Privacy Policy
BudgetBeam (“the app”, “we”) helps you track personal and shared expenses. This policy describes what data we collect, why, who it is shared with, and how you can control it. By using the app you agree to this policy.
1. What data we collect
- Account. Your email and password when you register by email, or your Google / Apple identifier when you sign in with them. We never store passwords in plain text – authentication is handled by Supabase Auth.
- Financial records. The expenses you enter: amount, currency, category, note, date, budget type and who paid. This is data you enter yourself.
- Shared budgets. If you create or join a shared budget, your expenses in that budget are visible to its other members.
- Voice and text expense input. The typed or dictated expense text and the voice recording – only when you use these features (see section 3). Audio is not stored by us after transcription.
- AI advisor chat. Your chat messages and the aggregated spending statistics the app prepares for the answer: monthly and per-category totals, subscriptions, goals (name and amounts), streak and the monthly limit. The advisor does not receive individual expense records or your email; the one exception is a subscription's service name, which is taken from your note on that expense (email addresses are scrubbed from it).
- Bank-statement import. The contents of the PDF file you upload (dates, amounts, merchant names). The file is processed and is not kept on our servers after parsing.
- Goal names. When you pick or generate a goal cover, the goal's name is used as the search query (see section 3).
- Waitlist. The email you leave in the form on this site.
- Technical data. The device's regional settings (for the default currency and language) are processed locally. We collect no geolocation and use no advertising trackers in the app.
2. How we use data
Data is used solely to run the app: storing and syncing your expenses across devices, shared accounting in joint budgets, voice and text recognition, AI-advisor answers, bank-statement import, goal-cover sourcing, currency conversion and reminders. We do not sell your data and do not use it for advertising.
3. AI features and data sharing
Some features run on third-party AI services. Before anything is sent, the app explicitly asks for your permission – a consent screen is shown before the first AI request, and nothing is sent without your consent. You can revoke the permission at any time in Settings → “AI & Data” (the AI features then turn off; manual expense entry keeps working as usual). What exactly is shared:
- Voice & text → OpenAI. The dictated audio recording (for speech recognition) and the expense text (for parsing into amount, category and date) travel through our server to OpenAI. Audio and text are not stored by us after processing.
- AI advisor → OpenAI. Chat messages and the aggregated spending statistics listed in section 1. The advisor's answers are informational and are not professional financial advice.
- Statement import → OpenAI. The text extracted from the statement PDF is sent for parsing into a list of expenses. The file and its contents are not stored on our servers.
- Goal covers → OpenAI, Serper.dev, Pexels. The goal's name is sent to OpenAI (keyword extraction, image generation and moderation); for photo search, the derived keywords also go to Serper.dev (Google image search) and Pexels. These services receive only the search query, never your financial data.
Under the OpenAI API terms, submitted data is not used to train models; OpenAI may retain it briefly (up to ~30 days) for abuse monitoring, after which it is deleted. All third-party processors are bound by contractual terms that protect your data to a standard equal to or greater than this policy. API keys for the AI services live only on our server, never in the app.
4. Third-party services
- Supabase – data storage and sync (PostgreSQL database, servers in the Tokyo region) and authentication.
- OpenAI (USA) – speech recognition, text and statement parsing, advisor answers, goal covers (see section 3).
- Serper.dev and Pexels – photo search for goal covers; they receive only keywords derived from the goal name.
- Google / Apple – only if you choose to sign in with them.
- Exchange rates – a public rates source; no personal data is sent.
- Vercel – hosting for the site and server functions; its storage holds usage-limit counters (no request contents) and waitlist emails. This website also collects anonymized visit statistics (Vercel Analytics, cookie-free) – not linked to any app data.
- Formspree – delivery of waitlist submissions (the email from the form on this site).
5. Retention and deletion
Data is kept while your account exists. Audio recordings are deleted right after transcription and statement files right after parsing – neither reaches the database. You can delete your account at any time: Settings → Account → Delete account. Deletion permanently erases your expenses and personal budgets; shared budgets with other members are handed over to them, and your account is removed. The action is irreversible.
6. Security
Access to data is protected by authentication and row-level security policies: a user sees only their own data and the data of budgets they belong to. All traffic uses encrypted connections (HTTPS).
7. Children
The app is not intended for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their data.
8. Changes
We may update this policy. Material changes will be reflected in the updated date at the top of this page.
9. Contact
For questions about data and privacy: support@budgetbeam.app.