognition. Your voice is never transmitted to Purus or any third-party server for this feature.
Downloads and Photos access
If you choose to save an image from a webpage, Purus requests access to your Photos library solely to save that image at your direction. Purus does not browse, scan, or access any other content in your Photos library.
App analytics
Purus does not use third-party analytics SDKs. We do not track app usage, session lengths, or in-app behavior.
3. How Filtering Works
All content filtering in Purus operates entirely on your device through multiple mechanisms: a locally stored block list and compiled content rule list checked against every web request, a DNS proxy that routes domain lookups through AdGuard's Family Protection filtered resolver, a keyword filter that scans search queries against a list of blocked terms, a search query filter that enforces safe search parameters before queries are sent to search engines, and a redirect-resolution check that contacts a link's destination server directly when the URL looks like a shortened or redirect-wrapped link, so it can be evaluated before you're taken there. None of these mechanisms send your data to Purus. DNS queries are resolved through AdGuard's servers under their Family Protection configuration; their privacy policy is available at adguard.com/en/privacy/dns.html.
4. PurusAI (Optional Add-On)
PurusAI is an optional, paid subscription add-on that provides an additional layer of real-time, on-device image analysis as pages load in your browser.
- On-device only. All image analysis performed by PurusAI runs entirely on your device using a local machine learning model. No image, screenshot, or visual content is ever transmitted to Purus's servers or to any third party for analysis.
- No network requests for filtering decisions. PurusAI does not send images, image URLs, or any browsing content off your device to determine what to filter.
- No content logging. PurusAI does not retain a record of the specific images it evaluates or blocks. The counts shown in your on-device Protection Report (e.g., "Explicit Content Searches Blocked") are calculated and stored locally on your device only.
- Subscription billing. PurusAI is offered as an auto-renewing monthly subscription, billed through Apple's In-App Purchase system. Purus does not receive, process, or store your payment information — this is handled entirely by Apple. See Apple's privacy policy for details on how App Store purchases are handled.
5. Social Media Filtering
Purus applies keyword-based search filtering to a select group of supported platforms. The following platforms are actively filtered:
- YouTube — Restricted Mode enforced, safe search locked, explicit searches blocked
- Facebook — Explicit searches blocked
- Reddit — Safe search enforced, NSFW communities blocked
The following platforms are blocked entirely in Purus due to content safety concerns — users who navigate to these platforms will see a Purus block page:
Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr
For supported platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Reddit), Purus filters active search queries using the same keyword patterns applied to standard web searches. However, Purus does not filter algorithmically-served feed content on Facebook — content that appears in a user's feed through recommendations or follows, rather than through an active search, is not evaluated or filtered by Purus. Users may encounter content in Facebook's feed that Purus's filtering layers do not catch.
Purus is not responsible for content served algorithmically by third-party platforms. Parents and guardians should be aware of this limitation when determining appropriate device usage for minors. For complete social media restriction, we recommend disabling Facebook via Screen Time in iOS Settings.
6. Data Storage
Purus stores only the following data locally on your device: the content filter rule set files used for blocking decisions, your bookmarks, reading list, and tab data, your download history, your local search history (used only for on-device suggestions, never transmitted), and your app preferences such as whether you have completed onboarding and your enabled feature settings. No data is stored on Purus servers. No account or login is required.
7. Third-Party Services
Purus integrates with the following third-party services in a limited capacity:
- AdGuard DNS Family Protection: Provides filtered DNS resolution via a system Network Extension. Your DNS queries pass through their resolver under their family filter configuration. Review AdGuard's privacy policy for details on their data handling.
- Google and/or DuckDuckGo (search suggestions): If you enable optional search suggestions, partial search text is sent to your selected search engine to retrieve autocomplete results. Governed by that search engine's own privacy policy.
- Google Favicon Service: When you add a shortcut, Purus requests that site's icon from Google using only the domain name of the shortcut.
- Redirect and shortlink destination servers: When resolving a shortened or redirect-wrapped link, Purus contacts the destination server directly to determine where it leads, prior to evaluating it against filtering rules.
- False positive reporting: Used only when you voluntarily submit a false positive report through the in-app reporting feature.
- Apple In-App Purchase / StoreKit: If you subscribe to PurusAI, your subscription payment is processed by Apple. Purus never receives or stores your payment card details; this is governed entirely by Apple's own privacy policy.
Purus does not integrate any advertising networks, social media trackers, or third-party analytics services.
8. Children's Privacy
Purus is designed to be safe for users of all ages, including children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children under 13. Because no account or personal information is required to use Purus, the app is appropriate for use by minors under parental supervision. Purus is a tool intended to support parental oversight and is not a substitute for direct parental supervision of a minor's device use.
9. Your Rights
Because Purus does not collect personal information, there is no personal data for us to provide, correct, or delete. If you have submitted a false positive report and wish to have it removed, contact us at the email below.
California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)
We do not sell or share your personal information. We do not collect sensitive personal information as defined under California law.
EU/UK Residents (GDPR)
Our lawful basis for processing any data (limited to filter list update requests when enabled, redirect-resolution requests, favicon requests, and, if enabled, search suggestion requests routed through third-party search engines) is legitimate interest in providing a functioning service. No personal data is processed by Purus in connection with these requests.
10. Security
All network requests made by Purus, including filter list updates when enabled, use encrypted HTTPS connections. Because no personal data is collected or stored on our servers, the risk of a data breach affecting your personal information is minimal.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in the app or applicable law. Material changes will be noted with a revised effective date. Continued use of Purus after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
12. Contact
For questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at: