Privacy Statement
Who this is for
This statement explains how BDS Finance handles your information. It applies to the small group of people invited to try the app during its alpha, before it is generally available. The app is a personal bookkeeping tool: accounts, transactions, budgets, journal entries, receivables, payables, prepaids and reports, with optional bank connections. It works together with the Terms of Use.
What the app stores
| Data | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Email address and sign-in details (password stored only as a secure hash, two-step login settings) | You, when your account is set up |
| Accounts, categories, budgets, transactions, journal entries, schedules, notes | You, typed in or imported from a CSV file |
| Bank account names, masked account numbers, balances and transactions | Your bank, through Plaid, only if you connect a bank |
| A history of changes to your transactions (audit log) | Recorded automatically when transactions change |
| When you accepted the Terms of Use and this statement, and which version | Recorded when you agree at sign-in |
| Basic technical logs (time, page requested, errors) | Recorded by the hosting services |
The app does not store full bank account numbers or your bank login. It does not use advertising or tracking tools, and your data is never sold.
How it is protected
- Your data is separated from everyone else's by the database itself, not just by the app. Each row belongs to one user, and the database refuses to show or change another user's rows.
- Two-step sign-in with an authenticator app is required for every tester. You set it up the first time you sign in, and it protects your account even if your password is stolen.
- Financial records change only through checked database functions, which validate amounts and ownership. The change history cannot be edited or deleted while your account exists.
- Encrypted connections (HTTPS) everywhere, plus strict browser security settings that block injected scripts.
- Bank access tokens are kept in an encrypted vault on the server and never reach your browser.
- Every change to the app is tested automatically on a separate test system, without real data, before it goes live.
Who can see your data
- You. Other testers cannot see your data.
- The app's administrator (Brent Shemet) has technical access to the database to run and fix the service. He will look at your data only if you ask for help, or if needed to fix a problem, and will tell you if that happens.
- Service providers that run parts of the app and process data only to provide it:
| Provider | What it does | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database and sign-in | United States (Oregon) |
| Netlify | Hosts the web app | United States |
| Plaid | Bank connections (only if you connect a bank) | United States |
| Sentry | Error reports, so problems can be fixed quickly. Names, emails, amounts and account details are removed before anything is sent. | United States |
| GitHub | Stores encrypted backups and the app's code | United States |
No one else receives your data, unless the law requires it.
Bank connections (Plaid)
Connecting a bank is optional. If you do, you sign in to your bank through Plaid's own window; the app never sees your bank username or password. Plaid gives the app read-only access to account names, masked numbers, balances and transactions. The app cannot move money. You can disconnect a bank in the app at any time, which stops new transactions from being collected. Plaid's own privacy policy also applies to that connection.
Backups and how long data is kept
The whole database is backed up every night. Each backup is encrypted before it is stored, and only the administrator holds the key. Backups are kept for 30 days and then deleted automatically. Your data itself is kept for as long as you use the app, until you delete it.
Deleting your data and leaving
- Delete your financial data: use the delete-data option in the app's Settings. It removes your accounts, transactions, journal entries, schedules and other records right away.
- Close your account: ask the administrator, and your sign-in and any remaining data, including the change history, will be deleted within 7 days.
- Copy your data first: the app's backup download in Settings gives you a file of your own records.
Deleted data disappears from the nightly backups within 30 days, as older backups expire.
This is an alpha
The app is still being built and tested. Features may change, and occasional bugs are expected. Please keep your own records for anything important, and don't rely on the app as your only copy. If you notice anything that looks wrong, especially anything that suggests someone else's data, stop and report it right away.
Questions, problems or deletion requests: brentshemet@gmail.com.