SpendWisely connects to your bank through SimpleFIN. Your bank login never reaches me — SimpleFIN holds the connection, you authorize it directly with them, and your transactions flow into your private iCloud database from there. I cannot read your financial data. Even if I wanted to, I don't have access to your SimpleFIN bridge or your iCloud.
AI categorization runs through whichever provider you pick: Apple Intelligence (on-device, free), an on-device LLM (the MLX-backed one-time unlock), or a cloud provider where you bring your own API key. When you choose a cloud provider, the prompt — usually just the description of a transaction — goes directly to that provider under their privacy terms. SpendWisely is not a middleman; the request doesn't pass through anything I run.
Local categorization rules, custom merchants, budgets, and any notes you add stay on your device. They sync between your devices via iCloud, in your private database. The SimpleFIN setup token lives in the iOS Keychain, encrypted at rest by Apple.
There is no SpendWisely server. There is no analytics SDK. There are no third-party trackers. The app does not phone home, and I do not have a feed of "what users are doing." If a feature ever changes that, I'll write it here first.
If something about how a specific feature handles data feels off, email me and I'll explain or fix it.