Privacy & your data
Does my data leave my phone?
The honest answer about what stays on-device and the few things that can leave.
Updated 2026-06-14
You deserve a straight answer. Here it is, without spin.
Your financial data lives on your device
Your expenses, budgets, goals, debts, and coach chats are stored locally on your iPhone. The AI coach and category learning run on-device. None of this is sold, brokered, or sent to analytics services.
The only things that can leave the device
- Bank sync, if you choose to link a bank. Then your transactions and balances sync through Plaid. This is opt-in and part of a paid plan.
- Optional anonymous diagnostics, if you turn them on. These are event-name counts plus a hashed ID only, never your amounts, merchants, categories, chats, or balances. They are off by default.
- A one-time AI model download, if you choose to set up the optional Cedar model. The download is plain file requests with no account or financial data.
What Vault deliberately does not do
No third-party analytics SDKs (no Firebase, Amplitude, and the like), no ads, no advertising identifiers, no data brokers, and no selling of your data.
In short: stay fully manual and nothing about your finances leaves your iPhone. Opt in to linking a bank and your transactions sync through Plaid. The choice is always yours.
Related guides
Is it safe to link my bank?
Exactly what Plaid sees, what Vault sees, and why your password is never exposed to us.
Turn anonymous diagnostics on or off
An optional, off-by-default way to help improve Vault that never includes your financial details.
Export your data (CSV)
Learn how the planned Vault export flow creates a portable CSV copy of your financial records for backup or analysis.
Still need a hand?
Email support@obsidianridgelabs.com, a real person will reply.