Privacy Policy for Buddies
Last updated: 12 August 2026
In short: Buddies is an offline, privacy-first budgeting app. Everything you enter stays on your device. The developer does not collect, transmit, store, access, sell, or share your personal or financial information. There are no ads, no analytics, and no third-party tracking.
1. Who we are
This Privacy Policy describes how the Buddies mobile application (the "App," "we," "us," or "our") handles information. The App is developed and published by Epitaxy — a trading name used by an independent solo developer, not a registered company.
If you have questions about this policy, contact us at epitaxydev@gmail.com.
By downloading or using the App, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
2. Your data never leaves your device
- All information you create in the App — including transactions, budgets, categories, notes, and settings — is stored locally on your device only.
- We operate no servers and maintain no remote database. We have no technical means to see, access, retrieve, or recover your data.
- The App does not upload, sync, or transmit your data to us or to any third party.
3. Information we collect
Personal information collected by us: none. We do not collect your name, email address, financial account numbers, location, contacts, photos, or device identifiers for our own use.
Data you create within the App remains under your sole control on your device and is never accessible to us.
4. Purchases (Google Play Billing)
- The App may offer an optional one-time premium upgrade. All payments are processed entirely by Google Play Billing. We never receive, see, or store your payment details (such as card numbers).
- Google processes your transaction and may collect or process information under Google's own policies. See Google's Privacy Policy.
- Your purchase/entitlement status is stored locally on your device and verified through Google Play.
5. Distribution through Google Play
Because the App is distributed via the Google Play Store, Google may independently collect certain information (for example, device, installation, and crash data) in accordance with its own terms and policies. This collection is performed by Google and is outside our control.
6. No advertising, analytics, or tracking
The App contains no advertising SDKs, no analytics SDKs, no third-party trackers, and no advertising identifiers. We do not profile you or share any data with third parties for advertising or analytics.
7. Permissions
The App requests only the minimum device permissions required to function:
READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE/WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE— used solely to let you create, restore, import and export your own files. Limited to older Android versions only.POST_NOTIFICATIONS— used solely for the budget alerts you switch on yourself.VIBRATE— used solely so those alerts can vibrate.com.android.vending.BILLING— used solely for the optional one-time Buddies Pro purchase, handled by Google Play.
The App ships with no INTERNET permission at all. Android therefore prevents it from making any network connection whatsoever — it is not a promise we ask you to take on trust, it is enforced by the operating system. No permission is used to transmit your data off the device.
8. Data storage, security, and backups
- Your data resides on your device. Its security depends on your device's own protections (for example, screen lock and device encryption), which are your responsibility.
- Any backup or export you create is a local file under your control. You are responsible for storing and safeguarding it.
- Because we have no access to your data, we cannot recover it if your device is lost, reset, damaged, or if the App is uninstalled.
9. If you set a PIN
The App offers an optional PIN lock. Only a scrambled, one-way fingerprint of your PIN is stored, on your own device — never the PIN itself, and never anywhere else. Because there is no account and no server behind it, there is nobody who can verify a reset: if you forget the PIN it cannot be recovered by us or by anyone. The lock is not included in backups, so restoring a backup on another device never carries it across.
10. Deleting your data
You control all of your data at all times. Using any in-app reset option, or uninstalling the App, removes the data from your device. Because we do not hold any of your data, there is nothing for us to delete on our side.
11. Children's privacy
The App is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. As noted above, we do not collect personal information from any user.
12. Your privacy rights
Privacy laws such as the EU GDPR, the California CCPA/CPRA, and Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Act grant individuals rights over personal data held by a business. Because we do not collect, hold, or process your personal data, there is nothing on our side for us to access, correct, export, or delete — your data is solely in your possession on your device. Any requests relating to payment information should be directed to Google.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of the App after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
14. Contact
Buddies is made by an independent developer trading as Epitaxy. Epitaxy is a trading name, not a registered company.
Questions or concerns: epitaxydev@gmail.com
Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability
Provided "as is". To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the App is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, reliability, or non-infringement.
Not financial advice. Buddies is a personal budgeting tool only. It does not provide financial, accounting, tax, legal, or investment advice. You are solely responsible for your financial decisions and for the accuracy and completeness of the information you enter.
Limitation of liability. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the developer shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages, or for any loss of data, profits, revenue, or savings, arising out of or relating to your use of, or inability to use, the App. This includes, without limitation, any loss of data resulting from device failure, loss, theft, reset, software error, or uninstallation. Because all data is stored locally and we have no access to it, you are solely responsible for maintaining your own backups.
Your statutory rights. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation of certain liabilities. In those jurisdictions, the above exclusions and limitations apply only to the extent permitted by law, and nothing in this policy affects mandatory consumer rights that cannot be waived.