Budget Quest turns personal budgeting into a game. This policy explains what information the app collects, how it's used, how it's stored and protected, and the controls you have over it.
Information we collect
- Account information — the name, email, and password you provide when you create an account. Passwords are handled by our authentication provider and are never stored in plain text.
- Birth year — the year you were born (never the full date), asked when you create an account (older accounts are asked when they open Social). It is used only to keep players who are too young out of friends and chat, and to give players under 18 safer social settings. No other player can see it.
- Budgeting information you enter — the categories, budgets, transactions, debts, savings goals, and income you add so the app can track your finances and power its game features (levels, streaks, quests, and progress).
- Linked bank data (optional) — if you choose to connect a bank account, we use Plaid to retrieve your account balances, transactions, and liability details (such as credit cards, student loans, and mortgages) on your behalf.
- Feedback you send — if you use Settings → Give feedback, we keep your message, its type (idea, bug or other), the app version and device type (iPhone, Android or web), linked to your account so we can tell notes apart. Please don't include passwords or bank details.
- Approximate location (optional) — only if you turn on Live weather in Settings → Appearance. Your phone rounds its location to about 10 km and sends it to our server, which asks the weather service MET Norway for the current weather there and sends back one word and how heavy it is, such as "light rain", and the name of the nearest town from a list kept on our server, such as "Toronto, Ontario", so you can check the right place was found. The location is never saved to your account or linked to you in any record, and is never shown to other players. Our server keeps only the rounded spot and its weather in memory for up to an hour, so nearby players share one lookup. MET Norway sees only our server and the rounded spot, never who you are. The phone keeps that town name with the weather, works out today's sunrise and sunset from the rounded spot, and keeps only those two times, on the phone; never the spot itself. Turn Live weather off at any time to stop this and forget them.
- Basic usage data — information needed to operate the app reliably, such as sync activity and error reports used to diagnose crashes.
- Usage analytics — which screens are opened and which steps are reached (for example "the world screen was reached", "a purchase was logged", "a sign-up form showed a password error"), the app version, the kind of device (web, iPhone, Android or Mac), and which of our own links first brought this device to Budget Quest (a short word we put in links we share, such as "tiktok", or "direct" when there was none), sent to our analytics provider PostHog in the European Union. Analytics never include amounts, balances, income, the names of your categories, debts, goals or transactions, anything you type, your email, your name, your birth year or your location, and are never linked to your account. Some counts are kept as ranges (such as "4 to 6 categories" or "came back after 7 to 13 days"). Until you say yes (with the optional, unticked box when you create an account, or the in-app question "Help us improve?"), these are sent anonymously: each one gets a new random code, so they can be counted but never joined together into one person's activity. If you tick the box or choose "Yes", they carry a random code made on your device, so we can see how one player moves through the app over time (still without knowing who you are). If you choose "No", or turn analytics off in Settings → Privacy, nothing is sent at all. Sharing analytics is never a condition of creating an account or using the app; leaving the box unticked only means we ask once more, a week later. We do not use screen recordings, heatmaps, advertising identifiers or cookies for analytics, and PostHog is set not to keep your IP address.
How we use your information
We use your information solely to provide and improve Budget Quest: to sync your data across your devices, calculate budgets and net worth, run the app's game mechanics, keep bank-linked accounts up to date, and troubleshoot problems. We do not sell your personal or financial data, and we do not use it for advertising.
Bank connections and Plaid
Bank linking is optional and powered by Plaid. When you connect an institution, Plaid securely provides Budget Quest with your account and transaction data. Your bank login credentials are entered with Plaid — Budget Quest never sees or stores them.
Bank access tokens are encrypted at rest and are never shown to you or stored on your device. They're used only by our server to keep your linked accounts in sync, and are revoked when you disconnect a bank or delete your account.
How your data is stored and secured
Your data is associated with your account and protected by access controls so that only you can read or change it. Data is transmitted over encrypted connections and stored with our hosting and database providers. A copy of your data is also cached on your device so the app works offline; that copy is cleared when you sign out or reset the app.
Sharing
We share data only with the service providers that make the app work — our authentication, database/hosting, and bank-connectivity (Plaid) providers, our analytics provider PostHog (usage analytics as described above, stored in the European Union), and, if you turn on Live weather, the weather service MET Norway (a rounded location only) — and only to the extent needed to operate Budget Quest. Certain social features (friends and guilds) display limited profile details you choose to participate with, such as your display name, avatar, level, and streak. The Tavern Board shows your friends your wins from the last 30 days as words, with no amounts added: a debt boss slain, a month's seal, a new rank, or a streak milestone. Boss names (the names you give your debts, shown exactly as you typed them) appear only if you turn that on, and you can stop sharing wins at any time in Settings → Privacy. Board lines are deleted after 90 days. We do not sell data to anyone.
Your choices and controls
- Disconnect a bank at any time from Settings → Connected Banks, which revokes that connection.
- Turn usage analytics on or off at any time in Settings → Privacy → "Share how I use the app" (or "Send nothing at all"). Turning it off deletes this device's random analytics code, so nothing sent later can be joined to what was sent before. Signing out or deleting your account does the same and also forgets your answer, so whoever uses the app next on that device is asked for themselves.
- Hide amounts with the in-app privacy toggle to keep balances off-screen.
- Reset your progress to wipe your budgeting data while keeping your login.
- Delete your account from Settings to permanently remove your data and revoke any linked bank connections.
Data retention
Usage analytics are kept by PostHog for up to one year. Because they are never linked to your account, name or email, we cannot find or remove a particular person's analytics; turning analytics off stops new ones and breaks the link to earlier ones. We keep your other information for as long as your account exists. When you delete your account, your personal and financial data, including any feedback you sent, is removed and linked bank connections are revoked.
Children
New accounts are for players born at least 14 years before the current year (a birth year alone can't tell a 12-year-old from a 13-year-old, so we stay on the safe side). In Quebec, where a child under 14 needs a parent's consent, new accounts are for players born at least 15 years before the current year; the sign-up form asks whether you live in Quebec only when your birth year makes it matter, and that answer is not saved. Players under 18 get safer social settings. Budget Quest is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from them. Someone too young for an account can still use the app on their own device without one. If an existing account gives a birth year that is too young, its friendships end, it is shut out of friends and chat, and the app closes its guild screens. If you believe a child under 13 has an account, email us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the app evolves. Material changes will be reflected here with a new "last updated" date.
Contact
Questions about your privacy or this policy? Email support@budgetquest.app.