Privacy Policy

Expense Tracker respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it through our compliance with this policy. This Privacy Policy describes the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide when you use the Expense Tracker mobile application (the "App") and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information.

1. Overview: Offline-First & Private

Expense Tracker is an offline-first application. This means that:

• We do not have servers.
• We do not create accounts.
• We do not collect, store, or share your financial data.

All data you enter (transactions, budget limits, savings goals, debts) and all files you attach (photos of receipts) are stored locally on your device using an encrypted database (SQLite) and your device's internal file system. If you delete the App, this data is removed from your device (unless you have created a manual backup).

2. Permissions and Data Usage

To provide specific features, the App requests access to certain hardware and system capabilities. Here is how and why we use them:

A. Microphone & Speech Recognition

• Why we need it: To enable the "Voice Input" feature, allowing you to add transactions by speaking (e.g., "10 dollars for lunch").
• Data usage: When you hold the microphone button, audio data is sent to your device's native speech-to-text engine (provided by Apple on iOS or Google on Android).
• Privacy: We do not record, save, or upload your voice recordings to our servers. The audio is processed transiently solely to convert it into text for the transaction form.

B. Camera & Photo Library

• Why we need it: To allow you to attach photos of receipts or invoices to your transactions.
• Data usage: You can snap a new photo or select an existing one from your gallery.
• Privacy: The App only accesses the specific images you manually select. These images are saved locally within the App's private storage on your device. We do not have access to your photo library or camera roll outside of this specific action.

C. Biometrics (FaceID / TouchID)

• Why we need it: To provide the "App Lock" security feature, preventing unauthorized access to your financial data.
• Data usage: The App uses the standard Android/iOS biometric APIs.
• Privacy: The App never accesses, stores, or transmits your fingerprint or facial data. The verification process happens entirely within your device's Secure Enclave/hardware. The App only receives a "Success" or "Fail" signal from the operating system.

3. Data Storage and Backups

Local Storage: All your data is stored on your device. We cannot view, access, or recover your data if you lose your device.

Backups: The App provides a "Full Backup" feature (JSON export) and "Excel Export". These files are generated locally. You are responsible for saving these files to a secure location (e.g., your iCloud Drive, Google Drive, or email). We do not have access to your backups.

4. Third-Party Services

The App does not use third-party analytics services (like Google Analytics or Firebase) to track user behavior, nor does it serve third-party advertisements.

The App relies on the operating system (iOS or Android) for core services like Speech Recognition and Biometrics. These services are subject to the privacy policies of Apple and Google, respectively.

5. Children’s Privacy

Our App is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Since the app works offline and does not collect data, there is no risk of us storing children's data.

6. Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes to how we treat our users' information (e.g., if we introduce cloud sync features in the future), we will notify you through an update to the App and by updating the privacy policy link in the App Store/Play Store.

7. Contact Information

To ask questions or comment about this privacy policy and our privacy practices, contact us at:

Email: [Your Support Email Address, e.g., c60586754@gmail.com]