Privacy Policy

1. Information we collect

We collect personal information only to the extent necessary to provide the App's features. Depending on the features you use, we may collect the following categories of information:

1.1 Account and identity information

When you register or sign in to use network features (collaborative ledgers, the AI assistant, a cross-device account, etc.), depending on your chosen sign-in method we collect:

• Sign in with Apple: the user identifier Apple returns, plus the name and email you choose to share (you may use Apple's private relay email).
• WeChat sign-in: the identifiers WeChat returns (UnionID / OpenID), your nickname and avatar.
• Email sign-up / sign-in: your email address, the password you set (stored only as a bcrypt hash — we never keep the plaintext), and one-time email verification codes (stored only as a hash and short-lived).
• Profile: the display name and avatar you set, and any per-ledger nickname you choose in a shared ledger.

1.2 Bookkeeping and financial data

To provide core bookkeeping, the data you create includes accounts and balances, transactions (amount, type, category, date, note), ledgers, budgets, loans and loan contacts, and currencies. For ledgers you have not shared, this data stays on your device by default (and may sync via your iCloud) and is not uploaded to our servers.

1.3 Collaborative bookkeeping data

When you create or join a shared ledger, the following is uploaded to our servers so members stay in sync: the shared ledger's name and settings, the records you add to it (amount, category, date, note, location, images, etc.), cost-split and settlement information, membership and roles, invites and join requests, and ledger activity and in-app messages. This information is shared with the other members of that ledger.

1.4 Images

When you attach receipts/photos to a record, set an avatar or ledger cover, or submit a feedback screenshot, the images you choose are uploaded and stored. Images belonging to a shared ledger or sent for AI recognition are uploaded to our object-storage service and may be content-moderated. Images in local-only ledgers stay on your device by default.

1.5 Location information

• Record location (optional): when you actively choose to add a place to a transaction, we record the selected place's name, address and coordinates. This requires “While Using” location permission and is entirely optional.
• Approximate location: for security and operational analytics, our servers may infer an approximate country/city from the IP address you connect with. This is a coarse, IP-based estimate, not precise positioning.

1.6 Voice information

When you use voice bookkeeping, the App uses the system's speech recognition to convert speech to text, preferring on-device recognition when available. The resulting text is then processed by the AI assistant as your input (see “AI features and data processing”).

1.7 Device and log information

• Push token: when you enable notifications, we collect your device push token (APNs) to deliver notifications.
• Subscription and transaction information: when you purchase a subscription or premium features, transactions are handled by Apple and we store the identifiers needed to reflect entitlement status (e.g. original transaction ID, product ID, status and expiry). We do not collect your card or payment-account details — payment is handled by Apple.
• Technical and log information: to keep the service secure and reliable, our servers may log technical information such as IP address, request time, client identifier (User-Agent), app version, and OS version/platform.
• Feedback information: when you send feedback, we collect the content you write, an optional contact detail, and the app version, platform and OS version attached to help us triage.

We do not collect personal information unrelated to the App's features, and we do not integrate third-party advertising or cross-app tracking analytics SDKs.

2. How we use information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide core features: record and present your income/expenses, accounts, budgets, loans and statistics.
• Account and sign-in: create and verify your account, keep you signed in, and protect account security.
• Collaborative bookkeeping: sync records, splits and settlements among shared-ledger members and show membership and activity.
• AI assistant: understand your natural-language or image input to help you record entries, recognize receipts, and query and analyze spending.
• Subscriptions: verify and manage your subscription/premium entitlements.
• Push notifications: send you notifications related to your account, collaboration and features (you can turn these off in system settings).
• Security and compliance: perform content moderation, prevent abuse and fraud, troubleshoot, and meet legal obligations.
• Improve the service: improve the product using necessary, aggregated operational statistics (e.g. request volume and feature usage).
• Handle feedback: respond to your questions, comments and complaints.

If we use information for a purpose not described in this Policy, or use information collected for one purpose for another, we will seek your consent in advance.

3. AI features and data processing

The App offers an AI bookkeeping assistant, including conversational and voice bookkeeping, receipt/screenshot recognition, and spending queries and insights. To power these features, your relevant input is forwarded through our servers to a third-party large-model provider for processing.

• What is sent: your chat text with the assistant, speech transcribed to text, and any receipt/screenshot images you provide for recognition.
• Context snapshot: to help the AI record entries accurately, each request includes a necessary snapshot of your local ledger information (such as ledger names, category names, currencies, a spending summary and recent records) so the model can pick the correct category and ledger.
• Provider: the AI large-model capability is provided by Alibaba Cloud Computing Co., Ltd. The API key needed for these calls is kept only on our servers.
• Usage records: to enforce usage quotas and operate the service, we log AI call metadata (such as the model used, token usage, latency and success/failure).

AI-suggested entries are written to your ledger only after you confirm them. AI output can be inaccurate — please review it before saving. You can choose not to use AI features, in which case the processing above does not occur.

4. Storage and “local-first”

The App uses a local-first architecture to minimize personal information uploaded to servers:

• Local data: un-shared ledgers, accounts, transactions, loans and budgets are stored on your device by default (using Apple's SwiftData / Core Data).
• iCloud sync: if you are signed in to iCloud, local data can sync across your own devices via Apple's CloudKit, stored in your personal private iCloud database governed by Apple's privacy policy; we cannot access its contents.
• Server data: only when you use network features (account, collaboration, AI, subscriptions, push, feedback) is the corresponding information uploaded to and stored on our servers.
• Image storage: network images (shared-ledger images, avatars, ledger covers, feedback screenshots, and images sent for AI recognition) are stored in a private object-storage bucket and accessed through short-lived signed links.

Our servers and the cloud services we use are located in mainland China (see “Cross-border data transfer”). We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary for the processing purposes (see “Data retention”).

5. Sharing and third parties

We do not sell your personal information. We share or provide your personal information to third parties only in the following situations, and require them to process it within agreed limits:

5.1 With other users

When you participate in a shared ledger, your display name and avatar, and the records, splits and settlements you create in that ledger, are shown to the other members of that ledger. Choose your collaborators and shared content carefully.

5.2 With third-party service providers (entrusted processing)

• Apple: for Sign in with Apple, in-app subscriptions and payment (StoreKit), push notifications (APNs) and iCloud sync.
• WeChat / Tencent: when you use WeChat sign-in or sharing, the WeChat Open Platform SDK processes the information needed for login and sharing.
• Alibaba Cloud: provides the AI large model, object storage (OSS, in the Shanghai region), and content moderation (image/text) services.
• Email delivery: used to send you verification codes, account notifications, or replies to your feedback.

5.3 Disclosure required by law

We may disclose information where required by law, in response to mandatory requests from competent government or judicial authorities, or where necessary to protect the lawful rights and interests of the App and its users or to safeguard the public interest.

5.4 Business transfers

If a merger, acquisition or similar transaction requires transferring personal information, we will require the recipient to continue honoring this Policy, or otherwise seek your consent again.

6. Content moderation

To comply with laws, keep the community safe and prevent unlawful or objectionable content, images you upload and some text (such as a profile nickname) may be checked by a third-party content-moderation service (Alibaba Cloud image/text moderation). Content found to violate the rules may be blocked or fail to save. This processing is necessary to provide a compliant service.

7. Cross-border data transfer

Our servers and the cloud services we use (including AI, object storage and content moderation) are located in the People's Republic of China (regions such as Shanghai). Therefore, if you use the App's network features from outside China, your relevant personal information will be transferred to and processed in China.

In addition, when you use Sign in with Apple, iCloud sync, subscription payments or WeChat sign-in, the corresponding information is processed by third parties such as Apple and WeChat/Tencent under their own privacy policies, and may be stored in your region or a region they designate. By using these network features, you understand and agree to the cross-border/cross-region transfer and processing described above.

8. Data retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, unless a longer period is required by law:

• Account and account-bound server data: kept while your account exists; when you delete your account we delete or anonymize the corresponding data (see “Account deletion”).
• Email verification codes: short-lived; invalidated and cleared once used or expired.
• Technical logs and operational statistics: kept for a limited period for security and operations, preferably in aggregated form.
• Local and iCloud data: controlled by you; you can delete it in the App or clear it on your device/iCloud.

9. Data security

We apply industry-standard safeguards to protect your personal information, for example: HTTPS/TLS encryption in transit; storing sign-in passwords as salted hashes (bcrypt) rather than plaintext; storing images in a private bucket accessed via short-lived signed links; and token-based sessions with access control.

Despite our efforts, no method of transmission over the Internet is completely secure. Please keep your account and password safe, and contact us using the details below if you discover any security issue.

10. Your rights

To the extent permitted by applicable law, you have the following rights over your personal information:

• Access: view your profile and bookkeeping data in the App.
• Correction: edit your profile and the records you created in the App.
• Deletion: delete records, images and ledgers you created; or delete your account to remove server-side data.
• Export: use the in-app export feature to export your bookkeeping data.
• Withdraw consent: withdraw permissions or stop using a feature; withdrawal does not affect processing already carried out based on your prior consent.
• Account deletion: delete your account at any time (see the next section).
• Complaints and inquiries: contact us via “Contact us”, or lodge a complaint with a competent regulator.

We will respond to your request within a reasonable period. To protect your security, we may first need to verify your identity.

11. Account deletion

You can delete your account at any time. The account-deletion entry is available in the App's Settings.

After deletion, we delete or anonymize the server-side personal information associated with your account (including collaborative records you authored), except where retention is required by law. Deletion is irreversible. Data stored locally on your device and in your personal iCloud is under your control and can be deleted separately on your device. Where some of your records in a shared ledger have already been rolled into other members' settlements or history, an anonymized snapshot may remain in that ledger for its integrity.

If you run into any problem deleting your account, contact us at the email below for help.

12. Device permissions

The App may request the following device permissions when you use the related feature. You may decline, though the corresponding feature may be unavailable, and you can revoke granted permissions any time in system settings:

• Microphone: for voice bookkeeping, to turn what you say into text.
• Speech recognition: to convert speech to text (preferring on-device processing when available).
• Location (While Using): to search for nearby places while recording an entry and stamp a spending location on it.
• Photos: to choose receipts or images to attach to entries, set an avatar/cover, or submit feedback.
• Notifications: to send you reminders related to your account, collaboration and features.

13. Third-party SDKs and sign-in services

To provide certain features, the App integrates the following third-party services or SDKs, whose processing of information is subject to their own privacy policies:

• WeChat Open Platform SDK (Tencent): for WeChat sign-in and sharing; may process device identifiers and the information needed for login and sharing.
• Apple system services (Sign in with Apple, StoreKit, APNs, CloudKit, speech recognition, etc.): processed by Apple under its privacy policy.
• Alibaba Cloud services (AI large model, OSS, content moderation): for AI, image storage and compliance moderation, as an entrusted processor.
• Image viewer component (SKPhotoBrowser): for viewing images locally; collects no personal information.

The App does not integrate third-party advertising SDKs and does not use analytics or advertising identifiers to track you across apps.

14. Children's privacy

The App is intended primarily for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 14. If you are a minor, please use the App with the consent and guidance of your guardian. If we learn that we have collected a child's personal information without guardian consent, we will delete it promptly. Guardians with questions about their child's information may contact us using the details below.

15. Cookies and similar technologies

The App does not use advertising cookies; to keep you signed in, we store necessary login tokens in a secure area on your device (such as the Keychain). This web page uses only technical storage necessary for basic functionality, not for advertising or cross-site tracking.

16. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page; for material changes (such as significant changes to the purpose, method or scope of processing) we will notify you through an in-app notice or another prominent means. Please review this Policy periodically. Your continued use of the App after an update takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

17. Contact us

If you have any questions, comments, requests or complaints about this Policy or our handling of personal information, please contact us and we will respond as soon as possible:

Email: privacy@bluecatapp.com

Personal-information handler: the SnapSpend developer (an individual).