How we handle your data
The short version, in plain words.
Your spreadsheet is yours
Budget Bear creates the sheet in your own Google Drive. You own it. We can only open files Budget Bear created, not the rest of your Drive. If you leave, the sheet stays with you.
Gmail is read-only
We ask Google for read-only access. Budget Bear cannot send, delete, or change any email.
Only money emails are used
Receipts and emails from banks, cards, and payment apps are turned into transactions. Personal emails and promotions are skipped. The emails themselves are not stored. Only the transaction details end up in your sheet.
AI sees as little as possible
Most receipts are read by our own rules. For the few we cannot read, a trimmed part of the email is checked by an AI service, after card numbers, account numbers, one-time codes, links, phone numbers, and email addresses are removed.
Stored safely
Your Google sign-in keys and email addresses are encrypted on our servers.
You can stop any time
Remove a Gmail account on the Gmail accounts page, or take away access in your Google Account under Security → Third-party access.
Open Google Account permissions ↗
Privacy Policy
Last updated 28 September 2026. Budget Bear is run by the Budget Bear operator, an individual based in Indonesia, who is responsible for your data.
What we collect
Your Google account name, email address, and profile picture when you sign in. For each Gmail account you connect: read-only access to find transaction emails from banks, cards, and payment apps. From those emails we keep only the transaction details (amount, currency, date, merchant, category, and the account or card label) plus a fingerprint to avoid duplicates, never the email bodies. We also store your budgets, goals, pockets, and settings, and basic usage and error logs. If you pay by bank transfer we keep the sender name, bank, date, and the proof image you upload.
Google user data
We use Google access only to provide the features you turn on: signing you in (openid, email, profile), reading transaction emails (gmail.readonly), and creating and updating the Google Sheet Budget Bear makes for you (drive.file; we cannot see your other Drive files). Budget Bear's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. We do not sell Google user data, do not use it for advertising, and do not use it to train general AI models. People do not read your emails, except when you ask us for help and give permission, when it is needed for security, or when the law requires it.
Services we use
Google (sign-in, Gmail, Sheets, Drive). An AI service (InferHub) for the few receipts our rules cannot read. It receives a trimmed piece of the email after card numbers, account numbers, one-time codes, links, phone numbers, and email addresses are removed. Polar (card payments, as merchant of record). An email provider (Brevo) to send you account emails. An error-tracking service (Sentry) that receives technical error details. An exchange-rate service that receives only currency codes and dates.
How we keep it safe
Everything travels over HTTPS. Google sign-in keys and email addresses are encrypted on our servers, and the database is only reachable inside our server. Access to operator tools is limited to administrators and every admin action is logged.
How long we keep it
As long as your account exists. When you delete your account on the Account page, your Budget Bear data is deleted right away; database backups roll over within 14 days. Your Google Sheet stays in your Drive. Delete it there if you want it gone. Payment records may be kept longer when tax law requires it.
Your choices and rights
You can see and correct your data in the app and in your sheet, export it (it is already in your Google Sheet), disconnect Gmail at any time, revoke access in your Google Account, and delete your account. You can also ask us what we hold about you, or ask for it to be corrected or deleted, under Indonesian personal data protection law (UU PDP) and similar laws where you live.
Children
Budget Bear is not meant for anyone under 18.
Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will tell you by email or in the app before it takes effect.
Contact
Contact the operator through the app's Help page after signing in.