Smart Finance
VAULT
Your finances should inform you, not a surveillance profile.
Vault is the private finance app for people who want answers without making a cloud account the price of admission. Track spending manually, import statements and receipts on-device, forecast cash flow, and use local coaching. Automatic bank updates are planned through a clearly optional Plaid connection, with bank authentication handled by Plaid rather than an Obsidian Ridge Labs login form. Vault is in active development.
Why it exists
Your finances should inform you, not a surveillance profile.
Vault is built to make your own financial history useful to you. Track manually, import statements and receipts on-device, forecast cash flow, and ask for private coaching. Automatic Plaid updates remain a separate choice.
No hidden data path
Useful from the first input to the final result.
- 01
Import
The planned local workflow reads a PDF statement or scanned receipt on the device.
- 02
Organize
On-device intelligence is being designed to help categorize spending with review and correction controls.
- 03
Forecast
Projected balances will be presented as estimates based on the data and assumptions you provide.
- 04
Choose
Manual tracking remains the private default; optional Plaid sync is a separate connected path.
What it does
Purpose-built for one private workflow.
Your Password, Never Ours
The design keeps manual tracking available and routes optional bank authentication through Plaid rather than an Obsidian Ridge Labs login form.
Plan with a Forecast
Recurring income, bills, and spending history become a clearly labeled estimate, not a financial guarantee.
Yours by Default
The core product is being designed for local storage and processing, with a connected bank-data path only when a person chooses it.
Privacy is architecture
A shorter data path.
A clearer privacy boundary.
Core budgeting, forecasting, categorization, and coaching are being designed around local processing. The planned Plaid path is optional and routes bank authentication through Plaid; final connection behavior will be documented before release.
Read the full privacy modelBefore release or install
Questions worth asking.
01Can I use Vault without connecting my bank account?
That is the design. Vault is being developed around manual expense tracking, budgets, forecasting, and on-device statement or receipt import without requiring a linked bank. Plaid sync is planned as an optional connected feature.
02Is Plaid required to use the Vault budgeting app?
No. The planned Plaid integration is only for people who choose automatic transaction updates. Vault is still in development, and the manual local-first workflow is the product default.
03Does Vault ever see or store my online banking password?
The intended integration sends bank authentication through Plaid’s interface so Vault does not receive or store the bank password. The final connection flow and privacy disclosure will be published before release.
04Can the Vault AI budget coach work offline?
Core budgeting, categorization, forecasting, and coaching are being designed around on-device processing. Optional bank refreshes would require a connection because they retrieve new account data through Plaid.
05What financial information leaves my iPhone?
The manual product path is intended to remain on the device. If Plaid is enabled, selected bank data necessarily follows Plaid’s documented connection path. Final diagnostics, storage, and deletion behavior will be disclosed before release.
06When will the Vault budgeting app be available?
Vault is in development. There is no announced release date or final price yet, and provisional help documentation is clearly labeled until the product is ready.