Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 2026 · View Terms of Service →

MilBudgetBuddy ("the App") is a personal finance tool for US military service members, veterans, and military families. We are committed to protecting your privacy and being fully transparent about how your data is handled.

1. What Data We Collect

• Local device storage: Your profile (branch, rank, years of service), budget categories, expenses, savings goals, net worth entries, and app preferences are stored locally on your device using AsyncStorage. This data never leaves your device unless you sign in to sync.
• Cloud sync (optional): If you create an account and sign in, your data is synced to a private Cloud Firestore database (Google Firebase), secured by rules that only allow your own authenticated account to read or write it.
• Account information: If you create an account, we store your email address only. This is used for authentication and account recovery.
• Usage analytics: We record which features are used (e.g., "user opened Pay Chart"), plus your device platform (iOS or Android). If you are signed in, these events are linked to your account ID; if not, they are not linked to any account. Analytics never include your pay amounts, budget figures, or other financial data.
• Feedback you send: If you send feedback from the app, its text (and your email, if you're signed in) is stored so we can respond. Feedback text may be summarized by an AI service (Anthropic) to help us review it.
• Subscription records: If you subscribe to MilBudgetBuddy Pro, we store the purchase confirmation from Apple or Google and its expiry date, linked to your account ID, to unlock Pro. We never receive your payment card details.

2. What We Never Collect

• Social Security Numbers or government ID numbers
• Bank account or routing numbers
• Actual LES data from DFAS or myPay
• Location data
• Contact lists, camera, or microphone access
• Any data from children's profiles (Kids / Cadet HQ stores only a nickname and savings goals)

3. How Your Data Is Protected

• On-device: All local data is protected by your device's built-in encryption and lock screen security (iOS Keychain / Android Keystore where applicable).
• In transit: All communications with Firebase are encrypted using TLS 1.2+.
• At rest (cloud): Firebase encrypts all stored data at rest using AES-256.
• No sale: We do not sell, rent, or share your personal or financial data with any third parties, advertisers, or data brokers.

4. Third-Party Services

• Firebase (Google): Used for authentication and optional cloud sync. Subject to Google's Privacy Policy.
• Expo / EAS: Used for app distribution and over-the-air updates. Expo does not have access to your financial data.
• Sentry: Used for crash and error reporting. Reports carry a one-way hashed account ID, not your name, email, or financial data.
• Fly.io: Hosts our server, which verifies purchases and receives analytics and feedback.
• Supabase: Stores feedback you send from the app.
• Anthropic: May summarize feedback text to help us review it. Not used for your profile, pay, or budget data.
• Apple App Store / Google Play: MilBudgetBuddy Pro subscription purchases are processed entirely by Apple or Google. We never see, receive, or store your payment card details — standard app store analytics apply per their respective policies.

5. Children's Privacy

The Kids / Cadet HQ feature allows parents to create savings profiles for their children. Only a nickname and savings goal amounts are stored. No personally identifiable information is collected from minors. This app is not directed at children under 13. Parents control all child data and can delete it at any time.

6. Your Rights and Choices

• Access: All your data is visible within the app at any time — profile, budget, expenses, goals, and net worth.
• Export: Use the Financial Readiness Worksheet (Tools → Financial Command) to generate and share a PDF of your financial data.
• Delete local data: Settings → Reset All Data permanently wipes all data from this device.
• Delete account and cloud data: Settings → Delete Account permanently removes your account and all synced cloud data. Usage analytics, subscription records, and feedback are kept separately; email us to have those removed as well.
• Analytics: Contact us to have analytics linked to your account deleted.

7. Data Retention

Local data is retained on your device until you uninstall the app or use Reset All Data. Cloud data is retained until you delete your account. Analytics data may be retained for up to 24 months for product improvement purposes.

8. California / CCPA and GDPR

We do not sell personal data as defined under CCPA. EU/EEA users may exercise rights of access, correction, and deletion by contacting us. Our legal basis for processing is your consent (account creation) and legitimate interest (app functionality).

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes through the app. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.

10. Financial Disclaimer

All pay estimates, calculators, and projections in MilBudgetBuddy are for informational purposes only. They are based on publicly available DoD pay tables and do not constitute financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. Always verify your pay with your official LES from myPay.dfas.mil.