Privacy and Safety

Privacy and Safety

This tool works with real financial data. Please read this page before using it.

Contents

• The short version
• Where your data lives
• Keeping the plan folder private
• What to leave out
• How the app protects you
• Sharing scenarios
• Using an AI assistant
• Not financial advice

The short version

• ✅ Everything runs on your computer. Nothing is uploaded.
• ⚠️ Your plan folder holds real financial data. Never put it in a public repository or on the internet.
• ⚠️ Use generic names (Partner A, Child 1) and leave out account numbers and birthdates.

Where your data lives

What	Where
Your transactions	data/*.csv in your plan folder
Your household, accounts, categories, rules	config/*.yaml in your plan folder
Planner edits and saved scenarios	.financial_planner/state.json in your plan folder
Which plan you opened last	~/.financial_planner.json (just the folder path)

The financial_planner code folder contains no personal data: only the code and a fictional demo.

Keeping the plan folder private

• Keep the plan folder outside the financial_planner code folder.
• Don't put it in a public git repository. If you version it, use a private repository, and consider not committing data/ at all.
• Be careful with shared drives and cloud folders that others can open.
• The financial_planner repository's .gitignore refuses every *.csv except the demo's, as a safety net.

What to leave out

The planner never needs:

• real names (use Partner A, Partner B, Child 1…),
• birthdates (it uses ages),
• account, card or Social Security numbers,
• employer names or addresses.

Check your CSVs: some banks put card or account numbers inside transaction descriptions. Search for them in Settings › Categorize and remove them from the files if that matters to you.

How the app protects you

• The server only listens on 127.0.0.1 (this computer). Don't change it to listen on a network.
• It refuses requests that use any other host name, so a website can't reach it by trickery (DNS rebinding).
• Every request that changes anything must carry a header that only the app sends. Browsers don't let other websites add that header to requests to your computer, so other websites can't write to your plan.
• File uploads and file reads are limited to the plan folder.

Sharing scenarios

A share code or scenario file contains your planner amounts, 529 choices and retirement inputs (not transactions). Anyone with it can read those numbers, so share it like you would a spreadsheet of your budget.

A whole-plan file (.zip) contains everything, including your CSV transactions. Send it only to people you trust, privately (AirDrop, Messages), and delete stray copies you no longer need.

Using an AI assistant

Setting up with an AI assistant means the assistant reads your CSVs and your answers. Only do it with an assistant and account you trust with financial data. The setup instructions tell the assistant to use generic names and not to copy sensitive details into the config.

Not financial advice

Projections are rough estimates that depend entirely on the assumptions you enter (returns, inflation, costs, Social Security estimates). Use them to compare options, not as a promise.