Privacy by Design: Building an App Without Trackers

Many apps collect far more data than they need, often through analytics and advertising SDKs added "just in case". For an app that handles money between friends, we took the opposite approach: collect only what the product needs to work, and nothing else.

What we don't include

• No advertising SDKs and no ads.
• No third-party analytics or crash-reporting SDKs in the app.
• No advertising identifiers and no tracking across other apps or websites.
• No phone number or contacts access.

What we do collect, and why

The app needs an account (name and email), the expenses and groups you create, and, if you turn on notifications, a push token for your device. Server logs are kept for a limited period for security and troubleshooting. That's it. Each item maps to a feature, and each is described plainly in the privacy policy and in the App Store and Google Play privacy labels.

Privacy as product decisions

• Sharing is explicit: expenses are visible only to the people in that group or friendship.
• Inviting is respectful: when you add someone by email, they receive a single invitation, and anyone can ask for their details to be removed.
• Deletion is self-service: people can delete their account and data from inside the app, without emailing support.
• Notifications are opt-in and configurable: people choose which events they hear about.
• Sessions can be revoked: changing your password signs out every other device.

It's simpler, too

Fewer SDKs mean a smaller app, fewer permissions to explain, faster store reviews and fewer dependencies to keep patched. Privacy labels are short and easy to fill in honestly. The same thinking applies to this website: analytics cookies are only set after you agree.

If you're building a product and want privacy built in rather than bolted on, we'd be glad to help.