Privacy Policy

Last updated: 8 June 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Aliana ("the app", "we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, and protects your information when you use the Aliana mobile application.

Aliana is operated by David Theunissen, an independent developer ("the operator"). The operator is the data controller responsible for your personal information.

By using Aliana, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the app.

1. Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to all users of the Aliana mobile application worldwide. We aim to comply with the principles of the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), and other applicable data-protection laws.

2. Information we collect

We only collect what is needed to run Aliana and, for free-tier users, to show ads. We do not sell your data.

a) Account information When you create an account, we collect:

Your email address
Your display name (if provided)
A unique account identifier
If you sign in with Google, the basic profile information Google shares with us (name, email, and Google account ID)

b) Budget and financial data you enter Aliana is a budgeting tool, so it stores the information you choose to enter, including:

Budgets, budget names, and currency settings
Categories and category limits
Transactions (amount, date, category, description/notes, and payment account)
Recurring payments and schedules

This information is entered by you and is used only to provide the budgeting features of the app. We do not connect to your bank and we never access your real bank accounts, card numbers, or banking credentials.

c) Shared budget data If you invite others to a budget, or join a budget you were invited to, the budget data (categories, transactions, totals) becomes visible to the other members of that budget according to their access level (owner, editor, or viewer). Please only share budgets with people you trust.

d) Diagnostic and crash data We use Firebase Crashlytics to detect and fix crashes. When the app crashes or encounters an error, we may collect:

Device model and operating system version
App version
Crash logs, stack traces, and the state of the app at the time of the crash

This data helps us improve stability and is not used to identify you personally.

e) Advertising data (free-tier users only)
If you use Aliana on the free tier, we show ads supplied by Google AdMob. To serve and measure those ads, AdMob may collect or access your device's advertising identifier, device and usage information, and an approximate location inferred from your IP address. Where required by law, we ask for your consent before showing personalised ads, and you can choose to receive non-personalised ads instead. Premium subscribers do not see ads and this data is not collected from them. See Google's advertising policies at policies.google.com/technologies/ads.

f) Data stored on your device Some settings are stored locally on your device and are not sent to us, including your theme preference and notification preferences.

3. What we do NOT collect

We do not collect your bank login details, card numbers, or connect to financial institutions.
Other than serving ads to free-tier users through Google AdMob (see Section 2), we do not use other advertising or tracking SDKs, and we do not ourselves build marketing profiles about you.
We do not use third-party analytics to track you across other apps or websites.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to anyone.

4. How we use your information

We use the information we collect to: provide and maintain the app and your account; sync and display your budgets and transactions; enable collaborative budgets; send notifications you have enabled; maintain security; diagnose problems and improve the app; manage subscriptions and respond to support; display and measure advertising to free-tier users through Google AdMob; and comply with legal obligations.

5. Legal bases for processing (GDPR / POPIA)

Where applicable law requires a legal basis, we rely on:

Performance of a contract — to provide the app and its features to you.
Consent — for optional features such as push notifications, and for personalised advertising where required, which you can withdraw at any time.
Legitimate interests — to keep the app secure, prevent abuse, improve the service, and show ads to free-tier users.
Legal obligation — where we are required to retain or disclose information by law.

6. How your data is stored and who processes it

Aliana is built on Google Firebase. Your account and budget data are stored using Google Cloud / Firebase services, which act as our data processors (sub-processors). These include:

Firebase Authentication — account sign-in
Cloud Firestore — storage of your budgets, categories, transactions, and recurring payments
Firebase Crashlytics — crash and diagnostic reporting
Cloud Functions — secure server-side operations (such as subscription management and budget joining)
Google AdMob — serving and measuring ads shown to free-tier users

Google processes this data on our behalf under its own security and privacy commitments. You can review Google's privacy practices at https://policies.google.com/privacy and Firebase's data handling at https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy.

7. Subscriptions and payments

Aliana offers an optional Premium subscription. Payments are processed entirely by the app store you purchased through (Google Play or the Apple App Store). We do not receive or store your payment card details. The app store handles billing, renewals, and refunds under its own terms and privacy policy. We only receive confirmation of your subscription status so we can unlock Premium features.

8. International data transfers

Because we use Google Cloud infrastructure, your information may be stored and processed on servers located in countries other than your own. Where data is transferred internationally, it is protected by the safeguards provided by Google Cloud and applicable data-protection law.

9. Data retention

We keep your personal and budget data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we delete your associated personal data and budget data, except where we are required to retain certain information to comply with legal obligations or resolve disputes. Crash diagnostic data is retained only for a limited period in line with Firebase Crashlytics defaults.

10. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

Access the personal information we hold about you
Correct inaccurate or incomplete information
Delete your account and associated data ("right to be forgotten")
Export your data — every user can request a copy of the personal data we hold about them, free of charge, by contacting us. Premium subscribers can additionally export their transactions to a CSV file directly within the app at any time.
Object to or restrict certain processing
Withdraw consent for optional features at any time
Lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority (for example, the Information Regulator in South Africa or your EU/UK supervisory authority)

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 14.

11. Account deletion

You can request deletion of your account and personal data at any time by contacting us at the email address below, or by using the in-app account deletion option where available. Deleting the app from your device alone does not delete your account data from our servers.

12. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including authentication, access controls, and reliance on Google Cloud's enterprise-grade security. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

13. Children's privacy

Aliana is not directed at children under the age of 13 (or the minimum age required in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, notify you within the app. Your continued use of Aliana after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

15. Contact us

If you have any questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact:

David Theunissen
Email: admin@aliana.app