Privacy Policy
This policy explains what information SoloExpense ("the app", "we", "us") handles, where it goes, and the choices you have. The app is published by BenBen Inc, Hanoi, Vietnam, who is the controller of the limited personal data described below. Questions: vanbavlkt.56@gmail.com.
- There is no account and no cloud backup. Your expenses, clients, projects and receipt photos are stored only on your device.
- Receipt text is read on your device. If AI-assisted scanning is used, the receipt photo is sent to our AI processing provider to extract the amounts.
- The free version shows ads (Google AdMob and AppLovin), which use device identifiers. Premium removes all ads.
- We use Google Firebase for usage analytics, crash reports and remote configuration.
- We do not sell your expense data, and we never send your list of expenses, clients or projects to anyone.
1. Information stored only on your device
Everything you create in the app stays in the app's private storage on your phone:
- Expenses (amount, date, merchant, category, tax, payment method, notes, billable and deductible flags)
- Clients, projects, categories and the merchant list used to improve scanning
- Receipt photos you capture or pick from your gallery
- Your settings (language, currency, date format, reminders) and usage counters such as how many free scans or exports you have used this month
We have no server that receives this data, so we cannot see, recover or restore it. Uninstalling the app, or using Settings → Clear all data, deletes it permanently.
Exports and backups. When you export a PDF/CSV report or a data backup, the file is created on your device. It only leaves your device if you choose to share or save it somewhere (email, a cloud drive, another app). What happens to it then is governed by the service you choose.
2. Receipt scanning
On-device text recognition
Text on a receipt photo is read on your device using Google ML Kit. The photo and the recognised text are not sent to us. ML Kit may send Google anonymous diagnostic and performance information about the library itself (ML Kit terms).
AI-assisted scanning
To read difficult receipts (blurry, handwritten, unusual layouts), the app may use an AI vision service. Depending on the app version and configuration, this happens either automatically when on-device scanning cannot find the total, or only after you tap Use AI when asked. When it happens:
- The receipt photo, together with your category names, a list of merchant names from your device and your default currency (to help the AI choose the right values), is uploaded to a third-party AI processing provider, which stores the image temporarily in Google Firebase Storage and processes it with an AI model.
- A random, anonymous identifier is created so the provider can operate the service. It is not linked to your name, email or Google account.
- The result (merchant, date, amounts, tax, category suggestion) is returned to your device. Nothing is saved until you review and save the expense.
Receipts can contain personal information, such as the last digits of a card, a store address or your name on an invoice. If you do not want a receipt processed by AI, decline the prompt or enter the expense manually.
3. Information collected by third-party services
| Service | Purpose | Data involved |
|---|---|---|
| Google Firebase Analytics | Understand which screens and features are used, to improve the app | App-instance ID, screen views and button events (for example "scan clicked"), app version, device model, OS version, country/language, approximate session times. No expense amounts, merchant names or receipt content. |
| Google Firebase Crashlytics | Diagnose crashes and errors | Crash traces, device model, OS version, free memory/disk, installation UUID, the screen open at the time of the crash. |
| Google Firebase Remote Config | Turn features and ad placements on or off without an app update | Firebase installation ID, app version, country/language. |
| Google AdMob and AppLovin (free version only) | Show banner, native, rewarded and interstitial ads | Advertising ID, IP address, device and network information, ad interactions. Used for personalised ads only where you have consented or local law allows it. |
| Google User Messaging Platform | Ask for and store your ad consent (EEA, UK, Switzerland and regions with similar laws) | Your consent choices and region signal. |
| Google Play Billing | Process Premium purchases | Google handles payment. We receive only the purchase status and a purchase token; we never see your card details. |
| Google Forms (report an issue) | Receive bug reports and feedback you send | Only what you submit: a ticket ID, where the report came from, the issue type, your description and, if you choose, a reply email address. |
Each provider handles data under its own privacy policy: Google (Firebase, AdMob, ML Kit, Play, Forms) · AppLovin.
4. Device permissions
- Camera to photograph receipts. Optional: you can refuse and pick a photo or enter expenses manually.
- Photos are accessed through the system photo picker, and only the image you select is shared with the app.
- Notifications for optional reminders, such as the weekend reminder to log receipts.
- Run at start-up (boot completed), to re-schedule your reminders and home-screen widget after the phone restarts.
- Internet and network state for ads, analytics, AI-assisted scanning and sending issue reports.
5. Legal bases (EEA, UK and Switzerland)
- Contract: processing a receipt with AI when you use that feature; processing Premium purchases.
- Consent: personalised advertising and the related storage of identifiers, collected through the consent form. You can change it at any time in Settings → Privacy settings.
- Legitimate interests: crash reporting, usage analytics and security, to keep the app working and improve it. You can object by contacting us.
6. Advertising choices
- Change your ad consent at any time in Settings → Privacy settings.
- Reset or delete your Advertising ID, or opt out of personalised ads, in Android Settings → Privacy → Ads.
- Premium removes all ads.
7. Sale and sharing of personal information (US state laws)
We do not sell your expense data, receipts, clients or projects. In the free version, ad partners receive device identifiers and ad-interaction data to show and measure ads. Under some US state laws (for example California's CCPA/CPRA) this may be considered "sharing" for cross-context behavioural advertising. You can opt out through Settings → Privacy settings, by deleting your Advertising ID in Android settings, or by upgrading to Premium. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16.
8. Retention
- Data on your device: until you delete it, clear app data or uninstall.
- Analytics data: up to 14 months; crash reports: 90 days.
- Issue reports: as long as needed to handle the report, and no longer than 24 months.
9. Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR, UK GDPR, Canada's PIPEDA or US state laws), you may have the right to access, correct, delete or port your personal data, to object to or restrict processing, to withdraw consent, and to complain to your data protection authority. Because your expense data never leaves your device, you control it directly in the app. For data held by Firebase or in issue reports, email vanbavlkt.56@gmail.com. Include your ticket ID if you sent a report, and we will respond within 30 days. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.
10. International transfers
Our service providers may process data in the United States and other countries. Where required, transfers rely on safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU–US Data Privacy Framework.
11. Security
App data is kept in Android's app-private storage, which other apps cannot read. Network traffic to our providers uses HTTPS. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, so keep your device protected with a screen lock.
12. Children
SoloExpense is a business tool for adults and is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA and UK). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us information, contact us and we will delete it.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the app changes. We will change the "Last updated" date above and, for significant changes, let you know in the app before they take effect.
14. Contact
BenBen Inc · Hanoi, Vietnam · vanbavlkt.56@gmail.com