Cartl ("we", "our", or "us") is a personal budget tracking app that helps you understand where your money goes. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle your information when you use the Cartl mobile application.
We built Cartl with a simple principle: your financial data belongs to you and stays on your device. We do not run servers that store your personal or financial information.
Cartl processes all data locally on your device. We do not collect, upload, or sell your personal information or financial data to any third party.
To provide core functionality, Cartl may access the following data on your device:
| Data type | Why it's accessed | Leaves device? |
|---|---|---|
| SMS messages | To automatically detect and parse bank transaction messages, so your expenses are logged without manual entry. | Never |
| Transaction amounts & merchant names | Parsed from bank SMS messages to categorise and display your expenses. | Never |
| Budget name & preferences | Stored locally to personalise your dashboard (e.g. "Ayush's Budget"). | Never |
| Phone number | Used for account authentication via one-time password (OTP) only. | OTP only |
We access SMS messages solely to identify bank and payment transaction messages. We do not read, store, or transmit personal conversations, OTPs sent by other apps, or any non-financial messages.
Cartl requests the READ_SMS permission on Android. Here is exactly what we do and do not do with it:
SMS processing happens entirely on-device. Neither we nor any third party can see your messages.
Cartl does not collect, access, or transmit any of the following:
Cartl uses your phone number for account creation and sign-in, verified via a one-time password (OTP) sent by SMS. Your phone number is used solely for authentication and is not shared with any third party or used for marketing.
All budget data, expense history, and preferences are stored locally on your device using Android's standard secure storage mechanisms. This data is not backed up to our servers.
Any communication between your device and our authentication service (for OTP verification) is encrypted in transit using industry-standard TLS encryption.
Cartl does not integrate any third-party advertising SDKs, analytics platforms, or data brokers. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information.
If we ever integrate third-party services in the future, this policy will be updated and you will be notified within the app before those changes take effect.
Since your data lives on your device, you are in full control of it:
Cartl is not directed at children under the age of 13. 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 promptly.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and notify you via an in-app notice for any material changes. Continued use of Cartl after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how Cartl handles your data, please reach out:
We aim to respond to all privacy-related enquiries within 5 business days.