Privacy Policy
SpendMath is built so that your money stays your business. Your budget numbers are worked out in your own browser and are never sent to us.
The short version
- We never see your budget. Income, bills, debts, goals and saved months stay in your browser on your device.
- No account, no sign-up. We don’t ask for your name, email or bank details to use the calculator.
- You’re in control. Delete everything at any time with Start over → Delete everything, or by clearing your browser’s site data.
- Ads keep the tool free. Google may use cookies to show ads. You can turn off personalised ads.
- If you write to us, we use your name, email and message only to reply.
Who we are
This policy covers the SpendMath website and calculator (“the site”, “we”, “us”). We are responsible for the personal information described here. You can reach us any time through our contact form.
Your budget numbers are never sent to us
Everything you type into the calculator, including your take-home pay, bills, loans, subscriptions, yearly costs, goals and the ideas you add to your plan, is calculated by code running in your browser. None of it is uploaded to our servers or anyone else’s. We have no copy of it, so we can’t see it, sell it or lose it in a data breach.
The calculator also never asks for bank logins, account numbers or card numbers. Please don’t send them to us either.
What is stored on your device
So that your numbers are still there when you come back, the site saves them in your browser’s local storage. This is a small storage area that belongs to your browser on this device. It is not a cookie and it is not sent over the internet.
| What | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
Your budget (hbo:v3) | Remembers your numbers, plan choices, goals and settings between visits. | Until you delete it |
Month-by-month history (hbo:history) | Keeps the months you save so you can compare them. Up to 60 months. | Until you delete it |
Light or dark theme (hbo:theme) | Remembers which colour theme you chose. | Until you delete it |
To delete it: open the calculator, choose Edit my numbers → Start over, then Clear my numbers (keeps your saved months) or Delete everything. You can also clear this site’s data in your browser settings. Anyone who uses your device and browser can see what is stored, so use a private window on a shared computer.
When you contact us
If you use our contact form or email us, we receive your name, your email address, the topic you choose, your message and the page you were on. We use this only to read and answer your message, fix problems you report and improve the site. Our legal basis is our legitimate interest in replying to you, or the steps you ask us to take.
The form is delivered to our inbox by a third-party form service, which processes the message on our behalf and is not allowed to use it for anything else. We keep messages for up to 12 months after the conversation ends, then delete them, unless we need them longer to deal with a legal claim. We never add you to a mailing list and never sell or rent your details.
Please don’t include personal financial details, such as account numbers or passwords, in a message. We don’t need them to help you.
Advertising and cookies
The site is free because it shows ads. Ads are served by Google AdSense. We don’t give Google, or any advertiser, the numbers you enter in the calculator.
- Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your previous visits to this website and other websites.
- Google’s use of advertising cookies lets it and its partners serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and other sites on the internet.
- You can opt out of personalised advertising in Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of some third-party vendors’ personalised ads at aboutads.info or, in Europe, youronlinechoices.eu.
- Learn more in how Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.
If you are in the European Economic Area, the UK or Switzerland, you’ll be asked for consent before personalised ads or their cookies are used, and you can change your choice at any time. If you decline, you may still see non-personalised ads, which rely on context rather than your browsing history. Ad-blocking or blocking third-party cookies in your browser also stops personalised ads, and the calculator keeps working either way.
The site itself sets no cookies, and we don’t use analytics or tracking tools.
Hosting and security logs
Like every website, the site is delivered by a hosting provider. When your browser asks for a page, the host may briefly record technical details such as your IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time. These logs are used only to deliver the site, keep it secure and fix faults, and are deleted on the host’s normal schedule. They never contain your budget numbers.
Your privacy rights
Because your budget never leaves your device, you already hold all of it, and you can delete it yourself at any time. For anything else we hold about you, such as messages you sent us, you can ask us to:
- tell you what we hold and give you a copy;
- correct it if it’s wrong;
- delete it;
- stop or limit how we use it, or object to it.
These rights come from laws such as the EU and UK GDPR, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) and India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, and similar laws elsewhere. We don’t sell or share personal information for money, and we don’t use it to make automated decisions about you.
To make a request, or to raise a grievance under India’s DPDP Act, use the contact form and choose Privacy or data request. We’ll reply within 30 days. You can withdraw any consent you gave, such as for personalised ads, at any time. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority, such as the ICO in the UK.
Children
The site is meant for adults managing a household budget. It isn’t directed at children under 13 (under 16 in the EEA and UK, and under 18 in India), and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from them. If you think a child has sent us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
International transfers
Messages you send us, and data used by Google for ads, may be processed in countries other than yours, including the United States. Where the law requires it, these transfers are protected by safeguards such as the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses.
Links to other websites
Our money tips and ads may link to other websites. We don’t control them and aren’t responsible for their privacy practices, so please read their policies before giving them any information.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when the site or the law changes. The date at the top shows the latest version. If a change affects how we handle information you have already given us, we’ll make it clear on the site before it takes effect.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data? Send us a message and choose Privacy or data request. You can also read our Terms of Use.