The short version: BudgetSimpler collects only the data you give it to make the app work. We don't sell your data, show you ads, or share your information with anyone for marketing. Your financial data is encrypted and stays private.
1. Who we are
BudgetSimpler is a personal finance app operated by Airix Web Designs LLC, an independent company based in the United States and run by its founder. You can reach us at support@budgetsimpler.com.
2. How we handle your data, in plain English
Most privacy policies are written to be legally defensible rather than understandable. This section is the understandable version.
Like every hosted budgeting app, BudgetSimpler's servers can read the data in your account. That is what lets the app show your budget, import your bank transactions, send your weekly summary, and answer your questions in the assistant. What matters is how that access is limited, and what we commit to.
What we commit to:
- We look at an individual account's data only when you ask for help with something specific to your account, and only as far as needed to help you.
- We don't analyze anyone's individual transactions, spending or income for any other purpose: not internal analytics, not product research, not anything.
- We don't share your data with anyone for advertising or marketing.
- We don't sell your data. If BudgetSimpler were ever acquired, you would be told before any data changed hands, with the option to export your data and delete your account first.
- To improve the app, we use only aggregate usage numbers, such as how many people added an expense this week. We don't build profiles of individual users.
How access is limited:
- Database access is limited to the people who operate the service (today, one person), protected by multi-factor authentication, and used for running the service and for support, not for browsing accounts.
- Your bank sign-in never reaches us. Bank sync is optional, and when you use it, Plaid handles the sign-in with your bank.
- The token that lets us read your bank data is encrypted a second time at the application level before it is stored, and it is never sent to your browser.
- There are no third-party analytics tools (no Google Analytics, no Mixpanel, no Hotjar) and no advertising integrations of any kind.
What we don't claim:
- Your data is not end-to-end encrypted. It is encrypted in transit and at rest, but the application can read it, because that is what bank sync, the weekly summary and the assistant need. If end-to-end encryption is a requirement for you, a local-first tool such as Actual Budget is a better fit.
- We don't say "bank-level security". The phrase means nothing specific, so we describe what we actually do instead (Section 5).
3. Information we collect
- Account information: your username, email address, and password. The password is stored only as a secure hash; we never store it in plain text.
- Financial data: income entries, expense entries, budget goals, recurring bills, debt records, and assets you track for net worth, either entered manually by you or, if you opt in to bank sync, imported from data provided by Plaid (see Section 7). This includes anything you add to them yourself, such as custom categories and category rules.
- Bank connection data (only if you opt in): if you connect a bank through our optional bank sync feature, we receive and store transaction details (amount, date, description, and category), your financial institution's name, and details for each connected account: its name and last four digits, its type (such as checking, savings, or credit card), its current and available balances, its credit limit where one applies, and a daily history of its balances. We also store an encrypted access token that lets us retrieve this data on your behalf. We never receive or store your bank username, password, or full account number.
- Payment information (only if you subscribe): your card details are collected and processed entirely by Stripe and never reach our servers. We store your subscription status, including whether you have used the free trial, and a Stripe customer identifier so the app knows what you have access to.
- Usage data: events tied to your account, such as when you sign in, which pages you open, and which features you use, plus the site or campaign link that brought you here when you signed up. These stay in our own database, are used to understand how the app is used overall, and are deleted with your account. We use no third-party analytics.
- Welcome questions (optional): when you create an account, we ask what brings you to BudgetSimpler and which kinds of accounts you have, and we store those answers with your account to shape the app's first suggestions for you, such as the order of your Getting started checklist. We also ask how you heard about BudgetSimpler and record that answer as a usage event. You can skip any of these questions.
- Messages you send us: feedback sent from the app and emails to support.
- Deletion feedback: if you choose to share a reason when deleting your account, that answer is stored anonymously and is never linked to your account.
We do not collect your bank login, card numbers, Social Security number, or any other sensitive financial identifier. Bank sync is optional and off by default. If you don't use it, every entry is one you typed yourself.
4. How we use your information
We use the information we collect to:
- provide and operate BudgetSimpler;
- sign you in and keep your account secure, including sending two-factor codes by email when you turn that on;
- send account email: verification, password resets, weekly summaries (which you can turn off), and notices about changes to these terms;
- power the optional AI assistant, which sends your question and relevant financial context to Anthropic to generate an answer (see Section 7);
- process subscription payments through Stripe;
- respond to your support requests;
- understand how the app is used, in aggregate, so we can improve it;
- detect and prevent abuse, such as rate limiting repeated sign-in attempts.
5. Data storage and security
- Your data is stored in a MongoDB Atlas database in the United States. It is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest.
- Passwords are hashed with bcrypt and are never stored in plain text.
- If you use bank sync, the access token that authorizes your bank connection is encrypted a second time at the application level (AES-256) before it is stored, and it is never exposed to your browser.
- Access to the database is protected by multi-factor authentication and limited to the people who operate the service.
- You can add email two-factor authentication to your account in Settings, and sessions sign out automatically after a period of inactivity.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We encourage you to use a strong, unique password and to turn on two-factor authentication.
6. Data retention
We keep your data for as long as your account is active.
- Deleting your account. You can delete your account and everything in it at any time from Settings: choose Delete Account and confirm with your password. Your account is hidden immediately and you are signed out. Everything is permanently removed 30 days later. That grace period exists in case of an accidental deletion: during it, email support@budgetsimpler.com to recover your account. After 30 days, recovery is not possible. If you would rather request deletion by email, write to support@budgetsimpler.com and we will process it within 30 days.
- Deletion feedback you chose to share stays, anonymously, since it was never linked to your account.
- Disconnecting a bank. You can disconnect a bank at any time from Settings, which revokes our access at Plaid right away. Transactions, account details and balance history already imported stay in your account until you delete them or your account. Deleting your account also revokes any bank connection. If Plaid can't be reached at that moment, we keep only the encrypted token needed to finish revoking it and retry daily until it succeeds.
- Payment records stay with Stripe under its own policy, as financial records, after your account is deleted.
- Emails already sent remain in Resend's delivery logs for the period its policy describes.
7. Third-party services
BudgetSimpler uses these services. None of them receives your data for advertising or marketing.
- MongoDB Atlas: database hosting. Your data is stored on its servers in the United States. MongoDB Privacy Policy
- Plaid: powers the optional bank sync feature. If you choose to connect a bank, Plaid handles the sign-in with your financial institution and provides your transaction and balance data to BudgetSimpler. Plaid, not BudgetSimpler, collects and verifies your bank login; we never see it. If you don't use bank sync, nothing is shared with Plaid. Plaid End User Privacy Policy
- Stripe: payment processing for BudgetSimpler Plus, the paid plan. Your card details are collected and processed entirely by Stripe and never reach our servers. If you never start a checkout, nothing is shared with Stripe. Stripe Privacy Policy
- Anthropic: powers the optional AI assistant. When you ask it a question, your question and relevant financial context (such as recent transactions, budget totals, and category breakdowns) are sent to Anthropic's API to generate a response. Under Anthropic's commercial terms, it does not train its models on data sent through the API, and your inputs and outputs are treated as your confidential information. The rest of the app works without the assistant. Anthropic Privacy Policy · Anthropic Commercial Terms
- Render: hosting for the application server. Render Privacy Policy
- Netlify: hosting for the website and app files. Netlify Privacy Policy
- Resend: delivery of account email (verification, password resets, two-factor codes, weekly summaries, and notices). Your email address and the content of those emails pass through Resend to reach you. Resend Privacy Policy
- Sentry: error reporting. When something breaks, the error details are sent to Sentry so it can be fixed, tagged with an internal account identifier. Sentry receives no browsing behavior, no transactions, and no financial data. Sentry Privacy Policy
- Google Fonts and cdnjs (Cloudflare): the fonts and icons on our pages load from these services, so, like any resource on any website, they see your IP address and browser details when a page loads. They receive no account or financial data. Google Privacy Policy · Cloudflare Privacy Policy
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with anyone for advertising or marketing.
8. Cookies and local storage
BudgetSimpler uses your browser's local storage rather than tracking cookies. It holds what keeps the app working for you: your sign-in, your preferences such as dark mode and whether you've taken the tour, a trusted-device marker if you chose to skip two-factor codes on this device for 30 days, and a note of the page or link that brought you here before you signed up, which is used once at signup and then cleared. We do not use third-party tracking or advertising cookies. Plaid and Stripe set their own cookies on their pages during bank connection and checkout, under their own policies.
9. Your rights and controls
You can, at any time:
- see and edit every entry in your account directly in the app;
- export your financial data as CSV, Excel, PDF, or JSON from Settings;
- delete your account and everything in it from Settings, or by emailing support@budgetsimpler.com;
- disconnect a bank, or turn the weekly summary email off, from Settings (each summary email also carries an unsubscribe link);
- choose not to use bank sync or the AI assistant; the rest of the app works without them;
- ask us for a copy of the personal data we hold about you, or to correct it, by emailing support@budgetsimpler.com. We answer within 30 days.
10. Children's privacy
BudgetSimpler is not intended for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
11. Changes to this policy
When we change this policy, we update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, such as collecting a new kind of data or adding a service that handles it, we email the address on your account before or when the change takes effect. Continued use of BudgetSimpler after a change means you accept the updated policy.
12. Contact us
Questions about this policy or your data: support@budgetsimpler.com.