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Privacy Policy

Last Updated: January 2025

Overview

AI Expense Categorizer is committed to protecting your financial data privacy. This document explains how we handle your transaction data.

Data Collection

What We Collect

  • Transaction data you upload (dates, descriptions, amounts)
  • IP address for rate limiting (prevents abuse)
  • Usage statistics (anonymous - number of transactions processed, cache hit rates)

What We DON'T Collect

  • ❌ No user accounts or personal information
  • ❌ No cookies or tracking pixels
  • ❌ No persistent storage of your transactions
  • ❌ No email addresses or contact information

Data Processing

How Your Data is Used

1. AI Categorization

2. Merchant Caching

  • Merchant patterns (e.g., "Starbucks") are cached temporarily
  • Only merchant names are cached, NOT amounts or full descriptions
  • Cache is in-memory and resets on server restart

3. Rate Limiting

  • IP addresses stored temporarily (60 minutes)
  • Prevents API abuse and protects service costs
  • Cleared automatically every hour

Data Retention

  • ✅ Real-time Processing Only: Your transactions are NOT stored in any database
  • ✅ Session Only: Data exists only during active categorization request
  • ✅ No Persistence: All data is deleted immediately after results are returned
  • ✅ Cache Expiry: Merchant cache expires after 1 hour of inactivity

Third-Party Services

Anthropic Claude AI

  • Purpose: AI-powered transaction categorization
  • Data Shared: Transaction descriptions and amounts
  • Privacy Policy: https://www.anthropic.com/legal/privacy
  • Note: Anthropic may use data to improve their AI models per their terms

Vercel Hosting (if deployed)

Security Measures

Data Protection

  • ✅ All communication encrypted via HTTPS/TLS
  • ✅ No persistent database (stateless architecture)
  • ✅ Rate limiting prevents abuse
  • ✅ Input validation prevents malicious uploads
  • ✅ Server logs sanitized (no sensitive data logged)

What We DON'T Do

  • ❌ Never sell or share your data with third parties
  • ❌ Never store your transactions after processing
  • ❌ Never use your data for marketing
  • ❌ Never share data across users

Your Rights

Data Control

  • Right to Access: Since we don't store data, there's nothing to access
  • Right to Delete: Data is automatically deleted after each request
  • Right to Port: Download your categorized results anytime
  • Right to Opt-Out: Simply don't use the service

Consent

By using AI Expense Categorizer, you consent to:

  1. Sending your transaction data to Anthropic's Claude AI API
  2. Temporary caching of merchant patterns for performance
  3. IP-based rate limiting for abuse prevention

Compliance

GDPR (EU Users)

  • Lawful Basis: Legitimate interest (service operation)
  • Data Minimization: Only collect what's necessary
  • Purpose Limitation: Only used for categorization
  • Storage Limitation: No long-term storage
  • Right to Erasure: Automatic (nothing persists)

CCPA (California Users)

  • No Sale of Data: We never sell personal information
  • No Sharing: Data not shared with third parties (except AI provider)
  • Notice at Collection: This privacy policy
  • Right to Know: Covered in this document

Children's Privacy

This service is not intended for users under 13 years old. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

Changes to Privacy Policy

We may update this policy occasionally. Check the "Last Updated" date at the top. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

Transparency

Open Source

This project is open source. You can audit the code to verify:

  • No hidden tracking
  • No unauthorized data collection
  • No persistent storage

📂 View Source Code

github.com/ccedacero/expense-categorizer

Audit the code yourself • Report security issues • Contribute improvements

What You Can Verify

  1. View app/api/categorize/route.ts - No database writes
  2. View lib/merchant-cache.ts - In-memory cache only
  3. View lib/rate-limit.ts - Temporary IP storage

Best Practices for Users

Protect Your Privacy

  • ✅ Remove account numbers from CSVs before upload
  • ✅ Use only recent transactions (don't upload entire history)
  • ✅ Download results immediately, then clear browser
  • ⚠️ Avoid uploading on public WiFi
  • ⚠️ Close browser tab after use

What to Upload

  • ✅ Date, description, amount (minimal data)
  • ❌ Don't include: SSN, account numbers, card numbers

Disclaimer

This is a demo/educational project. For production use with sensitive financial data, consider:

  • Self-hosting to maintain full control
  • Adding encryption at rest
  • Implementing audit logs
  • Regular security assessments

By using AI Expense Categorizer, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.