Privacy Policy

1. Zero-Knowledge Architecture & Local-First Philosophy

SubMate ("we", "our", or "us") provides a lightweight, cross-platform subscription watchdog and automated cancellation assistant designed to prioritize user privacy above all else.

• No Financial Aggregators: SubMate does not use third-party financial scrapers (e.g., Plaid, Yodlee, MX). We never ask for your online banking username, password, or security questions.
• On-Device AES-256 Encryption: All subscription entries, prices, renewal schedules, and notes are encrypted on your local physical device using industry-standard AES-256 cipher encryption.
• Zero Data Monetization: We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal or financial data to data brokers, analytics firms, or advertising networks.

2. Information We Do NOT Collect

Unlike traditional budgeting apps, our server infrastructure is deliberately blind to your financial life. We do NOT collect:

• Bank account numbers, routing numbers, or payment card details (CVV, full card numbers).
• Contact books, phone numbers, or SMS text messages.
• Precise geolocation or location tracking history.
• Cross-app tracking IDs or advertising identifiers.

3. Data Handled by the Application

To provide subscription auditing, renewal alerts, and price hike detection, the App handles the following data locally on your device:

• Subscription Metadata: Merchant name (e.g., Netflix, Spotify), billing amount, selected currency, billing frequency, and optional user notes. Stored strictly in local encrypted storage.
• Trial Tracking: Free trial expiration dates and promotional rates to trigger expiry reminders.
• Optional Statement Parsing: If you use the CSV statement import feature, parsing is executed entirely in-memory within your device. Any account numbers are automatically sanitized and immediately purged from memory.
• Currency Conversion: SubMate queries public, anonymous foreign exchange rates to calculate converted totals. No personal information is included in these requests.

4. Device Permissions

On Android devices, SubMate requests explicit system permissions solely to deliver reliable local reminders:

• POST_NOTIFICATIONS: Required on Android 13+ to display local renewal alarms and trial warnings in your device notification shade.
• SCHEDULE_EXACT_ALARM: Allows the app to schedule precision reminder alerts for imminent renewal dates (3 days, 1 day, and renewal day).
• RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED: Re-schedules your pending renewal notifications after your device restarts.
• WAKE_LOCK: Ensures notification alerts fire reliably even when the device is in sleep mode.

5. Data Retention & Deletion

Because all subscription records reside solely on your physical device:

• You maintain 100% control over your data. You may edit or delete individual subscriptions at any time.
• You can clear all stored records with 1 tap from Settings > Clear All Data.
• Uninstalling the SubMate app from your device immediately and permanently deletes all stored encrypted data.
• For more details on data removal, visit our dedicated Data Deletion Guide.

6. Third-Party Services

SubMate interfaces with minimal external providers:

• Google Play Billing: When purchasing SubMate Pro or Lifetime features, payments are processed directly by Google Play. We do not receive or process your payment card information.
• External Cancellation Portals: When you tap a cancellation link, you are directed to the merchant's external website in your default browser. Their individual privacy policies and terms apply to your interactions on their websites.

7. Contact Information

If you have any questions or feedback regarding this Privacy Policy, please reach out to us:

• Email: support@submate.app
• GitHub Issue Tracker: KwameTheAnalyst/SubMate Issues