Connection Is Optional
The free trial has no bank connection. Manual entry and CSV remain available. When automatic connections are enabled, paid subscribers can choose Plaid for supported accounts.
Protected No Matter How You Keep the Plan Current
Start with manual entry and CSV imports during the no-card trial. Paid subscribers may optionally use Liberty Gold through Plaid for supported bank and credit-card accounts once production connections are enabled. Supported sensitive transaction fields are encrypted before database storage in either workflow.
Automatic account connections are not currently enabled in this deployment.
Encrypted Before It's Saved
The server encrypts sensitive transaction fields before writing them to the database. Stored values are ciphertext rather than readable descriptions and amounts.
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 a useful budget should not force everyone into the same data workflow. You can prove the plan manually, then choose automation only if it earns your trust and helps you stay consistent. Every privacy decision still starts with one question: would I be comfortable if this were my own data?"
How Your Data Is Protected
What we collect
- Your email address
- Your Recovery Scan answers and personalized-plan preferences
- Your budget categories, dates, and savings goal names
- Transaction data you enter or upload, with supported sensitive fields encrypted at rest
- If you opt into Liberty Gold, linked institution/account identifiers and financial data Plaid makes available for the selected products
What we never collect
- Your bank credentials typed into Liberty Budget
- Transaction data for advertising or sale to data brokers
- A bank connection during the free manual/CSV trial
What encryption actually means
When manual, CSV, or eligible Plaid data becomes a Liberty Budget ledger transaction, the server
processes supported fields over protected connections. Site traffic uses HTTPS/TLS. A per-account
Fernet data key encrypts supported descriptions, merchant names, and amounts in the main ledger.
The data key is stored in wrapped form, including a password-protected wrapper derived with
PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 and a server-controlled recovery wrapper. We never store your password in
readable form. Encrypted fields look like gAAAAAbpmM5x... at rest. Paid Liberty Gold
access tokens and provider-synchronization records use separate service-managed encryption so
authorized background sync and disconnect processing can run.
Can Liberty Budget ever see my transactions?
The application decrypts transaction fields at runtime to provide signed-in views, reports, and support for account recovery. Access is limited by application authorization and operational controls; this is encryption at rest, not end-to-end encryption.
What happens if I forget my password?
You can reset your password and keep your transaction history. Liberty Budget uses wrapped encryption keys, so the server can recover and re-wrap your data key for the new password while encrypted transaction history remains intact.
A Clear Data-Retention Schedule
Retention practices vary across financial apps. Here is Liberty Budget's current account lifecycle.
Day 1-30
Free Trial
Manual entry and CSV budgeting, no payment card, no automatic conversion, and no bank connection.
Active
Paid Plan
Keep manual/CSV access. Cancel online; access runs through period end.
90 Days
After Expiry/Cancellation
Account records are scheduled for deletion from the active service database 90 days after your trial or subscription ends. Limited infrastructure backups or security logs may persist temporarily under provider retention schedules.
Data Retention
Cleanup is scheduled after your trial or subscription ends.
Liberty Budget schedules transaction data, categories, savings goals, and account records for deletion from the active service database 90 days after your trial or subscription ends. You can request account deletion sooner from your profile.
FAQ - Your Privacy, Simply Explained
Does Liberty Budget require my bank login?
No bank connection is used during the manual/CSV trial. When automatic connections are enabled, authorization happens through Plaid Link and the institution's supported flow; Liberty does not ask you to type bank credentials into a Liberty form.
Can I keep using CSV instead of Plaid?
Yes. Manual entry and supported CSV imports remain available. Automatic connections, when enabled, are an optional paid convenience for supported accounts, and coverage varies.
What encryption standard does Liberty Budget use?
Fernet symmetric encryption protects supported transaction fields at rest in the main budget ledger. Per-account data keys are wrapped using password-derived protection based on PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 with 480,000 iterations, plus a server-controlled recovery wrapper. Plaid access tokens and provider-synchronization records are encrypted under a separate, service-managed Fernet key.
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?
Cancel online from your Profile without contacting support. Paid access normally remains active through the current billing period. If you have an automatic connection, Liberty stops new syncs and queues it for removal when access ends; provider outages can delay a retry. 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.
Start With a Scan. Choose Your Data Path Later.
No payment card or bank connection required.
Start My Free Scan