Spendwise
1. Summary
Spendwise has no user accounts and no cloud sync. Your transactions, budgets, notes, and the people you track money with are stored in a private database inside the app on your device, and any receipt or document you attach to an expense is kept as a file in the same app storage. Two things do leave it: anonymous usage analytics, which you can switch off, and the single non-personalized ad that keeps the app free.
| Data | Where it lives | Leaves your device? |
|---|---|---|
| Transactions, amounts, notes, dates | Local database on your device | No |
| Categories, budgets, recurring rules | Local database on your device | No |
| People, balances, and splits | Local database on your device | No |
| Receipts and attachments you add | App storage on your device | No |
| App preferences (currency, reminder, App Lock) | Local storage on your device | No |
| Biometric unlock | Your device's operating system | No |
| Usage analytics (screens and sessions) | Google Analytics for Firebase | Yes — anonymous, and you can switch it off |
| Ad request data (IP address, device and OS type) | Google AdMob | Yes — one non-personalized ad, and only with your consent where the law requires it |
| Backup files you export | Wherever you choose to save them | Only if you share them |
2. What you enter stays on your device
Everything you record in Spendwise — income and expenses, categories, monthly budgets, recurring bill rules, notes, the people you lend to or borrow from, their balances, and any receipt or document you attach — is kept inside the app's own storage area: the ledger and its metadata in a private database file, and each attachment as a file beside it.
Spendwise operates no backend service. There is no Spendwise server that receives your ledger, and no employee or contractor of Spendwise can read it. The app works fully with no internet connection.
Before certain destructive actions, such as deleting a transaction or restoring from a backup, the app writes a safety snapshot into that same local database. These snapshots never leave your device and are removed when you uninstall the app.
3. What leaves your device
Everything you record stays on your phone. Two services are the only things that ever send anything, both provided by Google: Google Analytics for Firebase, which tells us which screens and features are actually used, and Google AdMob, which serves the single ad that keeps Spendwise free. Spendwise itself operates no backend service, and the app works fully with no internet connection.
3.1 Usage analytics
When analytics are on, the app reports which screen you are on and when, as a fixed
screen name such as dashboard or transaction_detail, together
with the app version, operating system version, device model, and an anonymous
identifier for the app installation.
Analytics reports never contain transaction amounts, descriptions, notes, category or person names, balances, budgets, or the contents of your database. Each screen is reported under a name from a fixed list, so an identifier such as a transaction or category ID is never sent — and could not be used as a screen name even by accident.
This data is tied to an app installation, not to you personally: Spendwise has no account system, so there is no name, email address, or user profile attached to it. We do not use it to build a profile of you, and we do not use it for advertising.
Open Settings → Privacy and switch off Share analytics. Collection stops immediately — no screen views, sessions, or events are sent from that moment on. Turning analytics off does not remove the ad described below.
Analytics are on by default, which is why this app declares them in its Google Play Data Safety information. Spendwise works exactly the same with them disabled, and if you had already opted out under the previous Share diagnostics setting, that choice is carried over.
3.2 The ad on the confirmation screen
After you save a transaction, the confirmation screen shows one ad from Google AdMob. It is the app's only ad, and it is always requested as non-personalized: it is never selected using your transactions, your behaviour in the app, or any profile of you.
Spendwise does not request Android's advertising ID, and the app is built without Apple's ad-identifier support. Because there is no tracking identifier to ask for, the app never shows a tracking-permission prompt — on either platform.
To serve an ad, Google receives the request along with standard technical data such as your IP address, device type, and operating system version. That is inherent to requesting an ad over the internet. Google's handling of it is governed by the Google privacy policy.
In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and other regions that require it, Spendwise shows Google's consent form and asks whether an ad may be shown at all. If you decline, no ad is requested — the confirmation screen simply appears without one — and nothing else about the app changes.
You can change or withdraw that choice at any time under Settings → Privacy → Ad privacy settings, which reopens the same form. That option appears only where the law requires it.
Accepting the form never makes ads personalized. Spendwise asks Google for a non-personalized ad in every case; consent decides only whether an ad may be requested.
3.3 Legal basis and transfers
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, our legal basis for analytics is our legitimate interest in understanding which features are used and in keeping the app stable and free of faults. For the ad, our legal basis is your consent, which you give — or refuse — through Google's consent form; you can withdraw it at any time under Settings → Privacy. Data may be transferred to and stored on servers outside your country.
4. Permissions the app requests
| Permission | Why Spendwise asks for it |
|---|---|
| Notifications | To show the optional daily logging reminder and recurring-bill nudges you configure. These are generated locally on your device. |
| Biometric / fingerprint | Only if you switch on App Lock. Your fingerprint or face data is handled entirely by your device's operating system; the app receives only a success or failure result and never has access to the biometric data itself. |
| Vibration | To vibrate when a reminder notification is delivered. |
| Internet | To send the anonymous usage analytics described above, and to request the ad on the confirmation screen. Neither is needed for any other feature to work. |
| Files & storage (Android 12 and below) | To read and write the backup file when you choose to export or restore your data. Not requested on Android 13 and above. |
Adding a receipt asks for no permission at all. The app opens your device's own photo picker or document picker and receives only the single item you choose; it is never given access to your whole photo library or file storage.
Spendwise does not request access to your location, camera, microphone, contacts, calendar, SMS, call logs, or health data. It never reads your bank accounts or connects to a financial institution.
5. What we never do
- We do not require or offer user accounts, sign-in, or cloud sync.
- We do not ask Google to personalize ads for you, and we do not read the advertising identifier on either platform.
- We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to anyone.
- We do not include attribution, social media, or third-party behavioural trackers, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.
- We do not build behavioural or advertising profiles of you.
- We do not share your financial data with third parties, because we never have it.
6. Backup files you create
When you create a backup, Spendwise writes a single unencrypted backup file containing your categories, transactions, budgets, people, balances, and any receipts or documents you attached. Anyone who obtains that file can read it — and read your receipts. Store it somewhere you trust, and avoid sending it over channels you would not use for a bank statement.
You choose where a backup goes — a cloud drive, your computer, or removable storage. Once you save or share that file, it is outside the app's control and is governed by the privacy practices of wherever you put it. Restoring a backup replaces the app's current data, including its attachments, and the app takes a safety copy of your existing data first.
7. How long data is kept
- On your device: until you delete the individual records, or uninstall the app. Uninstalling removes the local database, any attachment files, and all preferences.
- Analytics: retained by Google according to their own retention policy. See the Google privacy policy. Switching analytics off stops collection and applies from that moment onwards.
- Backup files: retained by you, wherever you saved them. Spendwise keeps no copy.
8. Children
Spendwise is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Because the app has no accounts and keeps your data on your device, there is no child profile for us to hold. If you believe a child has provided us with information, contact us and we will address it.
9. Your choices and rights
Because your data lives on your device, you control it directly and immediately — there is no request form to wait on:
- Access and portability: open Settings → Backup & Restore and create a backup file to obtain a complete copy of everything the app holds.
- Correction: edit or delete any transaction, category, or person directly in the app.
- Deletion: delete individual transactions, archive categories and people, or uninstall the app to erase everything at once. Your ledger exists only on your device, so uninstalling removes it completely and we hold no copy to delete.
- Analytics: turn them off yourself under Settings → Privacy to stop further collection. To have data already sent addressed, see requesting deletion of analytics data below.
Requesting deletion of analytics data
Spendwise keeps no server-side copy of your ledger, so there is nothing for us to delete on your behalf. The app does send anonymous analytics and ad-request data to Google, and you can ask us to have the analytics data associated with your app installation deleted:
- Email support@spendwise.download and tell us you want your analytics data deleted. We will action the request with Google and confirm when it is done.
- You can also stop further collection immediately under Settings → Privacy.
- Ad-request data held by Google for ad serving and fraud prevention is governed by Google's own retention policy and cannot be recalled by app installation.
If you are in the EEA or the UK, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
10. Security
Your data is protected by your device's own app sandbox, operating system encryption, and any screen lock you have configured. You can add a second layer by enabling App Lock, which requires your biometrics or device passcode each time Spendwise opens.
Spendwise does not add its own encryption layer on top of the database. This means that anyone who can unlock your device and reach the app's storage could read your data. Keep your device locked and up to date.
11. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we will update the effective date at the top of this page and publish the revised version here. Material changes will also be noted in the app's release notes on Google Play.
12. Contact us
Questions about this policy, or about how Spendwise handles your data, are welcome at any time.
Talk to us
We read every message, and privacy questions get a straight answer.
support@spendwise.download