1. Introduction & Core Philosophy
Welcome to Hisaab Kitaab ("we," "our," or "the application"). We believe your personal financial transactions represent some of the most private and sensitive information in your digital life.
Hisaab Kitaab is built from the ground up as a local-first personal finance and daily expense tracker. This means you do not need an account to use the application, and all your records live securely on your physical device. We are dedicated to transparent, honest, and ethical privacy practices.
2. Information We Collect & Store
We strictly limit data collection to what is necessary for providing financial tracking functionality:
A. User Financial Entries
- Transaction Records: Expense and income items, monetary values, date and timestamp, quantities, assigned categories, payment status (paid, unpaid, received, pending), and optional personal notes.
- Custom Categories & Items: Custom category labels, chosen colors, icons, and custom item descriptions you create.
- Budget & Recurring Rules: Monthly item spending limits, recurring payment rules, and alert dates.
B. Device & Display Preferences
- Localization Settings: Display language (English, Nepali, Hindi, Bengali), calendar preference (Bikram Sambat BS or Gregorian AD), and active numeral system.
- UI Preferences: Active theme mode (Light or Dark), default chart type (Bar or Donut Pie), and custom currency symbols.
C. Optional Google Account Data (Cloud Sync)
- Profile Information: When you voluntarily choose to sign in with Google, we receive your Google User ID (UID), full name, email address, and profile photo URL.
- Cloud Database Records: For authenticated users, your transaction entries and preferences are synchronized to Google Cloud Firestore to facilitate multi-device synchronization and automatic cloud restoration.
- Guest Users: If you use the app as a Guest, no identity information is ever requested, collected, or stored in cloud databases.
3. What We Never Do With Your Financial Data
- No Financial Data Shared with Advertisers: Your transactions, income details, custom categories, notes, and receipts remain strictly private. They are never shared with, sold to, or accessible by Google AdMob or any third-party marketing network.
- No Data Selling or Renting: We will never sell, lease, rent, trade, or transfer your financial entries or personal records to any marketing agency, data broker, or commercial third party.
- No Profiling of Financial Habits: We do not track your purchases or build financial behavior profiles to sell to third parties.
4. Device Permissions Explained
Hisaab Kitaab requests minimal operating system permissions, solely when required for specific user-triggered actions:
- Storage / Media Files: Required only when you choose to export your monthly statements as PDF documents, create a local backup (.hkjson), or select a backup file from your device storage to restore.
- Notifications: Required only to trigger local daily expense reminders or notifications for recurring payments you set. No marketing notifications will ever be sent.
- Internet Access: Required solely to facilitate optional Google Cloud Firestore synchronization, Google AdMob ad delivery, and verify network status. The app remains 100% operational offline.
5. Data Security & Encryption
We employ multi-layered security controls to protect your personal finance data:
- Transmission Security: All data exchanged between the application and Firebase Cloud servers is encrypted using industry-standard Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.3 / HTTPS).
- Client-Side AES Encryption: When you generate a backup file, you can specify a private passphrase. Your data is encrypted on your device using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). We never store or transmit your backup passphrase.
- Granular Cloud Access Rules: Firebase Firestore security rules enforce strict user-level isolation. No user can read, query, or modify another user's financial records.
6. Third-Party Services & Advertising
Hisaab Kitaab integrates with trusted third-party services to support cloud synchronization and sustainable application maintenance:
A. Google Firebase (Authentication & Cloud Database)
Used exclusively to power the optional Google Sign-in and encrypted cloud sync features. Firebase complies with international data protection standards (ISO 27001, SOC 1/2/3, GDPR).
B. Google AdMob (Advertising Network)
We use Google AdMob (Google LLC) to display advertisements in the application. Google AdMob may collect and process certain device information to deliver, personalize (if permitted), and measure ads in accordance with Google's policies:
- Device Identifiers: Advertising ID (e.g., Android AAID) or other app-set device identifiers.
- Ad Interaction & Diagnostic Data: Information about ad impressions, clicks, app responsiveness, and crash reports.
- Coarse Location: General location estimated from your IP address to serve relevant regional advertisements.
Note: Google AdMob does not have access to your personal financial transactions, income, or category details. You can manage, reset, or opt out of personalized advertising at any time in your Android device settings under Settings → Google → Ads.
For additional details on how Google processes ad data, please review the Google Privacy Policy and How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.
7. Data Retention, Export & Complete Account Deletion
You retain full authority over your data at all times:
- Unrestricted Export: You can export your full transaction history at any moment as standard, unencrypted or encrypted JSON (.hkjson) files, or as formatted PDF statements.
- Immediate Account & Cloud Purge: You can permanently erase your cloud profile and all associated financial records by going to Settings → Danger Zone → Delete Account. This immediately invokes a hard deletion from Google Cloud Firestore.
- Local Data Reset: You can wipe all local storage directly in the app settings with a single tap.
8. Children's Privacy
Hisaab Kitaab is intended for general audiences and is not directed at children under the age of 13 (or under 16 in certain jurisdictions). We do not knowingly solicit or collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately to have it purged.
9. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect modifications in application functionality or legal standards. When revisions occur, the updated policy will be posted with a revised "Effective Date" at the top of this document. Continued use of the application after revisions indicates acceptance of the updated policy.
10. Contact Us & Support
If you have any questions, feedback, or data privacy requests regarding Hisaab Kitaab, please feel free to contact our development team: