Privacy policy
The short version
Savings Circle is a record book for savings groups. You can use it on one phone without an account, and then everything stays on that phone. If you sign in, we keep a copy of your groups on our server so they are backed up and appear on your other devices and on the web. We don’t sell your data. The free plan shows ads, and the app sends crash reports and usage statistics, which you can turn off. The app never holds or moves money.
Without an account
Every feature works offline without signing in. The app saves your groups in its private storage on your phone:
- Group details: name, currency, amount, schedule and the payout draw seed.
- Members: names, and phone numbers if you add them.
- Payments, payouts, handover signatures and the activity log.
- Your settings, such as payment methods and reminder wording.
None of your group data is sent to us. Crash reports, usage statistics and ads work differently: see below.
When you sign in
You sign in with your email address and either a password or a 6-digit code we email you. We store only a one-way hash of your password, never the password itself. Depending on your device, you can also sign in with Google or Apple. The provider tells us your account ID and, if you allow it, your name and email address; we never receive your password. If that email address is already verified by the provider and matches an account you have, both sign-ins open the same account.
Once you are signed in, we store:
- Your account: email address, display name, country, language, plan, and the dates you joined and were last active. Your country is worked out from your IP address when you sign in; we don’t keep the address itself.
- Your groups: everything listed under “Without an account”, so it can be backed up and synced to your other devices and to the web app.
- Your settings: your payment-methods list, so it is the same on every device.
- Your devices: a label for each signed-in device or browser (for example “Pixel 8”), and when it was last used, so you can see where you are signed in. The sign-in token itself is never stored, only a one-way hash of it.
- Your purchases: which plan or pass you bought, its status, dates, price and currency, and the store’s purchase reference, so we can confirm it and give you the features on every device.
- Your groups’ reminder settings: whether automatic reminders are on, which days, the group’s time zone, and whether replies come to you.
Payment proof photos you attach when you record a payment yourself stay on your phone. They are not synced or included in backups.
Information about your members
You, the organizer, enter your members’ names and, if you choose, their phone numbers and email addresses. These are synced with the rest of the group when you are signed in. Only add what you need to run the group, and let your members know you keep a record of it here.
Member emails. If you add a member’s email address, we send them one email asking whether they want reminders for your group. Nothing else is sent unless they say yes. Every email after that has a one-click unsubscribe link and a link to choose which emails they get (due-date reminders, late reminders, receipts, their payout turn) and in which language. A member can also ask never to be emailed by Savings Circle again, from any group. We then keep their address on a do-not-email list so it isn’t emailed again, even if an organizer adds it later. If you turn on “Replies come to me”, replies to these emails go to your email address, so a member who replies will see it.
If you’re a member
If your organizer sends you a personal invite link, you can join the group with your own Savings Circle account. You then see your dues, your payout turn and, depending on what your organizer allows, other members’ names and whether they have paid. Members never see each other’s phone numbers, notes or payment proofs.
If you tell your organizer “I paid”, we store the claim: the amount, method, date, any reference or note you add, and a screenshot if you attach one. Your organizer sees all of it, approves or rejects it, and may record the payment. A screenshot is deleted 30 days after your organizer approves or rejects the claim, or after you take it back. The claim itself stays in the group’s history. You can stop seeing a group at any time. Your organizer’s record of the group stays with them.
Support requests
When you contact us from inside the app, we store your message, your reply-to email address, and any screenshot you attach. To help us fix problems, the app also sends its version, your platform and OS version, your device model, your language and recent error codes. It never sends your group names, member details or amounts. We also record the IP address a request came from, to stop abuse.
Notifications
If you allow notifications, your phone gives the app a push token from Google’s Firebase Cloud Messaging (on iPhone, through Apple’s service). We store it with your account or your support requests, with your language, so we can tell you when support replies or when there is news. A notification never contains the text of a support reply. You can turn notifications off in your phone’s settings; when you sign out, the token is unlinked from your account.
News and announcements
We sometimes send news about Savings Circle by email, as a notification or in the app’s inbox. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link, and you can opt out at any time. Messages about your account, sign-in codes and support replies are sent regardless, because the service needs them.
We also email you about your account’s security: when your password changes, when a new device signs in, and when you ask to delete your account.
Crash reports and usage statistics
The apps use Google’s Firebase Crashlytics and Firebase Analytics. When the app crashes, it sends a technical report (where in the code it failed, the device model, OS version and app version). Usage statistics record which screens and features are used, with an app-instance identifier, device details and your approximate country. They never include group names, member details or amounts. You can turn both off in Settings with “Share crash reports and usage”.
Ads
On the free plan the app shows ads from Google AdMob. To show and measure them, Google receives your device’s advertising ID, IP address and device details. Where the law requires it, such as in the European Economic Area and the UK, we ask for your consent first, and you can refuse personalized ads; you can change your choice later under “Ad privacy choices” in Settings. You can reset or delete the advertising ID in your phone’s settings. Pro and the Group pass remove ads.
Reports and blocking
If you report a group, organizer or message as abuse, we store your report so our staff can review it. To prevent fraud, we may block email addresses or phone numbers that were used for abuse, and keep a record of that decision.
The web app
The web app shows the same groups as your phone. Your browser stores a sign-in token and any changes that haven’t reached our server yet. It uses no cookies for tracking and no analytics.
What we don’t collect
- We never read your contacts, messages or precise location.
- The Android app asks for internet access, permission to show notifications, and access to the advertising ID (used only for ads on the free plan).
- We don’t sell or rent your data. Your group records are never used for advertising.
Who can see your data
- You, on any device where you are signed in.
- Our support staff, only to answer your requests, investigate abuse or keep the service running. Staff sign-ins and actions are logged.
- Service providers that run the service for us: the company that hosts our server; the email service that sends sign-in codes, reminders, receipts and notices; and Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging, Crashlytics and Analytics, AdMob, Google Play) and Apple (App Store, Sign in with Apple, notifications), each only for the part described on this page.
- Authorities, if the law requires it.
Reminders
There are two kinds of reminders.
- Ones you send yourself. The app opens your own messaging app (WhatsApp, SMS, Telegram or another) with the message already written. You choose whether to send it, and Savings Circle doesn’t see what you send.
- Automatic reminders. If you turn them on, Savings Circle sends them for you, at 9 AM in the group’s time zone, on the days you choose. They go by email to members who confirmed their address, and as a notification to members who joined with the app. We keep a log of what was sent to whom and when, and whether it was delivered, so each reminder goes out only once and you can see it in the app. This log is deleted after 12 months. We also email members a receipt when you record their payment, and tell them when their payout is recorded.
Payments and plans
Savings Circle is not a bank, lender or payment service. Members pay each other however they already do; the app only records what you tell it. If you buy Pro or a Group pass, Google Play or the App Store handles the payment. The store tells us what you bought, its status and dates, and the price you paid, never your card or bank details.
Security
All traffic between the apps and our server is encrypted (HTTPS). Sign-in codes expire after 10 minutes and can only be used once. The activity log is append-only and chained, so past payments and payouts can’t be changed without it showing.
Deleting your data
- Delete your account in the app’s Settings, or without the app: sign in at app.savingscircle.app and choose Settings › Delete account. You are signed out on every device at once, and your account, groups, settings and support requests are permanently erased from our server after 30 days.
- Deleting a group: a group you delete is erased from our server 30 days later, with its members, payments and history.
- Without an account: uninstall the app, or clear its storage in your phone’s settings.
- If you are a member who was added by email: use the unsubscribe or preferences link in any of our emails, or email support@savingscircle.app. Your organizer can also remove your address.
- To ask for a copy of your data, or for it to be corrected or deleted, email support@savingscircle.app. We record each request and its outcome.
- A screenshot attached to an “I paid” claim is deleted 30 days after the claim is approved, rejected or taken back. Automatic-reminder logs are deleted after 12 months.
- Crash reports and usage statistics are kept by Google for up to 90 days and 14 months respectively. Ad data is handled under Google’s own policies.
Support requests sent without an account are deleted 12 months after their last message.
This website
This website’s fonts are served from our own server, so visiting it sends nothing to Google or any other third party. The website sets no cookies and uses no analytics.
Children
Savings Circle is meant for adults who organize savings groups. It is not directed at children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect their data.
Changes
If we change what we collect or why, we will update this page before that change reaches the apps, and change the date at the top.
Contact
Questions about privacy: support@savingscircle.app.