Privacy Policy
Effective date: 1 March 2026 · Last updated: 1 March 2026
Operated by Blu-Tec ICT (Pty) Ltd · South Africa
SplitBud is designed to help couples and families track shared budgets. We take your privacy seriously and collect only what is necessary to provide the service. We do not sell your data. Ever.
1. Who We Are
SplitBud is operated by Blu-Tec ICT (Pty) Ltd, a South African company. If you have any questions about this policy, contact us at support@splitbud.co.za.
2. Information We Collect
When you use SplitBud, we collect the following:
- Google account information — your name, email address, and profile photo, provided when you sign in with Google.
- Budget and expense data — the income, expense, and budget entries you create within the app.
- Group membership — the groups you create or join, and the members of those groups.
- Device push token — if you enable push notifications, we store a device token to deliver notifications to your device.
- Preferences — your chosen theme, currency, and notification settings.
We do not collect payment information, location data, contacts, or any data beyond what is listed above.
3. How We Use Your Information
- To provide and operate the SplitBud service.
- To authenticate you securely via Google Sign-In.
- To send email and push notifications about group activity (only if you enable these).
- To display your shared expense balance to members of your groups.
- To improve the app based on general usage patterns (no personally identifiable data is used for analytics).
4. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes. Your data is only shared in the following limited circumstances:
- Within your group — your name, avatar, and expense entries are visible to other members of groups you join.
- Google — we use Google Sign-In for authentication. Google's own privacy policy applies to the sign-in process.
- Email delivery — notification emails are sent via our mail server (Blu-Tec ICT mail infrastructure). No third-party email marketing services are used.
- Legal compliance — we may disclose information if required by South African law or a valid court order.
5. Data Storage and Security
Your data is stored on servers hosted in South Africa, managed by Blu-Tec ICT (Pty) Ltd. We implement industry-standard security measures including:
- HTTPS encryption for all data in transit.
- Secure, hashed authentication tokens (your password is never stored in plain text).
- Access controls limiting data access to authorised systems only.
No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
6. Data Retention
We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, all your personal data, budget entries, expense records, and group memberships are permanently deleted from our database within 30 days. Push notification tokens are deleted immediately upon account deletion or when you disable push notifications.
7. Your Rights (POPIA)
Under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), you have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you.
- Request correction of inaccurate information.
- Request deletion of your personal information (see Section 8).
- Object to the processing of your personal information.
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@splitbud.co.za.
8. Account and Data Deletion
You can permanently delete your account and all associated data directly within the app:
- Open SplitBud → Settings → scroll to Delete Account.
- Confirm deletion. All your data is immediately and permanently removed.
Alternatively, email support@splitbud.co.za and we will process your deletion request within 7 business days.
9. Children's Privacy
SplitBud is not intended for use by children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting a notice within the app or sending an email to your registered address. Continued use of SplitBud after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
11. Contact Us
For any privacy-related questions or requests: