FreedomBudget — Privacy Policy

1. Who this policy covers

This policy explains how the FreedomBudget apps for Android and iOS handle information. The same policy covers both, and covers FreedomBudget for both personal and shared (partner) budgets — a shared budget uses the same FreedomBudget app for the primary user and the invited partner, who may be on either platform. There is no separate partner app. Where the two platforms genuinely differ, this policy says so. By using the app you agree to this policy.

2. Our privacy-first model

FreedomBudget is a front-end for a budget spreadsheet stored in your Google Drive. When you set up the app, it creates a Google Sheets spreadsheet in your Google account and reads from / writes to it directly using Google’s APIs. There is no FreedomBudget server in the middle. Your transactions, balances, categories, and savings information are stored only:

• in the Google spreadsheet in your own Google Drive, and
• locally on your device (so the app can function).

We never receive copies of that data.

3. Information the app uses

a) Your Google account & permissions

To create and manage your spreadsheet, the app uses Google Sign-In and requests one permission:

• Google Drive (per-file access — drive.file scope): lets the app create your budget spreadsheet and see only the files it created or that you open with it. It does not give the app access to the rest of your Drive.

That single per-file permission is the only access the app asks for. It uses the Google Sheets API to read and write your budget, but under the same drive.file grant — there is no separate Google Sheets permission, and the app is not granted access to any of your other spreadsheets.

Your Google sign-in token is used on your device to call these Google services. We do not store your Google password (Google handles authentication), and the token is not sent to any server of ours.

b) Financial & budget data you enter

Amounts, descriptions, categories, dates, and similar entries are written straight to your Google spreadsheet. This information is manually entered by you — FreedomBudget is not connected to any bank and does not import bank transactions. Your displayed balance reflects your own entries, not a bank account.

c) Information stored on your device

To work without re-fetching everything each time, the app keeps some information on your device: your signed-in Google account and display name, your budget spreadsheet’s identifiers, your onboarding state, notices you’ve dismissed, your reminder and App Lock preferences, and a small amount of remembered budget context — for example a short summary of a partner’s recent changes shown in an in-app banner (which can include a transaction description or amount), or a month’s opening balance.

Sensitive items are held in your device’s secure storage: Android’s encrypted storage on Android, the iOS Keychain on iPhone and iPad. On Android, the app’s remaining state is kept in its private storage, which other apps cannot read and which Android protects with the device encryption tied to your screen lock. On iOS, all of it is held in the Keychain.

Backups. We limit what your phone’s own backup is able to copy. On Android, the app is excluded from cloud backup, so none of this reaches your Google Account backup; if you set up a new phone using Android’s direct device-to-device transfer, ordinary app state may come across, but the encrypted items do not. On iOS, this information is stored in the Keychain, is not synced between your devices, and cannot be restored onto a different device. Either way, none of it is sent to us — on a new phone you simply sign in and the app reconnects to your existing budget. Uninstalling the app removes everything it stored locally.

d) Device permissions

• Notifications — to send the reminders you enable (e.g. due-today/past-due, budget-ready). Optional.
• Biometric / device credential — only to unlock the app if you turn on App Lock (fingerprint, face, or your device passcode/PIN). We never receive or store your fingerprint or face data; that is handled entirely by your device’s operating system.
• Scheduled reminders — to deliver daily reminders at your chosen time.

e) Analytics & crash diagnostics

To keep the app reliable, we collect anonymous, finance-data-free diagnostics via Google Firebase:

• App activity — screen views and app-interaction events (names and counts only).
• Crash logs / diagnostics — technical crash and performance data.

These reports never include your financial data — no amounts, categories, descriptions, balances, spreadsheet identifiers, or email addresses. We use them only to operate and improve the app; we do not use them for advertising, and we do not sell them. You can turn this off any time in the app’s Settings.

4. How we use information

The data you enter is used solely to provide the app’s features — recording your budget in your spreadsheet, calculating summaries on your device, showing charts, and sending the reminders you’ve enabled. Because your data stays in your Drive and on your device, we do not use it for any other purpose.

5. Sharing your information

We do not sell your information and do not share it with third parties for advertising. Information is shared only:

• With Google, as the provider of the Drive/Sheets storage and sign-in you authorize (your data is handled under Google’s own terms and privacy policy).
• With a partner you invite (optional). If you use the shared-budget feature, the person you invite can view and contribute to the shared spreadsheet you grant them access to. Each entry records who added it. You control this by choosing to invite — and you can remove a partner’s access at any time.
• If required by law, though note we do not hold your financial data to disclose.

6. Data retention & deletion

Because your budget lives in your Google Drive, you control it. To delete your data you can:

• delete the budget spreadsheet from your Google Drive at any time, and
• revoke the app’s access from your Google Account permissions page (myaccount.google.com/permissions).

Uninstalling the app removes the settings stored on your device. Since we don’t store your data on our servers, there is nothing on our side to delete.

7. Google API Services — Limited Use

FreedomBudget’s use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements. We only use Google user data to provide and improve the app’s budgeting features, and we do not transfer or sell it.

8. Security

Data in transit between your device and Google is protected by Google’s encrypted connections. Sensitive settings on your device — including your Google account and your spreadsheet’s identifier — are held in your device’s secure storage: Android’s encrypted storage on Android, the iOS Keychain on iPhone and iPad. On Android, the app’s other local state is kept in its private storage, which other apps cannot read and which Android protects with the device encryption tied to your screen lock. We also limit what your phone’s own backup is able to copy, so the app’s local data is not carried into a cloud backup account in a form another device can read (see Section 3c). You can turn on App Lock to require your fingerprint, face, or device passcode before the app will open. Access to your spreadsheet is controlled by your Google account. No method of storage or transmission is 100% secure, but our architecture minimizes risk by keeping your data in your own Google account rather than on our servers.

9. Subscriptions & payments

If you subscribe, billing is handled entirely by the app store you downloaded from — Google Play on Android, or the Apple App Store on iOS. We do not collect or store your payment-card details; Google or Apple processes payments under its own terms.

10. Children’s privacy

FreedomBudget is intended for adults and is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 where applicable). We do not knowingly collect information from children.

11. Your rights

Depending on where you live (e.g. the EEA/UK under GDPR, or California under CCPA), you may have rights to access, correct, or delete personal data. Because your budget data resides in your own Google Drive and on your device, you can exercise most of these rights directly — by editing or deleting your spreadsheet and revoking access as described in Section 6. For any questions, contact us below.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We’ll revise the “Effective date” above and, for significant changes, provide notice in the app or store listing. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised policy.

13. Contact us

Questions about this policy or your data? Email us at support@freedomfinancialapps.com.