Privacy Policy
The short version
- You sign in with an email address. We use it to run your account and nothing else.
- On the Free plan your transactions, budgets, goals and bills stay on your phone.
- On Premium they are also stored in our cloud database so they back up and sync across your devices.
- We never sell your data, never show ads and never track you across other apps or websites.
- You can export your data, switch off analytics, and delete your account and all synced data from inside the app.
1.Who we are
FinBuddy is a personal finance app for tracking spending, budgets, savings goals and bills, available worldwide. It is developed and operated by Bilal Ahmad, an individual developer based in Pakistan ("we", "us"), who is responsible for your personal information (the "data controller" under laws such as the GDPR).
This policy explains what information the app collects, why, who processes it on our behalf, and the choices you have. It covers the FinBuddy iOS app and this website, wherever you use them.
2.What we collect
Account information
To use FinBuddy you create an account with an email address and password. Your password is never stored by us in readable form; our authentication provider stores only a secure hash. We send your email a one-time code to confirm it, and use it for password resets and essential account messages.
Financial records you enter
The accounts, transactions, categories, budgets, goals, bills and bill payments you add. FinBuddy does not connect to your bank and never sees bank logins or card numbers — everything is entered by you.
- Free plan: these records are stored on your device only.
- Premium plan: these records are also stored in our cloud database, linked to your account, so they can back up and sync between your devices. If Premium ends, records already synced stay in your account until you delete them or delete the account.
The first name you type during setup, your theme, currency and reminder preferences stay on your device.
Purchase information
Subscriptions are bought and billed by Apple. We receive your subscription status (for example, active, renewed, expired) and transaction identifiers from Apple through our subscription provider, linked to your account so Premium unlocks on every device you sign in to. We never receive your payment card details.
Usage analytics
If analytics is on (it can be turned off in Settings), the app sends anonymous usage events such as which screen was opened, or that a transaction, budget, goal or bill was created, along with non-identifying details like the currency used or whether a note was added. Analytics events never include amounts, notes, account names or your email, and are not linked to your account. An app-instance identifier generated by the analytics SDK is used to count events; we do not collect the advertising identifier (IDFA) and do not ask to track you.
Crash reports and diagnostics
When the app crashes or hits an error, it sends a crash report: device model, iOS and app version, the technical stack trace, and short diagnostic log lines describing what the app was doing (for example, "sync finished" or "push registration failed"). These reports are used only to find and fix bugs and are not linked to your account.
Notifications
Bill and daily reminders are scheduled on your device. If you allow notifications, the app also registers a push token with our servers so we can send you account-related notifications, such as confirmation that Premium is active. The token is removed when you sign out or delete your account.
Exchange rates
To convert between currencies the app downloads public exchange rates. The request contains only a currency code (for example, "USD") — no account or financial information.
3.How we use it
- To create and secure your account and keep you signed in.
- To provide the app's features, and on Premium to back up and sync your records across devices.
- To check your subscription and unlock Premium.
- To send reminders and account notifications you have allowed.
- To understand which features are used and to diagnose crashes, so we can improve the app.
- To respond to your support requests and to meet legal obligations.
Our legal bases, where applicable laws require one, are performing our contract with you (running the app and your subscription), our legitimate interest in keeping the app reliable and secure, and your consent for analytics and notifications, which you can withdraw at any time.
4.Service providers
We use a small number of providers who process data only on our instructions and only to deliver their service:
| Provider | Purpose | Data involved |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase (hosted on Amazon Web Services) | Accounts, sign-in, cloud database for Premium sync | Email, password hash, account and subscription status, synced financial records, push token |
| Apple | App distribution, in-app purchases, push notification delivery | Purchase and subscription records (under Apple's own privacy policy) |
| RevenueCat | Subscription management | Account identifier, subscription status and purchase history |
| Google Firebase — Analytics and Crashlytics | Anonymous usage analytics; crash reporting | Usage events, app-instance identifier, crash reports and diagnostics |
| Expo | Push notification relay | Push token and notification content |
| ExchangeRate-API (open.er-api.com) | Currency exchange rates | A currency code only |
| Our email delivery provider | Sign-up codes and password resets | Your email address and the message |
5.Where it's stored and how it's protected
- On your device: app data is kept in the app's private storage, protected by iOS. Your sign-in session is stored in the iOS Keychain.
- In the cloud (Premium): synced records are stored in our Supabase database in the Asia-Pacific (Sydney) region. Every row is tied to your account, and database access rules ensure each account can read and change only its own data.
- All traffic between the app and our servers is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS). Our providers encrypt stored data at rest.
No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and limit access to it.
6.What we don't do
- We do not sell or rent your personal information.
- We do not show ads or share data with advertisers or data brokers.
- We do not track you across apps and websites owned by other companies.
We disclose information only to the providers listed above, if required by law or valid legal process, to protect the rights and safety of our users or the public, or as part of a merger or sale of the app, in which case this policy will continue to apply to your information.
7.How long we keep it
- Account and synced data: for as long as your account exists. When you delete your account, it is permanently removed from our database immediately. If we enable database backups in the future, deleted data will be removed from them within their retention period, and we will update this policy.
- Analytics and crash reports: kept by Google under Firebase's retention settings (crash reports for up to 90 days; analytics events for up to 14 months) and not linked to your account.
- Purchase records: kept by Apple and RevenueCat as required for billing, tax and accounting.
- Support emails: kept for as long as needed to help you, then deleted.
8.Your choices and rights
- Export: download your data as CSV or a full JSON backup from Settings → Data & backup.
- Correct: edit any record in the app at any time.
- Analytics: turn usage analytics off in Settings.
- Notifications: turn them off in the app or in iOS Settings.
- Delete: delete your account and synced data from Settings → Delete account.
Depending on where you live (for example, under the GDPR in the EU/UK or the CCPA/CPRA in California), you may have rights to access, correct, delete or port your personal information, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to withdraw consent. We do not sell or "share" personal information as those laws define it. To exercise a right, email us from the address on your account; we will respond within the time the law requires and will not treat you differently for doing so. You may also complain to your local data protection authority.
9.Deleting your account
Go to Settings → Delete account in the app. This permanently deletes your FinBuddy account, all of your synced records and your push token, asks our subscription provider to remove your customer record, then signs you out. Apple keeps its own purchase records for billing and tax. It cannot be undone, so export anything you want to keep first.
Deleting your account does not cancel an active subscription — Apple bills it. Cancel it in iOS Settings → your name → Subscriptions. If you no longer have the app, email us and we will delete your account for you.
10.Children
FinBuddy is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age in your country), and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
11.International transfers
FinBuddy is used worldwide and operated from Pakistan, and our providers may process information in countries other than yours, including Australia (our database region) and the United States. These countries may have different data protection laws from yours. Where required, transfers are protected by appropriate safeguards such as the providers' standard contractual clauses, and we apply the protections in this policy wherever your information is processed.
12.Changes to this policy
We will update this page when our practices change and revise the date at the top. If a change materially affects how we use your information, we will tell you in the app before it takes effect.
13.Contact
Questions or requests about privacy: bilalahmad.dev@gmail.com