No Bank Connection. Ever.
We never ask for your bank login. We never connect to your accounts. Your bank does not know we exist.
Your Financial Data. Locked. Even From Us.
Most budgeting apps live inside your bank account. Liberty Budget never touches it. Here's exactly how we protect your data and why we built it this way.
Encrypted Before It's Saved
Your transaction details are scrambled using a key derived from your password before they hit our database. We store locked data, not readable data.
Ad-Free. Data-Free. Always.
We do not sell your data. We do not run ads against your spending habits. You are not the product.
"I built Liberty Budget because I did not want to hand a stranger the keys to my bank account just to see where my money was going. Every privacy decision in this app starts with one question: would I be comfortable if this were my own data? The encryption is not a feature we added. It is the foundation we built on."
How Your Data Is Protected
What we collect
- Your email address
- Your budget categories, dates, and savings goal names
- Your encrypted transaction data, scrambled and unreadable without your key
What we never collect
- Your bank login credentials
- A live or persistent connection to your bank accounts
- Your transaction details in readable form
What encryption actually means
When you upload a CSV, your transaction descriptions, merchant names, and amounts are encrypted
using
PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 key derivation before they are saved to our database. The key comes from your
password.
We never store your password in readable form, and encryption keys are stored only as wrapped
tokens (not plaintext keys).
What sits in our database looks like this: gAAAAAbpmM5x..., meaningless without
your key.
Can Liberty Budget ever see my transactions?
Raw transaction data at rest remains encrypted. Keys at rest are wrapped. Access to decrypted values requires authorized key unwrapping during runtime.
What happens if I forget my password?
You can reset your password and keep your transaction history. Liberty Budget uses wrapped encryption keys, so your data key is re-wrapped to your new password during reset while encrypted transaction history remains intact.
How We Compare
| Feature | Bank-Connected Apps | Liberty Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Requires bank login | Required | Never |
| Persistent bank access | Always on | Never |
| Transaction data encrypted | Varies | Always |
| We can read your transactions | Yes | Technically impossible |
| Sells user data | Varies | Never |
| Ad-free | Varies | Always |
| Data deleted after inactivity | Retained indefinitely | Deleted after 90 days |
Your Data Has an Expiry Date
Most apps keep your financial data forever. We do not.
Day 1-30
Free Trial
Full access, no credit card required. Your data is encrypted and private from the moment you upload it.
Active
Gold Subscription
Your data is retained while your subscription is active. Cancel anytime; access runs through period end.
90 Days
After Expiry/Cancellation
If inactive, your account and data are permanently deleted after 90 days. No archives. No backups of personal data.
Data Retention
We delete your data. Most apps never do.
Most financial apps retain transaction history indefinitely even after cancellation. Liberty Budget permanently deletes all transaction data, categories, savings goals, and account information after 90 days of inactivity.
FAQ - Your Privacy, Simply Explained
What do other budgeting apps do with my bank login?
When you connect a bank account to most budgeting apps, you grant a third party like Plaid a persistent, live connection to your accounts. That connection stays open until revoked.
Why CSV instead of bank connections?
You download a statement, upload it once, and the connection ends there. Your bank never knows we exist.
What encryption standard does Liberty Budget use?
PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 key derivation with 480,000 iterations combined with Fernet symmetric encryption for transaction data.
Is my payment information stored on your servers?
No. Payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe. We do not store your credit card details.
What happens to my data if I cancel?
Your paid access remains active through the end of your current billing period. If you do not renew, access pauses until you reactivate. You can request permanent account deletion at any time.
Can I permanently delete my data?
Yes. Account deletion permanently wipes encrypted transactions, categories, goals, and account records. This cannot be undone.
Privacy is not a feature. It is the foundation.
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