Budj Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy describes how Budj ("Budj", "the app", "we", "us", or "our") handles information when you install and use the Budj mobile application on Android and iOS devices. Budj is a personal budgeting app designed with privacy in mind: your financial data stays on your device, and we do not operate any servers that collect, store, or process your personal information.
1. Who we are
Budj is developed and published by EJ Frias ("the Developer"). If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, you can reach us at ejsfrias@gmail.com.
2. Scope
This Privacy Policy applies to the Budj mobile application distributed through the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. It does not apply to any third-party websites, products, or services that the app links to or interacts with (such as the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, iCloud, or Google ML Kit). Those services are governed by their own privacy policies.
3. Data we handle
Budj handles the following categories of information. Unless otherwise noted, all of this information stays on your device and is never transmitted to the Developer or to any third-party server.
| Category | Examples | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Financial information | Transactions (amount, date, type, category, merchant, notes), recurring transactions, category budgets, savings goals | On your device (encrypted local database) |
| Receipt images | Photos you capture or select in order to extract transaction details | Processed in memory on your device; not retained by the app after extraction |
| Bank statement images | Screenshots of bank statements you choose to import | Processed in memory on your device; not retained by the app after extraction |
| Voice input | Short audio you speak when adding a transaction by voice | Converted to text on your device; audio is not stored |
| App preferences | Currency, theme, notification settings, category configuration | On your device |
| Purchase information | Whether you have purchased Budj Pro | Verified by Google Play Billing / Apple App Store; the app receives only the entitlement status |
| Backups (iOS only, optional) | An encrypted archive of your app data | Your personal iCloud account, if and when you enable iCloud backup |
We do not collect: name, email address, phone number, physical address, location, contacts, device advertising identifiers, browsing history, health data, or any form of account credentials. Budj does not require you to create an account or sign in.
4. How data is collected
All information handled by Budj comes from one of the following sources:
- Directly from you, when you manually enter a transaction, budget, goal, or setting.
- From your device camera, when you choose to scan a receipt.
- From your device photo library, when you choose to import a bank statement image.
- From your device microphone, when you choose to add a transaction by voice.
- From the Google Play Store / Apple App Store, to confirm whether you have purchased Budj Pro.
Budj does not collect information automatically in the background and does not track your activity across other apps or websites.
5. How data is used
Information is used exclusively to provide the app's features to you on your device:
- Display your transactions, budgets, and spending summaries.
- Extract amounts, dates, and merchant names from receipts and bank statements.
- Convert spoken transactions into structured entries.
- Automatically suggest a category based on merchant keywords (entirely on-device).
- Schedule local notifications for budget alerts and recurring transactions.
- Unlock Budj Pro features once a purchase is verified.
- Back up and restore your data through your personal iCloud account, if you enable iCloud backup on iOS.
- Export your data to a file (CSV, JSON, or XLSX) when you explicitly request an export.
Budj does not use your data for advertising, profiling, behavioral analytics, or any form of automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.
6. Device permissions
The app requests permissions only when a feature that needs them is used. You can revoke any permission at any time in your device's system settings.
Android
CAMERA— required to scan receipts.-
RECORD_AUDIO— required to add transactions by voice. -
POST_NOTIFICATIONS— required to display local reminders and budget alerts. -
SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM— required to trigger recurring-transaction and budget reminders at the correct time. -
RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED— required to restore your scheduled reminders after your device restarts. -
BILLING— required for in-app purchase of Budj Pro via Google Play Billing.
iOS
- Camera — required to scan receipts.
- Photo Library — required to import bank statement or receipt images you select.
- Microphone — required to add transactions by voice.
- Speech Recognition — required to convert your voice to text on-device.
- Notifications — required to display local reminders and budget alerts.
7. On-device processing
All sensitive processing in Budj happens locally on your device:
- Receipt scanning uses Google's ML Kit Text Recognition to read text from the image. The image is processed in memory and discarded; it is not uploaded.
- Bank statement scanning uses the same on-device text recognition, combined with a local rule-based parser that extracts transaction rows.
- Voice input is transcribed by your device's built-in speech recognizer. Google's ML Kit Entity Extraction is then used on the resulting text to find money amounts and dates. No audio or transcript is sent to the Developer.
- Merchant categorization uses a local keyword list to suggest a category; no data leaves your device.
ML Kit models may be downloaded on demand from Google's servers the first time a feature is used. These downloads are handled by Google Play Services (Android) or the on-device ML Kit framework (iOS) and do not include any of your financial data, receipts, or voice recordings. Please review Google's ML Kit Terms for details.
8. Third-party services
Budj uses a small number of third-party platform services to deliver its features. We do not share your financial data, receipt images, or voice input with any of them.
| Service | Purpose | Data shared |
|---|---|---|
| Google Play Billing (Android) | Process in-app purchases for Budj Pro | Purchase tokens and product IDs only; handled by Google Play |
| Apple App Store In-App Purchase (iOS) | Process in-app purchases for Budj Pro | Purchase receipts only; handled by Apple |
| Google ML Kit (on-device) | Text recognition and entity extraction used for receipt, bank statement, and voice parsing | Runs locally on your device. Model files may be downloaded from Google. |
| Apple Speech Recognition / Android Speech Services | Convert your voice to text when you add a transaction by voice | Audio processed by the operating system's speech recognizer according to the OS vendor's policy |
| Apple iCloud (iOS only, optional) | Backing up and restoring your Budj data to your own iCloud account | An encrypted archive of your app data, stored in your personal iCloud container |
Relevant third-party privacy policies:
9. Data sharing
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or analytics providers. Your financial data is shared only in the following situations, all of which are initiated by you:
- Exports. When you explicitly export your data, the resulting file is handed to the destination you choose (email, a cloud storage app, another app's share sheet, etc.). Budj has no control over that destination.
- iCloud backup (iOS). When you enable iCloud backup, an encrypted archive of your data is placed in your personal iCloud container under your Apple ID.
- Legal compliance. We may disclose information if required to do so by applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request. Because we do not hold a copy of your data, we would generally have nothing to disclose.
10. Storage and security
We take reasonable technical measures to protect the data on your device:
- Your data is stored in an encrypted local database (AES-256) using a key held in your device's secure storage (Android Keystore / iOS Keychain).
- Budj does not operate a server, so there is no cloud copy that could be breached on our side.
- Optional iCloud backups rely on Apple's end-to-end infrastructure and the protections tied to your Apple ID.
- ML Kit model downloads and in-app purchase checks are performed over HTTPS.
No method of electronic storage is 100% secure. The security of data on your device also depends on you — for example, using a device passcode, keeping your operating system up to date, and enabling encryption on your device.
11. Data retention
Because your data lives on your device, you control how long it is retained. Budj retains your transactions, budgets, and settings for as long as the app is installed or until you delete them from within the app. Receipt and bank statement images are not retained after extraction. iCloud backups are retained in your iCloud account until you delete them.
12. How to delete your data
- Delete individual items (transactions, budgets, goals, categories, recurring entries) from within the app.
- Reset the app by using your device's system settings to clear the app's storage (Android) or by deleting and reinstalling the app (iOS and Android).
- Delete iCloud backups from Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Manage Account Storage on iOS.
- Uninstall the app to remove all locally stored data from the device.
Because we do not hold a copy of your data, once you delete it locally and remove any iCloud backups you created, your information is gone.
13. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights under privacy laws such as the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), Brazil's LGPD, and similar frameworks. These typically include the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, port, or object to the processing of your personal data.
Because Budj does not transmit your data to us, you can directly exercise most of these rights yourself from within the app — all your data is on your device and you can view, edit, export, or delete it at any time. If you believe you still need our assistance to exercise a right, please contact us using the details in the Contact us section. Residents of the EEA / UK also have the right to lodge a complaint with their local data protection authority.
14. Children's privacy
Budj is a general-audience app and is not directed at children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided personal information through the app, please contact us and we will assist where possible. Because the app does not transmit data to us, there is generally nothing on our side to delete.
15. International users
Budj is available worldwide. Because all of your data is stored on your device, there is no cross-border transfer of your personal data to us. Any transfers that occur through third-party platform services (for example, Google Play Billing, Apple App Store In-App Purchase, iCloud, or ML Kit) are governed by those providers' own privacy policies and data-transfer mechanisms.
16. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the app, our practices, or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you inside the app. Your continued use of the app after the updated policy becomes effective constitutes your acceptance of the changes.
17. Contact us
If you have any questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or Budj's privacy practices, please contact:
- Developer: EJ Frias
- Email: ejsfrias@gmail.com