Privacy Policy
Buckets & Bucks · Last updated 13 August 2026
The short version. Buckets & Bucks keeps your budget on your phone. You can use the entire app without creating an account or connecting to the internet.
There are no ads, no trackers, and no third-party advertising software of any kind in this app. Your financial information is never sold, rented, or shared with anyone.
The app does send an automatic report if it crashes, so the crash can be found and fixed. That report describes the failure and the device — never your budget, your transactions, or your balances. See Crash reports.
The app does not connect to your bank. It has no ability to access your bank accounts, move money, or see any transaction you don't enter or import yourself.
Information stored on your device
Everything you create in the app is stored locally on your phone, in storage private to the app. This includes:
- Categories, buckets, budgets, and monthly balances
- Accounts you set up, and the transactions you enter or import
- Planned/expected items and categorization rules
- Photos of receipts you choose to capture or attach
- App settings and preferences
None of this leaves your device unless you deliberately turn on cloud backup, described below. Uninstalling the app removes this data from your phone.
Buckets & Bucks also opts out of Android's automatic backup. Many apps let Android copy their data to your Google Drive in the background, without asking. We have turned that off, so your budget is never copied anywhere you didn't choose. It also means that uninstalling really does delete your data, rather than having it quietly reappear if you reinstall later.
Optional account and cloud backup
Creating an account is entirely optional and is only needed if you want to back up your budget or view it on another device. If you choose to sign in, we use Google Firebase for two things:
- Firebase Authentication — to sign you in with an email address and password, or with your Google account. We store your email address so your backup can be associated with you. We never see or store your password or your Google credentials.
- Cloud Firestore — to store a copy of your budget data (categories, accounts, transactions, rules, planned items, budgets, and month-end balances) so it can be restored.
Your cloud data is stored in an area reserved for your account and is protected by security rules so that only you, signed in as you, can read or write it.
Receipt photos are never uploaded. They stay on your device only, and are not included in cloud backup.
If you never sign in, no data is ever transmitted from the app at all.
Receipt scanning
When you photograph a receipt, the image is analysed on your device using Google ML Kit's on-device text recognition to suggest an amount, merchant, and date. The photo is not uploaded for processing, and the image remains in the app's private storage on your phone.
Voice entry
Voice entry uses your Android device's built-in speech recognition. The app does not record or store audio itself — it asks the system to listen and receives back only the recognised text. Depending on your device and settings, Android may process that audio on-device or send it to Google's speech recognition service under Google's own privacy policy. If you would rather not use it, simply don't use the voice button; every part of the app works without it.
Importing your own files
If you import a CSV file exported from your bank, the file is read on your device and the transactions are saved locally. The file itself is not uploaded anywhere.
Crash reports
When the app crashes, it sends a diagnostic report using Google Firebase Crashlytics so the problem can be identified and fixed. This is the only automatic report the app sends.
A crash report contains the technical details of the failure — where in the app's code it happened — along with your device model, operating system version, available memory and storage, and a random identifier generated for the installation. That identifier is not your name, email, or advertising ID, and it is not used to track you anywhere else.
A crash report never contains your financial data. No transactions, amounts, balances, category names, account names, notes, or receipt images are included. It is not possible to reconstruct any part of your budget from a crash report.
Crash reports are processed by Google on our behalf under Firebase's terms and are used only to fix problems in this app. They are not sold, and they are not used for advertising.
What we do not do
- We do not include advertising, ad networks, or advertising identifiers.
- We do not include analytics or usage-tracking software. We do not measure which features you use, how long you spend in the app, or what you tap.
- We do not build a profile of you or track you across other apps or websites.
- We do not sell, rent, or share your personal or financial information with third parties.
- We do not connect to financial institutions or access your bank accounts.
Permissions the app asks for
- Camera — only when you choose to photograph a receipt.
- Photos/media — only when you choose to attach an existing image.
- Microphone — used by the system speech recogniser when you use voice entry.
- Biometrics / device lock — only to unlock the app if you turn on App Lock. Your fingerprint or face data is handled entirely by Android; the app never sees or stores it.
- Internet — only used if you sign in and use cloud backup.
Subscriptions and payments
If you purchase a subscription, the transaction is handled entirely by Google Play. We never receive or store your payment card details. We receive only confirmation from Google Play that a subscription is active, so the app knows to unlock premium features.
Deleting your data
- In the app: More → Settings → Delete account and cloud data deletes your account and everything stored for it, immediately and permanently. It also clears the copy on that phone.
- On your phone only: uninstalling the app deletes the data stored on your device, and leaves any cloud backup alone.
- If you can't reach the app: email us at the address below from the address you signed in with and we'll delete it, within 30 days.
Full details, including what is and isn't retained: how to delete your account.
Children
Buckets & Bucks is a personal budgeting tool intended for adults. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect information from children.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the revised version will be posted at this address with an updated date at the top. Meaningful changes affecting how your information is handled will also be noted in the app.
Contact
Questions, or a request to delete your account and cloud data:
privacy@bucketsandbucks.app